Adults Language Classes

This course is designed for absolute beginners with little or no knowledge of Chinese Mandarin. This class will introduce the phonics of Chinese Mandarin, sounds and tones, using the pinyin Romanization system. Upon completion, students will be expected to establish a solid foundation in Chinese pronunciation (initials, vowels and most importantly, the tones). In addition, students will easily master about 80 basic Chinese characters, most of which are very commonly used to construct other characters. Students are also expected to be able to conduct short daily conversations, including greetings, expressing gratitude, and introducing oneself and others, etc.

The textbook required for this course is Road to Success: Threshold.

This class will continue to build on the pronunciation and tones taught in Beginning Chinese 101. In addition, this course will cover the topics of making acquaintances, describing oneself, making appointments, discussing everyday situations, asking various types of questions, making suggestions or comments, etc.

The textbook required for this course is Road to Success: Lower Elementary, Vol.1. (Lessons 1-6)

*Upon completion of this level, students may be eligible to take the HSK 1.

This class will continue to introduce new vocabulary and sentence patterns. Upon completion of this course, students will be able to communicate about daily necessities, including shopping, making a purchase, and going to the bank, among many others.

The textbook required for this course is Road to Success: Lower Elementary, Vol.1 (Lessons 7-12).

*Upon completion of this level, students may be eligible to take the HSK 2.

This course is designed specifically for heritage Chinese students who possess speaking skills but limited reading and writing skills in Chinese. It will introduce basic vocabulary, sentence patterns and phrases, and fundamental grammar rules in Chinese. Writing is also an important part of the training in this class.

The textbook required for this course is Contemporary Chinese for Heritage Learners: An Introductory Text Simplified Character Version 2nd Edition, Lessons 1–8.

* Please purchase the required textbook(s) on Amazon.

This conversational course provides optimal opportunities for students to acquire better speaking skills in Chinese with an emphasis on natural, colloquial usage of the language. It is designed for students who have completed beginner classes (Level 103-104) in our Chinese classes or at an equivalent proficiency level but wish to advance their conversation skills. This class is highly conversational, interactive, and communicative.

NO textbook is required to purchase for this class. Materials will be provided in class.

This conversational course provides optimal opportunities for students to acquire better speaking skills in Chinese with an emphasis on natural, colloquial usage of the language. It is designed for students who have completed higher beginner classes (Levels 105 &106) in our Chinese classes or at an equivalent proficiency level but wish to advance their conversation skills. This class is highly conversational, interactive, and communicative.

NO textbook is required to purchase for this class. Materials will be provided in class.

This class is designed for students who have completed up to the Intermediate level classes (Level 201-206) in our Chinese classes or at an equivalent proficiency level. The class will help students speak the language with sufficient structural accuracy and vocabulary to participate effectively in most informal conversational and business settings. The class is highly conversational and interactive, with a focus on live conversations and discussions to achieve fluency in spoken Chinese. Topics for discussion revolve around a wide range of themes, including the latest hot topics in China and worldwide.

NO textbook is required to purchase for this class. Materials will be provided in class.

People expect that the main challenges involved in learning Chinese are things like characters, vocabulary, reading and writing, but they forget about the challenges presented by mispronunciation. This workshop is designed to help Chinese learners who already have at least an intermediate level of Chinese to break poor pronunciation habits and eventually master the correct pronunciation and tones of Mandarin Chinese. This workshop will not only provide a review of the Chinese sound system, but it will also help the students to overcome the difficulties and pitfalls faced by most English speakers, such as the four tones, the initials “zh/ch/sh” v.s. “j/q/x”, the initial “r”, tone-sandhi, and the final “u” v.s. “ü”, etc. Through a variety of fun class activities including group practice, games, and pronunciation drills, such as similar sound comparisons and mixed recognition exercises, this workshop aims to also help students recognize the ‘mistakes’ they commonly make and understand what they are doing ‘wrong’, compared to what they ‘should’ be doing. Throughout the course, students will receive continual and immediate feedback in class and, at the end, will be on their way towards speaking with clear and correct pronunciation and tones.

NO textbook is required to purchase for this class. Materials will be provided in class.

This five-week summer course is designed for heritage learners currently enrolled in Heritage Chinese Advanced classes at the China Institute. It also welcomes other heritage learners with high-intermediate to advanced reading proficiency. The course offers an opportunity for students to continue exploring authentic, content-based reading materials covering a wide range of cultural topics. Writing is also an important component of the curriculum.

This course is designed for learners who have at least high-intermediate proficiency in listening and speaking, a vocabulary of over 2,500 Chinese words, and a solid understanding of general Chinese grammar. Spanning five weeks, the curriculum delves into advanced grammar and vocabulary, with a special emphasis on unique aspects of spoken language and specialized vocabulary that functions within the text. Throughout the course, students will engage with a variety of intricate communication scenarios relevant to everyday life, professional settings, and socio-cultural contexts.

NO textbook is required to purchase for this class. Materials will be provided in class.

This course is designed for those who have achieved an overall high intermediate to advanced level of proficiency in the Chinese language and wish to advance their spoken fluency and sophistication. Students will be fully engaged in discussions on a variety of reading topics about China’s economy, politics, social and cultural issues.

NO textbook is required for this class. Materials will be provided in class.