Chinese for Beginners

Product type

Chinese for Beginners

Coursera (CC)
Logo Coursera (CC)
Provider rating: starstarstarstar_halfstar_border 7.2 Coursera (CC) has an average rating of 7.2 (out of 6 reviews)

Need more information? Get more details on the site of the provider.

Description

When you enroll for courses through Coursera you get to choose for a paid plan or for a free plan

  • Free plan: No certicification and/or audit only. You will have access to all course materials except graded items.
  • Paid plan: Commit to earning a Certificate—it's a trusted, shareable way to showcase your new skills.

About this course: Nowadays, there is an increasing number of people who are interested in Chinese culture and language. And it is useful to know about the language when coming to China for travel or business. This is an ABC Chinese course for beginners, including introduction of phonetics and daily expressions. After taking this class, learners can have a basic understanding of Chinese Mandarin and make basic conversations of daily living such as exchanging personal information, talking about daily arrangements and food, asking about price, introducing the city and the weather, telling your hobbies etc. Selected topics and situations come from real life scenarios and can be used for ev…

Read the complete description

Frequently asked questions

There are no frequently asked questions yet. If you have any more questions or need help, contact our customer service.

Didn't find what you were looking for? See also: Chinese, German Language, French, Portuguese, and Italian.

When you enroll for courses through Coursera you get to choose for a paid plan or for a free plan

  • Free plan: No certicification and/or audit only. You will have access to all course materials except graded items.
  • Paid plan: Commit to earning a Certificate—it's a trusted, shareable way to showcase your new skills.

About this course: Nowadays, there is an increasing number of people who are interested in Chinese culture and language. And it is useful to know about the language when coming to China for travel or business. This is an ABC Chinese course for beginners, including introduction of phonetics and daily expressions. After taking this class, learners can have a basic understanding of Chinese Mandarin and make basic conversations of daily living such as exchanging personal information, talking about daily arrangements and food, asking about price, introducing the city and the weather, telling your hobbies etc. Selected topics and situations come from real life scenarios and can be used for everyday communications. In addition to the dialogues, the selection of reading materials and practice activities will make the content as rich and varied as possible, in order to stimulate the learners’ interests. This is an elementary course on Chinese speaking. The learners don’t need to study Chinese characters, so it is easier to follow and complete this course.

Created by:  Peking University
  • Taught by:  Xiaoyu Liu, Associate Professor

    School of Chinese as A Second Language, Peking University
Commitment 6 hours of videos and quizzes Language English, Subtitles: French, Ukrainian, Serbian, Greek, Portuguese (Brazilian), Vietnamese, Urdu, Russian, Hebrew, Spanish, Marathi How To Pass Pass all graded assignments to complete the course. User Ratings 4.6 stars Average User Rating 4.6See what learners said Trabajo del curso

Cada curso es como un libro de texto interactivo, con videos pregrabados, cuestionarios y proyectos.

Ayuda de tus compañeros

Conéctate con miles de estudiantes y debate ideas y materiales del curso, y obtén ayuda para dominar los conceptos.

Certificados

Obtén reconocimiento oficial por tu trabajo y comparte tu éxito con amigos, compañeros y empleadores.

Peking University Peking University is determined to make its education openly accessible to students in China and around the world. With over 3000 faculty members, Peking University offers excellence in teaching and learning. Founded in 1898, Peking University (PKU) was the first national comprehensive university in China. For the past 115 years, with its hundreds of thousands of outstanding alumni, Peking University has made prominent contributions in the humanities and sciences to further China's prosperity and progress.

Syllabus


WEEK 1


Who Are You?
When we first meet someone, we need to learn about each other. In this module, we are going to learn some ways to introduce yourself, including name, nationality, identity, and discussing your family. We are also going to study Chinese Mandarin phonetics.


5 videos, 13 readings expand


  1. Video: Welcome to "Chinese for beginners"
  2. Video: Lecture: What is Your Name?
  3. Leyendo: Extended Exercise: What is Your Name?
  4. Leyendo: Additional Information: Chinese Mandarin(普通话)
  5. Leyendo: Self-study Video—Tones and Simple Finals
  6. Video: Lecture: Where Are You From?
  7. Leyendo: Extended Exercise: Where Are You From?
  8. Leyendo: Additional Information: Chinese Pinyin(汉语拼音简介)
  9. Leyendo: Self-study Video—Initials
  10. Video: Lecture: Are You a Student?
  11. Leyendo: Extended Exercise: Are You a Student?
  12. Leyendo: Additional Information: Spelling Rules of Pinyin(汉语拼音拼写规则)
  13. Leyendo: Self-study Video—Compound Finals
  14. Video: Lecture: Who is He/She?
  15. Leyendo: Extended Exercise: Who is He/She?
  16. Leyendo: Readings
  17. Leyendo: Review: Who are You?
  18. Leyendo: Self-study Video—Finals with Nasal Endings

Graded: What is your name?
Graded: Where are you from?
Graded: Are you a student?
Graded: Who is he/she?

WEEK 2


When Do You Go To School?
How do you plan your daily life? In this module, we are going to learn how to describe our daily schedule, including numbers, time, periods, and some corresponding actions.


