This Course at MIT

This Course at MIT pages are part of the OCW Educator initiative, which seeks to enhance the value of OCW for educators.

Course Overview

This page focuses on the course 21G.101 Chinese I (Regular) as it was taught by Haohsiang Liao in Fall 2014.

This subject is the first semester of four that forms an introduction to modern standard Chinese. The course presupposes no prior background in the language. The relationship between Chinese language and culture and the sociolinguistically appropriate use of language is stressed throughout the course. Typical class formats include performance of memorized basic conversations, drills, questions and discussion, and various types of communicative exercises.

Course Outcomes

Course Goals for Students

  • Master Mandarin pronunciation, including the recognition and writing of Pinyin romanization
  • Develop basic reading and writing skills (around 150 characters in the traditional character set or the simplified set)
  • Develop the ability to participate in simple, practical conversations on everyday topics
 

Meet the Educator

 
An image of instructor Haohsiang Liao taken from an interview in which he is seated in her office.

In the following video, Haohsiang Liao describes his role at MIT and shares how he became interested in teaching Chinese.

Meet the Educator

 

Instructor Insights

Besides language proficiency, we also extend our attention to [students’] behavioral culture [because] we feel it is a central component of successful communication in a second culture.

—Haohsiang Liao

In the following videos, Haohsiang Liao describes various aspects of how he teaches 21G.101 Chinese I (Regular).

View in English:

View in Chinese:

 

 

Curriculum Information

Prerequisites

None

Requirements Satisfied

GIR

Offered

Every fall semester

The Classroom

  • 18 tablet desks arranged in rows of 6. Blackboards on the front and side walls.

    Room 1 of 1

    Seminar

    Class sessions were held in a typical classroom with tablet chairs, blackboards, and A/V equipment.

 

Assessment

The students' grades were based on the following activities:

The color used on the preceding chart which represents the percentage of the total grade contributed by attendance. 60% Daily classroom performance (including performance of basic conversations, participation in class activities, quizzes and/or homework)
The color used on the preceding chart which represents the percentage of the total grade contributed by class participation. 5% Oral Report
The color used on the preceding chart which represents the percentage of the total grade contributed by in-class reports. 25% Review Tests
The color used on the preceding chart which represents the percentage of the total grade contributed by essay assignments. 10% Final Oral Interview

Instructor Insights on Assessment

Grades in the course were largely determined by classroom performance. Among the numerous reasons for this emphasis, the main one is that we are convinced that if students follow the course with consistency and persistence, they will develop significant demonstrable skills in Chinese by the end of the semester.

 

Student Information

Approximately 40 students took this course in Fall 2014

Breakdown by Major

Variety of majors, typically including one or two graduate students from the MIT Sloan School of Management.

Typical Student Background

MIT does not have a foreign language requirement. Students who take this course do so because they understand that learning a foreign language has value. Some take the course to fulfill a personal interest. Others are interested in participating in the MIT-China Program and want to develop their language skills in preparation for an internship or study abroad experience. Others are interested in majoring or minoring in Chinese.

Enrollment Cap

There are four sections of the course, with enrollment in each section limited to 16 students.

 

Rubric

Daily performance on the activities assigned in the weekly schedule are graded based on the following four-point scale:

POINTS DESCRIPTIONS
4 Performance that promises interaction with a native with no difficulty, discomfort, or misunderstanding; no English hesitation noises in speaking and no "foreignisms" in the written work.
3.5 Performance comprehensible to native speakers, but with some non-patterned errors that would hinder smooth interaction with them.
3 Performance comprehensible to a native, but with evident weakness or patterned errors.
2.5 Communication requires much help from interlocutor.
2 Performance puts burden on interlocutor. To facilitate communication, a Chinese-speaking native would probably avoid using Chinese with you.
1.5 Barely prepared; little competency evident.
1 Evidently unprepared; unable to perform.
0 Absent.

