The priority of the course is given to in-depth reading of literary and academic writings in Chinese, with an emphasis on accurate comprehension, expansion of vocabulary for expressing more refined and sophisticated ideas, and development of ability to process sentences with complex structures or unfamiliar constructions. By the end of Chinese 110a, students are expected to have improved their competency in reading comprehension, increased their reading speed, achieved more advanced writing skills, and enhanced their speaking and listening skills through practice and class discussions. This course is also designed to give the students an exposure to a wide variety of topics and types of writing in Chinese. Although a fairly detailed vocabulary list is provided for each text, the students are expected to have the ability to solve ordinary language problems independently with the help of dictionaries and reference books. They are also expected to participate actively in classroom activities such as discussions and presentations.
Class meets every day.
Drills will include practice on major points of grammar and usage from the readings. You will be graded each day for class performance, which includes preparation for class as well as class participation.