Chinese 1 - 6

Mandarin Chinese, the national language of China, is spoken by approximately one-fourth of the world's population. It is a language rich in cultural tradition. It is a member of the Sino-Tibetan language family and is quite different from the Indo-European languages. Mandarin Chinese is a tonal language. Moreover, it utilizes a script that is both ancient and revealing. Because of these differences, it offers a unique challenge to the language learner. At Washington Academy of Languages, our goal is to enable the student both to meet this challenge and to be able to communicate effectively in Chinese.

The basic approach of our program is to emphasize the use of practical spoken Chinese. The program prepares the student with the skills needed to function in China. By focusing on practical language usage, students are able to actively participate in situations which they can expect to encounter in their travels. Throughout the course, listening and speaking are stressed and the student has ample opportunity to take part in classroom discussions. The small class size also promotes this opportunity and allows the instructor to give individual attention to each student.

Each class session is divided into two distinct parts: communicative and explanatory. The communicative segment is the substance of the course. It consists of conversations about common situations among individuals, problem-solving activities, and spontaneous discussions. The explanatory segment consists of grammar explanation, pronunciation practice and exercises. Cultural facts about life in China are also included in the subject matter. The two components are kept distinct because of our commitment to speaking the language in the classroom. Because the written script is so intimately a part of the Chinese culture, it is introduced early in the program; the simplified characters are taught. Therefore, the student gains facility in speaking and listening, as well as reading and writing Chinese characters.

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