The Catholic University of America Advanced Composition and Conversation I (CHN 203) Fall, 2013 Department of Modern Languages

and Literatures Catholic University of America McGivney Hall LL011 Class Time & Classrooms: M W F: 9:40-10:30 Instructors: Yongyong Zhang E-mail: 37chang@cardinalmail.cua.edu Phone: (c) 626-461-2292

Shufen Hwang Hwang@cua.edu (o) 202-319-5240 (h) 703-848-9755

Office: McMahon 402A Office hours: M F 1:30- 2:50 and by appointment Course Description: This course is an advanced level of conversation and composition in Chinese. Students will develop proficiency in all four language skills: listening, speaking, reading, and writing on topics in the textbook and will learn how to use what they have learned in class in a culturally appropriate context to behave as if they are in the real situation. Therefore, students are required to perform a series of communicative activities and writing tasks in social situations. The typical class format will include performance of conversations, drills, questions, discussions, debates, presentations, and projects. Students need to spend about two hours on preparation before each class. Course Objectives: The course will lead you to behave appropriately and accurately as foreign speakers. This means that we expect you to know how and what to say in Chinese society to accomplish what you intend to do. You will be expected to introduce yourself in a culturally appropriate way in specific segments of Chinese society. We will coach you on how to behave in Chinese culture. Performance is the focus of this course. Goals for Student learning: At the end of the class, you will be able to do the following: 1. Read and write an article. 2. Analyze a short article and give a short presentation and a summary.

3. 4.

Participate with confidence in discussion of assigned readings. Relate the subject matter of the course to everyday life

Course Materials: A. Integrated Chinese, Level 2 Part 2 Textbook, 3rd Edition (Simplified & Traditional) by Yuehua Liu, Tao-chung Yao, Yaohua Shi, Liangyan Ge, and Nyan-Ping Bi ISBN: 9780887276880 B. Integrated Chinese, Level 2 Part 2 Workbook, 3rd Edition (Simplified & Traditional) by Yuehua Liu, Tao-chung Yao, Liangyan Ge, Yaohua Shi, and Nyan-Ping Bi ISBN: 9780887276927 C. On-line materials of Integrated Chinese are available through Blackboard or by going to the language lab. Supplementary Materials: A. Blackboard: additional announcements or materials will be released on the Blackboard. Please check it out before each class. B. Recommended Dictionary: Concise English-Chinese Chinese-English Dictionary. Compiled by A. P. Cowie, Oxford University Press, 1999. C. Website materials Pinyin: http://pinyinpractice.com/wangzhi Characters: http://www.eon.com.hk/estroke/ http://www.csulb.edu/~txie/azi/page1.htm Dictionary & Tools: http://www.yellowbridge.com/ http://www.nciku.com/ http://www.zhongwen.com http://www.chinese-tools.com Late Homework & Makeup Policy: Late homework will be accepted with a deduction of 10% each day, up to four days after the due date. No assignment will be accepted afterward. Quizzes are given at the beginning of each class. If you arrive late, you will either miss the quiz or have less time to work on it. Makeup quizzes will have a starting value of 90% of the full score, and can be given upon request up to three times throughout the semester. Makeups are also to be arranged within two days of your return to class; missed quizzes which are not made up whin the above time frame will be entered as zeroes in your grade record.

