Chansons françaises is the integrated music component of Français interactif. Chansons features …
Chansons françaises is the integrated music component of Français interactif. Chansons features a French or Francophone song, related to each chapter's cultural or pedagogical focus, presented via audio or video. Accompanying pdfs provide additional information, as well as comprehension exercises. Songs act as a portal to various Francophone cultures and musical genres. Aural comprehension and study of lyrics afford students practice with culturally authentic text and expression. Students discover yet another reason to be passionate about studying French!
Chapeau! is a first-year college text. Although it may appear, at first …
Chapeau! is a first-year college text. Although it may appear, at first glance, to move very fast and introduce a large amount of material early, the vocabulary and grammatical structures that we expect students to control actively by the end of the year are limited in accord with our notion of a reasonable application of the ACTFL proficiency guidelines. As a result, while some instructors may be surprised at such things as the absence of the possessive pronoun, no insistence on the use of optional subjunctives, and no active treatment of the relative dont, others may be disturbed by what we still include in a first-year text. What we do expect students to acquire (which is quantitatively less than what we present in the text for them to know about), we believe they will acquire well, providing a sound basis for further study (formal or informal) and permitting us to say to them, both during and at the end of the course, "Chapeau!"
This course studies the transformation of childhood and youth since the 18th …
This course studies the transformation of childhood and youth since the 18th century in France, as well as the development of sentimentality within the family in a francophone context. Students will examine the personification of children, both as a source of inspiration for artistic creation and a political ideal aimed at protecting future generations, and consider various representations of childhood and youth in literature (e.g., Pagnol, Proust, Sarraute, Lave, Morgievre), movies (e.g., Truffaut), and songs (e.g., Brel, Barbara). This course is taught entirely in French.
This podcast series consists of simple dialogue exchanges. The listening materials are …
This podcast series consists of simple dialogue exchanges. The listening materials are suitable for beginners and help them take the first step toward becoming proficient listeners. The contents of these 72 dialogues are completely based on the beginning level Chinese curriculum; they are creative yet realistic scenarios on topics that listeners can relate to, such as the social, family and school aspects of one’s life. Full transcripts transcripts in both traditional and simplified characters as well as English translations are provided as downloadable PDF documents. The podcast format enables a generation of increasingly ‘mobile’ learners to study the material ‘on-the-go’.
Practice vocabulary on the go! The original idea conceived by a fellow …
Practice vocabulary on the go! The original idea conceived by a fellow Chinese language student, this flashcard exercise is an engaging and effective way to review vocabulary terms from the convenience of your mobile device.
This course forms the intermediate level of what constitutes a four-term foundation …
This course forms the intermediate level of what constitutes a four-term foundation in Mandarin. Upon completion of Chinese III and IV, students should be able to speak Chinese with fluency on everyday topics, reach a literacy level of 700 characters (approximately 2000 common words written in both traditional and simplified characters), read materials in simple standard written Chinese, and produce both orally and in writing short compositions on everyday topics. Throughout the course we will address issues of how cultural differences inform and are informed by different linguistic contexts and practices.
This subject is the second semester of four that forms an introduction …
This subject is the second semester of four that forms an introduction to modern standard Chinese, commonly called Mandarin. The emphasis is on further developing students' abilities to participate in simple, practical conversations on everyday topics as well as enhancing their abilities on reading and writing. The relationship between Chinese language and culture and the sociolinguistically appropriate use of language will be stressed throughout. A typical class includes performance of memorized basic conversations, drills, questions and discussion, and various types of communicative exercises. At the end of this course, students are expected to develop an understanding of the language learning process so that they will be able to continue studying effectively on their own.
This course, along with 21G.107 / 157 Chinese I (Streamlined) offered in …
This course, along with 21G.107 / 157 Chinese I (Streamlined) offered in the previous fall, form the elementary level of the streamlined sequence, which is intended for students who, when they began the sequence at beginning level, had basic conversational skills (gained, typically, from growing up in a Chinese speaking environment), but lacked a corresponding level of literacy. The focus of the course is on standard usage, on reading in both traditional and simplified characters, and on writing. The course is conducted entirely in Chinese.
This subject is the first semester of two that form an introduction …
This subject is the first semester of two that form an introduction to modern standard Chinese, commonly called Mandarin. Though not everyone taking this course will be an absolute beginner, the course presupposes no prior background in the language. The purpose of this course is to develop: Basic conversational abilities (pronunciation, fundamental grammatical patterns, common vocabulary, and standard usage); Basic reading and writing skills (in both the traditional character set and the simplified); and An understanding of the language learning process so that you are able to continue studying effectively on your own.The main text is Wheatley, J. K. Learning Chinese: A Foundation Course in Mandarin. Part I. (unpublished, but available online). (Part II of the book forms the basis of 21F.102 / 152, which is also published on OpenCourseWare.)
