Syllabus for Teaching Chinese to Speakers of Other Languages

(International Students)

School of Chinese Studies in Beijing Language and Culture University (BLCU), the first institute in China to engage in undergraduate education for overseas students,beganto recruit overseas undergraduates since 1975. The curriculum system for undergraduate education has been systematically developed after 40 years, consisting of hundreds of courses from freshman year to senior year at present,tocultivate graduates with wide scope,soundfoundation and strong capabilities.

Under the new list ofmajorsissued by the state in October 2012, School of Chinese Studies has set up the majorB.A. TeachingChineseto Speakers of Other Languagessince 2013, whichis in line withM.A. TeachingChineseto Speakers of Other Languages.

1. 1、Educational Objectives

1). To equip students with a more systematic knowledge of Chinese language as well assoundChinese communication skills.

2). To enrich students’ knowledge of Chinese culture as well as China’s national conditions and social culture.

3). To equip students with the ability of proficiency in Chinese use as well as the methods of academic researches.

4). To equip students with the ability of Chinese teaching as well as the communication andpromotionof Chinese culture.

1. 2、Study Duration and Credits

1). The study duration is 4 years, with basic Chinese learning from freshman year to sophomore year and professional learning from junior year to senior year.

2). The graduation certificate will be granted on the premise that 144 course credits at least are acquired during the four-year undergraduate studies; Extra 8 credits will be obtained if the graduation academic practice is completed, and then the bachelor's degree will be granted.

3). The compulsory weekly course schedule and required course credits for each grade of undergraduate students are as follows:

Grade	First Term （Weekly Class Hours）	Second Term（Weekly Class Hours）		Required Credits
	Chinese	Chinese	Academic Practice
Freshman Year	20	20		40
Sophomore Year	20	20		40
Junior Year	20	20		40
Senior Year	18	4	8	30

1. 3、Entrance Requirements

   Students meeting all the following requirements are qualified to be enrolled in B.A. Teaching Chinese to Speakers of Other Languages at BLCU.

1). Above or equivalent educational background of high school, with a Chinese level of HSK3 or above.

2). Be physically healthy with clear enunciation and thought.

3). Age from 18 to 50 years old.

4). Observe law and discipline with no criminal record.

1. 4、Attendance System

1). The attendance is recorded from the very first of each course.

2). Late for the class more than 5 minutes is considered as absent from one class hour. Late for the class within 5 minutes for three times is counted as absent from one class hour.

3). Self-service attendance management is implemented in this school. Sick leave and personal leave are both considered absent from the class. During one semester, if the number of missed hours reaches the number listed in the table below, then the student is disqualified from the final examination of the corresponding course.

Weekly Class Hours	10	6	4	3	2
Number of classes fordisqualification	36	22	14	11	7

4). For those who severely disrupt the classroom order, the teacher has the right to ask them to leave the classroom immediately and meanwhile those students are considered as absent from this class.

5). The final grade of the course resulted in disqualification for the final exam is 0, and no make-up examination is provided.

1. 5、Annual Assessment

The assessment is divided into two parts including achievement test and proficiency Test.

1). Semester Grades

①The final grade of a course consists of the usual performance which accounts for 30% and the final exam which accounts for 70% (or 40% for usual performance and 60% for final exam). The usual performance is grading by attendances, class behaviors, grades for classroom assessment as well as personal qualities and public morality in terms of the “Student Code of Conduct”.

②For courses with examinations, the exam grade adopts hundred-mark system and the minimum pass mark is 60; For courses without final examinations, only a “pass” and “fail” will be marked for the final result. The latter will not be taken into consideration for star pupil selection.

③For each grade, there are make-up examinations provided for compulsory courses, but none for elective courses. No specific scores for make-up examinations but only with a “pass” or “fail”. The course credits will be awarded to those who successfully pass the make-up examinations.

2). Annual Proficiency Test for HSK

①According to the requirements of Hanban, government scholarship students have to take HSK level tests every year.