Mandatory Office Hours: In order to accommodate the needs of each student, Hwang Laoshi will hold one-on-one tutorials every Tuesday afternoon. Students will have recitation and oral interview tests with Hwang Laoshi during these 20 minute meetings. Binder & Journal: Every student will need a binder to keep all returned homework and corrections. Students should identify mistakes from all assignments, quizzes, and tests, write corrections on a loose-leaf, and return it next class. Students are encouraged to write a short essay which includes two paragraphs of 5-8 sentences, using the new patterns learned each week. The binders will be checked periodically and will receive a grade that counts toward the overall homework grade. Grade and Assignment: Homework: 10% The assignments from the workbook, assignments on Blackboard and also a grammar practice sheet for each class. There will be a grammar test for each class and a lesson test for each lesson. There will be a total of five oral tests this semester on Tuesday afternoon. Presentations: 10% There are two oral presentations this semester. Each student has 8 minutes to make a presentation in front of the class. Before the formal presentation, each student will also have an opportunity to rehearsal in class. There will be a total of six compositions. Great preparation and active participation are expected; simply showing up in class doesnt earn points. Every discussion in Discussion Board on Blackboard will be graded in the participation. Mid-term Exam: Final Exam: 15% 15% 10/21 9:40-10:15 12/02 Oral Exam 12/06 Listening Comp 12/11 Final Exam 8:00-10:00 Attend a minimum of 3 cultural activities (as approved by the instructor) and turn in a 1/2

Quiz & Lesson Test: Oral Test:

10% 10%

Compositions: Participation:

10% 15%

Cultural Activities:

5%

page report in Chinese in Blackboard within 1 week after the event. One film can be used to count for cultural credit. (Additional movies can count for extra credit.) The club meetings, language tables and soccer do not fulfill this requirement. Upcoming Departmental Events:
1. 2. 3. Thur., Sep. 5 11:00-2:00 Thur., Sep. 5 5:30-7:00 Wed., Sept. 25 7:00-8:00 Education Abroad Fair Pryz, Great Rm What Lang. Can Do For You Pryz, Great Rm How to succeed in a Foreign Lang. Pryz, Great Rm

Students may add a maximum of 3 points to their final grade for any combination of the following: 1. Perfect class attendance and performance (no absences for any reason) (+1) 2. Attendance at department sponsored events, club events, Chinese Table (1/2 pt per event but cannot overlap with cultural credits; may require written report)

The Assignment Rubric: Your grade in this course is determined not only by exams but also by performance of presentations, compositions, and participation. If you follow the courses instructions with consistency and persistence, you will do well in the course and develop significant demonstrable skills in Chinese by the end of the course. Your performance in the class will be graded on the following criteria unless indicated otherwise: A: Performance or work is fully culturally coherent: able to perform assigned materials (Dialogues, Practice, etc.) accurately, with ease and fluency; self-correct all errors; able to appropriately apply learned patterns to other contexts; a native speaker would have no difficulty, nor experience any discomfort, when speaking with you. A-: Performance or work is superior: able to perform assigned materials with fluency but with a few difficulties and errors in pronunciation, word choice and grammar; able to self-correct most errors; performance is, for the most part, culturally appropriate and coherent; a native speaker might experience some puzzlement, difficulty, or discomfort when speaking with you. B+: Performance or work is good: able to perform assigned materials but with a few persistent errors in pronunciation, vocabulary and structure; able to

self-correct some errors with help from the instructor; there are some aspects of your performance that would present some difficulties or discomfort for a native speaker. B: Performance or work presents several clear-cut sources of difficulties, discomfort, or puzzlement in communicating with a native. Unable to perform some of the assigned materials; many errors in pronunciation, vocabulary and structure; unable to self-correct and correction comes mostly from others. B-: Performance requires considerable assistance from others; unfamiliar with assigned materials; the performance would cause puzzlement that a native speaker is at a loss to resolve ("What is s/he trying to say?"). Correction requires multiple, often repeated, correction and guidance from another. C: Unfamiliar with the assigned materials. D: Present in body only; unable to perform in Chinese. F: Absent (see Attendance Policies below). Grade Scale:
B+ (3.30) A (4.00) A- (3.70) 94-100 90-93 B (3.00) B- (2.70) 87-89 84-87 80-83 C+ (2.30) C (2.00) C- (1.70) 77-79 74-76 70-73 D (1.00) F (0.00) 60-69 0-59