This course, along with 21G.108 / 158 offered in the spring, form …
This course, along with 21G.108 / 158 offered in the spring, form the elementary level of the streamlined sequence, which is for students who have some basic conversational skills gained, typically, from growing up in a Chinese speaking environment, but lack a corresponding level of literacy. The focus of the course is on learning standard everyday usage, on reading in both full and simplified characters, and on writing. This course, along with 21G.108 / 158 offered in the spring, are conducted entirely in Chinese.
This is the last of the four courses (Chinese I through IV) …
This is the last of the four courses (Chinese I through IV) that make up the foundation level (four semesters over two years in the normal curriculum) of MIT's regular (non-streamlined) Chinese program. Chinese IV is designed to consolidate conversational usage and grammatical and cultural knowledge encountered in the earlier courses, and to expand reading and listening abilities. It integrates the last part of Learning Chinese (two units designed primarily for review of grammatical concepts and vocabulary growth) with material from Madeline Spring's Making Connections, designed to bolster listening skills, and Linda Hsai and Roger Yue's Strange Stories from a Chinese Studio, a collection of traditional stories that has been a favorite of students of Chinese for many decades and is used here to focus on reading. Reading for this course is primarily, but not exclusively, in the simplified character set that is the standard on the Mainland; readings in the traditional set that is standard in Taiwan are also assigned. Students who have advanced through Chinese I, II, and III to reach this level, as well as those entering at Chinese IV, should review at least the late material in Chinese III before proceeding.
This is the second semester of the intermediate level sequence intended for …
This is the second semester of the intermediate level sequence intended for students whose conversational ability exceeds their reading and writing skills. Focus is on reading and writing, as well as broadening conversational skills and control of standard pronunciation, for students with background in conversational Chinese. Lab work is required. On completing this course, students should be able to speak the language with standard pronunciation, to converse with some fluency on everyday topics, as well as on some specialized topics, to read edited, as well as authentic texts, in simplified or traditional characters with suitable fluency, and to be able to write composition on certain topics. The class consists of a combination of practice, reading, discussion, dictation, composition and feedback, net exploration via the web, and presentation. This course is conducted in Mandarin.
Welcome to the Chinese wikibook, a free Chinese textbook on the Standard …
Welcome to the Chinese wikibook, a free Chinese textbook on the Standard Mandarin dialect. This page links to lessons using simplified characters (used in mainland China, Singapore and Malaysia). There is also a Traditional Character Version available (used in Taiwan, Macau, and Hong Kong).
The authors of Chinese Rhetoric and Writing offer a response to the …
The authors of Chinese Rhetoric and Writing offer a response to the argument that Chinese students' academic writing in English is influenced by "culturally nuanced rhetorical baggage that is uniquely Chinese and hard to eradicate." Noting that this argument draws from "an essentially monolingual and Anglo-centric view of writing," they point out that the rapid growth in the use of English worldwide calls for "a radical reassessment of what English is in today's world." The result is a book that provides teachers of writing, and in particular those involved in the teaching of English academic writing to Chinese students, an introduction to key stages in the development of Chinese rhetoric, a wide-ranging field with a history of several thousand years. Understanding this important rhetorical tradition provides a strong foundation for assessing and responding to the writing of this growing group of students.
Chinese Take-In provides an interactive environment where first-year Chinese learners can practice …
Chinese Take-In provides an interactive environment where first-year Chinese learners can practice listening outside the classroom according to individual needs and paces while receiving immediate feedback.
This course is the continuation of 21F105. It is designed to further …
This course is the continuation of 21F105. It is designed to further help students develop sophisticated conversational, reading and writing skills by combining traditional textbook material with their own explorations of Chinese speaking societies, using the human, literary, and electronic resources available at MIT and in the Boston area. Some special features of Chinese society, its culture, its customs and habits, its history, and the psychology of its people are introduced. The class consists of reading, discussion, composition, network exploration, and conversational practice. The course is conducted in Mandarin.
This course is a sequel to 21F.113 Chinese V (Streamlined). It is …
This course is a sequel to 21F.113 Chinese V (Streamlined). It is designed to further help students develop sophisticated conversational, reading and writing skills by combining authentic reading and audio-visual material with their own explorations of Chinese speaking societies, using the human, literary, and electronic resources available at MIT, in the Boston area and on the web. Some special features of Chinese societies, cultures and customs will be introduced. The class consists of readings, discussion, student presentations and network exploration. The course is conducted in Mandarin.
Students develop more sophisticated conversational and reading skills by combining traditional textbook …
Students develop more sophisticated conversational and reading skills by combining traditional textbook material with their own explorations of Chinese speaking societies, using the human, literary, and electronic resources available at MIT and in the Boston area. This course is the continuation of 21F104/108. It is designed to further help students develop sophisticated conversational, reading and writing skills by combining traditional textbook material with their own explorations of Chinese speaking societies, using the human, literary, and electronic resources available at in the Boston area. Some of special features of Chinese society, its culture, its customs and habits, its history, and the psychology of its people are be introduced. The class consists of reading, discussion, composition, network exploration, and conversational practice. The course is conducted in Mandarin.
Created by student request, this set of basic word-order exercises will help …
Created by student request, this set of basic word-order exercises will help beginners practice the foundational skills of how to use the language in the right order.
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