②The annual assessment results must meet the following standards:

Grade	Score Requirements for HSK	Score Requirements for HSKK
Freshman Year	210 in level 4	60 in primary level
Sophomore Year	195 in level 5	60 in intermediate level
Junior Year	210 in level 5	70 in intermediate level
Senior Year	At least 180 in level 6	60 in advanced level

1. 6. Upgrading and Grade Repeating System

1).Upgrading System

Freshman Year

①、20credits should be obtained during the first semester of freshman year. Those who haveobtained16credits of compulsory courses and have passed the Elementary Comprehensive Chinese course can be admitted to the second semester, and the deficient credits must be completed during the second semester of freshman year.

②、20credits should be obtained during the second semester of freshman year. Those who have obtained16credits and have passed the Elementary Comprehensive Chinese course can be admitted to the first semester of sophomore year, and the deficient credits must be completed during the first semester of sophomore year.

③、40credits should be obtained during the two semesters of freshman year. Those who have obtained34credits and have passed the Elementary Comprehensive Chinese course during these two semesters can be admitted to the first semester of sophomore year, and the deficient credits must be completed during the first semester of sophomore year, otherwise they can’t be admitted to the second semester ofsophomore year.

Sophomore Year

①、20credits should be obtained during the first semester of sophomore year. Those who have obtained14credits can be admitted to the second semester, and the deficient credits must be completed during the second semester of sophomore year.

②、20credits should be obtained during the second semester of sophomore year. Those who have obtained14credits and have passed the Intermediate Comprehensive Chinese course can be admitted to the first semester of junior year, and the deficient credits must be completed during the first semester of junior year.

③、40credits should be obtained during the two semesters of sophomore year. Those who have obtained34credits and have passed the Intermediate Comprehensive Chinese course during these two semesters can be admitted to the first semester of junior year, and the deficient credits must be completed during the first semester of junior year, otherwise they can’t be admitted to the second semester of junior year.

Junior Year

①、20credits should be obtained during the first semester of junior year. Those who have obtained14credits can be admitted to the second semester, and the deficient credits must be completed during the second semester of junior year.

②、20credits should be obtained during the second semester of junior year. Those who have obtained14credits and have passed the Advanced Comprehensive Chinese course during these two semesters can be admitted to the first semester of senior year, and the deficient credits must be completed during the first semester of senior year.

③、40credits should be obtained during the two semesters of junior year. Those who have obtained34credits and have passed the Advanced Comprehensive Chinese course during these two semesters can be admitted to the first semester of senior year, and the deficient credits must be completed during the first semester of senior year, otherwise they can’t be admitted to the second semester of senior year.

Senior Year

①、18credits should be obtained during the first semester of senior year. Those who have obtained14credits and have passed the Advanced Comprehensive Chinese course can be admitted to the second semester, and the deficient credits must be completed during the second semester of senior year.

②、At the end of the second semester of senior year, those who successfully complete the total144credits stipulated by the academy will be granted graduation certificate.

③、A bachelor's degree will be conferred on the premise that the academic practice is qualified.

2). Grade Repeating System

Those who are not qualified forupgrading must repeat the grade until all required credits areacknowledged and all deficient credits of the same level are completed. Students can either retake or add extra courses of the same level when repeating the grade, or they can also complete4credits of elective courses of a higher level in advance. The highest score will be considered as the final grade of the retaking course (since there are two exams of the same course), counting effective credits only once.

1. 7. Course Schedule and Distribution of Credits

Compulsory Courses for Freshman

Term	Course Name	Weekly Class Hour	Credit	Required Class Hour
The First Term	Elementary Comprehensive Chinese	8	8	20
	Elementary Chinese Listening	4	4
	Elementary Chinese Reading	2	2
	Elementary Chinese Speaking	4	4
	Chinese Calligraphy/ChineseKung Fu	2	2
The Second Term	Elementary Comprehensive Chinese	8	8	20
	Elementary Chinese Listening	4	4
	Elementary Chinese Reading	2	2
	Elementary Chinese Speaking	4	4
	Chinese Reading and Writing	2	2