Attendance: This is a MLL Guideline for all language classes. In a course such as this, which stresses effective oral communication, regular and prompt attendance is necessarily MANDATORY and will be reflected in your final grade. 0 absences: 1 point extra credit will be added to your final grade 1-3 absences, no penalty (but may affect class work grade). More than 3 absences, your final grade will drop 2 points per absence and the classwork and quiz grades will also be affected. As a rule of thumb, it is numerically impossible to receive a C- (the required grade to continue to 204) after 13 (3+10) absences. Email your instructor to inform her about your absence before 5:00 pm one day before the class. Though we appreciate knowing why you are absent, your

explanation or doctors notice does not allow the policy to be waived. The 3-absence limit includes both excused and unexcused absences for reasons of school-sponsored activities (debate team, sports teams, etc.) and any other absences due to illness, family emergencies, oversleeping, jobs, etc. Exceptional cases of prolonged absences (more than one week beyond the initial 3 non-penalized absences) will be reviewed on an individual basis by your instructor. In such cases, you must make up any missed work. This policy is subject to revision in the case of a campus-wide medical emergency. Attendance also means being prepared for class. If you miss a class, you are responsible for the material covered and must be prepared to participate effectively in class the day you return. It is your responsibility to catch up for the missing work, to get handouts from the course web site on Blackboard or make photocopies from a friend, and to ask another student what you missed. Tardiness: Be respectful of your classmates and your instructor arrive on time to class. Four (4) late arrivals to class (10 minutes or more) will be counted as one (1) absence. Classes: The course is conducted in Chinese only because we consider every class is the equivalent of being in an entirely Chinese environment. However, students may ask questions in English during the last minutes of the class. The classes will usually have two major components: interactive and comprehension exercises. This means that students have to prepare for each class in order to apply the new vocabulary, grammar items, and texts in the textbook to the interactive and comprehension exercises in the class. Preparation for Classes: Students must come to class well-prepared with the assigned materials. Here is the secret to success in learning Chinese: you should plan on spending about two hours in preparation for each class. This includes studying the explanations of grammar points and culture notes in the textbook and, especially, listening to and repeating after audio and video recordings. Students will also receive weekly schedules which include detailed instructions to prepare for the class. Every class has a grammar test so students have to create sentences by using the new grammar and vocabularies listed on the practice sheet.

Blackboard: New announcements, weekly schedules and discussions will be posted on Blackboard so please read them carefully before every class. Additional course materials or assignments will also be released on Blackboard. You will receive a notice by email, and please complete every assignment before the due date. There will also be oral assignments on the voice board built into Blackboard as well. Please make sure you know how to use Blackboard. The self-training manuals: http://instructionallearning.cua.edu/blackboard/tutorials/student/ Accommodations for Students with Disabilities Any student who feels s/he may need an accommodation based on the impact of a disability should contact the instructor privately at the beginning of the semester to discuss specific needs. Please contact Disability Support Services (at 202 319-5211, Room 207 Pryzbyla Center) to obtain a letter authorizing the accommodation you need. Your instructor cannot make such accommodations without authorization and cannot make retroactive accommodations. To read about the services and policies, please visit the website: http://disabilitysupport.cua.edu . Class Etiquette 1. Please do not use your cell phones during class. Return calls and text messages outside of class. 2. 3. 4. Plan to take care of personal needs (bathroom, water, etc.) before class begins. No eating or chewing gum. Do not put your hands in your pockets when you do the dialogue performance.

Policies: Academic honesty: Academic honesty is expected of all CUA students. Please review the complete texts of the University policy regarding Student Academic Dishonesty at: http://policies.cua.edu/academicundergrad/integrityprcedures.cfm Please be aware that academic dishonesty includes, but it is not limited to: 1. Having someone else do your homework/assignment or copying someones homework/assignment 2. Using electronic translators/dictionaries without permission from the instructor 3. Copying from the internet or other written sources without due credit 4. Having someone else proof read and correct your homework/assignment