How Student Time Was Spent

During an average week, students were expected to spend 12 hours on the course, roughly divided as follows:

In Class

4 hours per week
  • Met 4 times per week for 1 hour per session; 50 sessions total.
  • Class sessions were conducted entirely in Chinese.
  • Typical class sessions included performance of memorized basic conversations, drills, questions and discussions, and various types of communicative exercises.
 

Out of Class

8 hours per week
  • Textbook review
  • Listening to and repeating after audio recordings
  • Written homework
  • Quiz and exam preparation
 

Semester Breakdown

WEEK M T W Th F
1 No classes throughout MIT. No classes throughout MIT. No session scheduled. Class Meeting and Office Hours scheduled. Class Meeting scheduled.
2 Class Meeting scheduled. Class Meeting scheduled. No session scheduled. Class Meeting and Office Hours scheduled. A Class Meeting and a quiz were scheduled.
3 A Class Meeting and a quiz were scheduled. A Class Meeting and an Exam were scheduled. No session scheduled. Class Meeting and Office Hours scheduled. No classes throughout MIT.
4 Class Meeting scheduled. A Class Meeting and a quiz were scheduled. No session scheduled. Class Meeting and Office Hours scheduled. Class Meeting scheduled.
5 A Class Meeting and a quiz were scheduled. Class Meeting scheduled. No session scheduled. A Class Meeting and an Exam were scheduled. Class Meeting scheduled.
6 Class Meeting scheduled. A Class Meeting and a quiz were scheduled. No session scheduled. Class Meeting and Office Hours scheduled. Class Meeting scheduled.
7 No classes throughout MIT. A Class Meeting and a quiz were scheduled. No session scheduled. Class Meeting and Office Hours scheduled. A Class Meeting and an Exam were scheduled.
8 Class Meeting scheduled. Class Meeting scheduled. No session scheduled. A Class Meeting and a quiz were scheduled. Class Meeting scheduled.
9 Class Meeting scheduled. A Class Meeting and a quiz were scheduled. No session scheduled. Class Meeting and Office Hours scheduled. A Class Meeting and an oral report were scheduled.
10 A Class Meeting and an Exam were scheduled. Class Meeting scheduled. No session scheduled. Class Meeting and Office Hours scheduled. A Class Meeting and a quiz were scheduled.
11 No classes throughout MIT. No classes throughout MIT. No session scheduled. Class Meeting and Office Hours scheduled. Class Meeting scheduled.
12 A Class Meeting and a quiz were scheduled. Class Meeting scheduled. No session scheduled. A Class Meeting and an Exam were scheduled. Class Meeting scheduled.
13 Class Meeting scheduled. Class Meeting scheduled. No session scheduled. No classes throughout MIT. No classes throughout MIT.
14 A Class Meeting and a quiz were scheduled. Class Meeting scheduled. No session scheduled. Class Meeting and Office Hours scheduled. A Class Meeting and a quiz were scheduled.
15 Final Oral Interview was scheduled. Final Oral Interview was scheduled. No session scheduled. No classes throughout MIT. No classes throughout MIT.
16 No classes throughout MIT. No classes throughout MIT. No classes throughout MIT. No classes throughout MIT. No classes throughout MIT.
Displays the color and pattern used on the preceding table to indicate dates when classes are not held at MIT. No classes throughout MIT
Displays the color used on the preceding table to indicate dates when class meetings sessions are held. Class Meeting
Displays the color used on the preceding table to indicate dates when oral reports are held. Oral Reports
Displays the symbol used on the preceding table to indicate dates when office hours are held. Office Hours
Displays the color used on the preceding table to indicate dates when no class session is scheduled. No class session scheduled
Displays the color used on the preceding table to indicate dates when final oral reports are held. Final Oral Reports
Displays the symbol used on the preceding table to indicate dates when quizzes are held. Quiz
Displays the symbol used on the preceding table to indicate dates when exams are held.Exams