Compulsory Courses for Sophomore

Term	Course Name	Weekly Class Hour	Credit	Required Class Hour
For Two Terms	Intermediate Comprehensive Chinese	6	6	14
	Intermediate Chinese Listening	2	2
	Intermediate Chinese Speaking	2	2
	Intermediate Chinese Reading	2	2
	Basic Chinese Writing	2	2
20weekly class hours =14 compulsory class hours+ 6 elective class hours（see public elective courses）

Public Elective Courses for Sophomore

Term	Course Name	Weekly Class Hour	Credit	Required Class Hour
The First Term	Mandarin Pronunciation	2	2	6
	Selected Learning of Chinese Idioms	2	2
	History of Ancient China	2	2
The Second Term	Introduction to Modern Chinese Characters	2	2
	Modern and Contemporary Chinese History	2	2
For Two Terms	Human Culture and Geography in China	2	2
	Basic Chinese Culture	2	2
	Basic News Language	4	4
weekly class hours = compulsory class hours+ elective class hours

Major Compulsory Courses for Junior

Term	Course Name	Weekly Class Hour	Credit	Required Class Hour
For Two Terms	Advanced Comprehensive Chinese	6	6	14/Each Term
	Chinese Language Teaching: Theory and Practice	2	2
	Seminar: Topics on Chinese Culture	4	4
The First Term	Modern Chinese Vocabulary	2	2
The Second Term	Modern Chinese Grammar	2	2
20 weekly class hours =14 compulsory class hours+ 6 elective class hours（see public elective courses）

Public Elective Courses for Junior

Term	Course Name	Weekly Class Hour	Credit	Required Class Hour
The First Term	Chinese Modern Literature	2	2	6/Each Term
	Selected Readings of Chinese Novels	2	2
The Second Term	Chinese Contemporary Literature	2	2
	Chinese Film Appreciation	2	2
For Two Terms	Chinese Writing	2	2
	Ancient Chinese	2	2
	Spoken Idiomatic Expressions	2	2
	Audio-Visual Chinese News	2	2
	News Reading	4	4
	Ancient Chinese Literature	2	2
	China’s National Condition	2	2
	English-Chinese Translation Practice	4	4
Weekly class hours = Compulsory class hours+ Elective class hours

Major Compulsory Courses for Senior

Term	Course Name	Weekly Class Hour	Credit	Required Class Hour
The First Term	Advanced Comprehensive Chinese	6	6	14
	Contemporary Chinese Issues	4	4
	Chinese Vocabulary and Grammar Teaching	4	4
	Chinese Pronunciation and Characters Teaching	2	2
	18 weekly class hours =14 compulsory class hours+ 4 elective class hours（see public elective courses）
The Second Term	Advanced Comprehensive Chinese	4	4	12
	Academic Practice Activities	14 weeks	8

Public Elective Courses for Senior

Term	Course Name	Weekly Class Hour	Credit	Required Class Hour
The First Term	Selected Readings of Chinese Classical Literature	2	2	4
	Modern Chinese Rhetoric	2	2
	History of Cultural Exchange between China and Other Countries	2	2
	Selected Readings of Modern and Contemporary Chinese Literature	2	2
	Chinese Philosophy	2	2
	History of Chinese Art	2	2
	Folk Customs of China	2	2
	Introduction to Linguistics	2	2
Weekly class hours = Compulsory class hours (see major compulsory courses) + Elective class hours

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2. 8. Practical Language Activity Schedule

During the four-year study in BLCU, the school will arrange a series of activities for students to experience colorful Chinese language and culture. Practical language activitiesare mainly divided into two parts: language cultural experience and Chinese practice activities.

1). Activities of Language Cultural Experience

The series activities of language cultural experience are further divided into practice activities inside Beijing and outside Beijing.

The practice activities inside Beijing consist of five categories: sightseeing, visiting, performance, competitions and lectures. These kinds of activities will be arranged once or twice a month for students. By participating in these activities, freshmen who are newly arrived in Beijing will get familiar with the new life here quickly, and these activities also meet the knowledge demands of students from different grades. Meanwhile, this is also a good way that enables students to learn from visiting, to relax themselves during the process of the competitions and performances as well as to relieve their academic stress.

