Brush salesman. Shanghai, China, 2006. (Photo courtesy of Julian K. Wheatley.)
Instructor(s)
Dr. Julian K. Wheatley
MIT Course Number
21G.103
As Taught In
Fall 2005
Level
Undergraduate
Course Description
Course Features
Course Highlights
This course features the third part of a downloadable textbook, available in readings and also includes audio files of its main conversational and narrative material, all available in study materials. It can be used as the basis for a taught course, for self-instruction, or for elementary-to-intermediate review.
Course Description
This is the third of the four courses (Chinese I through IV) in MIT's regular (non-streamlined) Chinese curriculum. The four make use of the textbook, Learning Chinese: A Foundation Course in Mandarin (unpublished, but available online), to which are added various supporting materials as needs arise. The foundation level covers core grammar, linguistic culture, basic conversation, the principles of the writing system, and elementary reading. Reading is primarily in the simplified character set that is the standard on the Mainland, but also in the traditional set that is still standard in Taiwan and many overseas communities.
All four subjects in the foundation level are (Chinese I and II) or soon will be (Chinese IV) available on OCW. Students who have advanced through Chinese I and II to reach this level, as well as those entering at Chinese III, should review at least the late material in Chinese II before proceeding. To facilitate review, as well as to orient students who are new to these materials, highlights from all the units in Chinese I and II and a list of the characters formally introduced in Character lessons 1-6 are included in the readings section of this course.
Chinese Sequence on OCW
OpenCourseWare now offers a complete sequence of four Chinese language courses, covering beginning to intermediate levels of instruction at MIT. They can be used not just as the basis for taught courses, but also for self-instruction and elementary-to-intermediate review.
The four Chinese subjects provide the following materials: an online textbook in four parts, J. K. Wheatley's Learning Chinese: A Foundation Course in Mandarin; audio files of the main conversational and narrative material in this book; and syllabi and day-by-day schedules for each term.
| CHINESE COURSES | COURSE SITES |
|---|---|
| Chinese I (Fall 2014) | 21G.101/151 |
| Chinese II (Spring 2015) | 21G.102/152 |
| Chinese III (Fall 2005) | 21G.103 |
| Chinese IV (Spring 2006) | 21G.104 |