4 videos, 4 readings expand


  1. Video: Lecture: Can You Count?
  2. Video: Lecture: What Time is it Now?
  3. Leyendo: Extended Exercise: What Time is it Now?
  4. Video: Lecture: Morning or Afternoon?
  5. Leyendo: Extended Exercise: Morning or Afternoon?
  6. Video: Lecture: Do You Have a Busy Life?
  7. Leyendo: Extended Exercise: Do You Have a Busy Life?
  8. Leyendo: Review: When Do You Go To School?

Graded: Numbers
Graded: Time (1): O'clock
Graded: Time (2): Periods
Graded: Daily Arrangements

WEEK 3


What Do You Like to Eat?
Food is our most important need. In this module, we are going to talk about Chinese main courses, fruits, vegetables and meat, as well as drinks. Have you seen or tried any of these Chinese dishes? Maybe you have already learned to say them in Chinese!


4 videos, 5 readings expand


  1. Video: Lecture: Do You Like Dumplings?
  2. Leyendo: Extended Exercise: Do You Like Dumplings?
  3. Video: Lecture: I Like Apples.
  4. Leyendo: Extended Exercise: I Like Apples.
  5. Video: Lecture: I Like Chicken.
  6. Leyendo: Extended Exercise: I Like Chicken.
  7. Video: Lecture: Do You Want a Cup of Tea?
  8. Leyendo: Extended Exercise: Do You Want a Cup of Tea?
  9. Leyendo: Review: What Do You Like to Eat?

Graded: Main Courses
Graded: Fruits
Graded: Vegetables and Meat
Graded: Drinks

WEEK 4


I Like Shopping!



Shopping! Shopping! Some people love to go shopping, while others feel it is a headache. Still, shopping is an essential part of our life. In this module, we are going to learn how to express our color and size preference, how to ask about price, and how to bargain. Do you know what the most popular color is in your country? How about in China?


4 videos, 5 readings expand


  1. Video: Lecture: What is Your Favorite Color?
  2. Leyendo: Extended Exercise: What is Your Favorite Color?
  3. Video: Lecture: This is Too Big.
  4. Leyendo: Extended Exercise: This is Too Big.
  5. Video: Lecture: How Much is This?
  6. Leyendo: Extended Exercise: How Much is This?
  7. Video: Lecture: It’s Too Expensive!
  8. Leyendo: Extended Exercise: It’s Too Expensive!
  9. Leyendo: Review: I Like Shopping!

Graded: Colors
Graded: Sizes
Graded: Prices
Graded: Learn to Bargain

WEEK 5


Do You Live in a Big City?



Do you live in a big city or a small town? How do you get to work or school every day? In this module, we are going to learn how to give directions and how to speak about transportation. This module is valuable in case you need to talk about directions with a Chinese friend or you need to go somewhere when you are in China.


4 videos, 2 readings expand


  1. Video: Lecture: I Go To Work By Car.
  2. Video: Lecture: Is There a Supermarket Near Here?
  3. Video: Lecture: The Bank is on the Left.
  4. Video: Lecture: How Do I Get to the Underground Station?
  5. Leyendo: Extended Exercise: How Do I Get to the Underground Station?
  6. Leyendo: Review: Do You Live in a Big City

Graded: Transportation
Graded: Public Places
Graded: Locations and Directions
Graded: Ask For Directions

WEEK 6


How About the Weather?



Weather can influence our daily life and personal health. In this module, we are going to talk about temperature, seasons, and personal health. China is a very big country and the weather can be quite different across regions and seasons; we will learn to talk about all sorts of weather.


4 videos, 2 readings expand


  1. Video: Lecture: What is the Temperature Today?
  2. Video: Lecture: Is it Cold in January?
  3. Video: Lecture: I Like Spring.
  4. Video: Lecture: I Caught a Cold.
  5. Leyendo: Extended Exercise: I Caught a Cold.
  6. Leyendo: Review: How About the Weather?

Graded: Temperature
Graded: Time (3): Months
Graded: Seasons
Graded: Health

WEEK 7


What is Your Hobby?



What do you like to do in your spare time? We have so many choices nowadays and lead such colorful lives. In this module, we are going to talk about weekday pastimes, sports, TV programs, and some other activities related to the internet, reading, music, and travel!


4 videos, 3 readings expand


  1. Video: Lecture: What Day is it Today?
  2. Video: Lecture: I Like Swimming.
  3. Video: Lecture: I Watch TV News Everyday.
  4. Video: Lecture: We Can Do a Lot of Things on the Internet.
  5. Leyendo: Extended Exercise: We Can Do a Lot of Things on the Internet.
  6. Leyendo: Review: What is Your Hobby?
  7. Leyendo: Chinese for Beginners-Notes in English

Graded: Time (4): Weeks
Graded: Sports
Graded: TV Programs
Graded: Internet, Books, Music, and Travel
There are no reviews yet.
  • View related products with reviews: Chinese.

Share your review

Do you have experience with this course? Submit your review and help other people make the right choice. As a thank you for your effort we will donate $1.- to Stichting Edukans.

There are no frequently asked questions yet. If you have any more questions or need help, contact our customer service.