There are excursions and long-distance practice activities outside Beijing. The school will organize long-distance or excursion activities of language cultural experience for students from different grades in batches. Every time before departure, related teachers will explain in detail the matters needing extra attention of the language practice to students and also strengthen the education concerning the safety for students outside the campus.

There will be four parts arranged for students of each specific activity:

1. ①、To broaden students’ horizon. Lead students to travel around China to investigate the local life and customs of arrival cities, as well as to visit local scenic spots and historical sites, museums, mosques and so on;

2. ②、To enable students to have a better understanding of local situations, and todeliver a set of lectures on local politics, economy, language and culture for students with basic Chinese skills.

3. ③、To organize discussions and networking events with local college students or visit local primary and secondary schools for getting the whole picture of local education.

4. ④、All students are required to write a practice report of the activity after back to school.

   The specific contents of the language practice activity are as follows:

Activities of Language Cultural Experience
Practice inside Beijing	Sightseeing	Places such as the Capital Museum, National Museum,National Library, Huguang Guide Hall, Laoshe Teahouse, Museum of Natural History, Muslim enterprises in Beijing, China Aviation Museum, Peking Man Site at Zhoukoudian, National Centre for the Performing Arts, etc.
	Visiting	Such as the Summer Palace, the Forbidden City, the Great Wall, Temple of Heaven, Old Summer Palace, Xiangshan Park, Beijing Botanical Garden, The Imperial College, Beijing Zoo, Hutong Tour, Niujie Mosque, Grand Canal Forest Park, Yeyahu Forest Park, one-day tour of universities in Beijing, plucking in suburbs, the Longqing Gorge, Wanping Fortress, etc.
	Performance	Activities such as appreciating Peking Opera, acrobatic show, cross talk, concert, Kung Fu performance, sports event, film, stage play, etc.
	Competitions	Such as athletic meeting, long-distance race in winter, swimming contest, etc.
	Lectures	Chinese and English lectures on campus, lectures on linguistics, lectures ontraditional Chinese culture, lectures by Malaysian education officials, etc.
Practice outside Beijing	Short-haul Practice	Places such as Tianjin, Chengde, Shanxi, Henan, Shandong, Inner Mongolia, Hebei, etc.
	Long-distance Practice	Places such as Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Ningxia, Sichuan, Shanghai, Suzhou, Hangzhou, Harbin, Changchun, Shenyang, Guangxi, Jiangxi, Hunan, Hubei, Chongqing, Yunnan, etc.

The purpose of the language cultural experience activities is to enable students to broaden their horizon, acquire knowledge, deeply experience and understand Chinese culture during the colorful language practice.

2). Activities of Chinese Practice

Activities of Chinese practice mainly consist of two parts: Chinese teaching practice and graduation thesis writing.

The Chinese teaching practice is mainly arranged in junior year, which will be implemented along with the coursesof Chinese Language Teaching Theoryand Chinese Language Teaching Practice. In the first semester of junior year, the academy will organize classroom observations for students to observe the teaching activities inelementary and secondary schools, and students will learn how to set courses, evaluatetextbooks, compile teaching plans and so on. In the second semester of junior year, students have to learn to make some teaching aids in combination with Chinese Language Teaching Practice class and organize trial teaching training in class.

Graduation thesis writing will mainly be completed in the senior year. From the middle of first semester in senior year to the middle of the second semester, the academy will organize a series of lectures on graduation thesis writing for students based on the 8 credits of the practice activity on graduation thesis writing. For each student, there will be an instructor appointed to guide them to complete the final thesis (at least 5000 words) related to Chinese teaching practice according to the fixed procedures in the second semester. Those who pass the graduation thesis defense will be granted the bachelor’s degree in the end.

The purpose of Chinese practice activities is to better foster students’ teaching capacity and elementary research ability, so as to make good preparations for being a qualified Chinese language teacher in the future.