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Chinese (Mandarin) - Beginners

Course code: LSAV076P

Subject area: Languages

Study level: Part Time

Course level: U

Course details

Course time:

18:30 - 20:30

Days of week:

Tuesday

Course date:

29th Apr 2025 - 8th Jul 2025

Course location:

Abingdon Campus

Contact details

Phone:

01235 555 585

This is a continuation course at Beginners level from a 10-week beginners A course and a 10-week beginners B course; it opens for all who consider themselves competent at this level. The main emphasis will be on speaking (Mainly pinyin based) and listening including some relevant cultural information.

Although the writing of the characters is not the most emphasised element at this level, we will go through some basic writing techniques. You will also begin to learn some grammatical concepts, but this will be kept to a minimum.

This is a course with fun in mind. The main aim is to help you to begin and to continue to 'get by' in the language. The emphasis will be on speaking (mainly Pinyin based) and listening, also some relevant cultural information. You will learn some very basic ideas of the language and start to learn how to build sentences with encouragement from an enthusiastic tutor.

The topics mainly are:

- Continue basic Language knowledge: Pronunciation rules

- Continue basic Character study: Strokes sequel

- Ask and tell time.

- Weather talk.

- Shopping.

- How did you travel?

If you are to gain maximum benefit and enjoyment from your language class, it will be useful to spend some time working between sessions. There will usually be a small amount of homework set each week .

The course will equip you with some knowledge on the Chinese characters. We will also introduce some culture/traditions alongside the Chinese festivals, and some common sayings and Idiom.

Please note due to half term there will be no teaching on 27th May 2025.

Abingdon and Witney College is subject to Ofsted regulation and is required to work with all its students to make sure they understand Government initiatives around Safeguarding, Prevent and Fundamental British Values. Information on these matters will be shared with you during your course.

You will also be asked to complete monitoring paperwork, which helps us to deliver course content to the highest quality.

What next?
Chinese (Mandarin) - Improvers
Entry criteria
There are no formal entry requirements. This is a course for those who have already studied the language for about 20 hours or have picked up a little on holidays or business trips.

Courses can fill fast, so please enrol early to avoid disappointment. Decisions on whether a course is to run are made two weeks prior to the start date - an email will be sent to you should there be changes to your course or if it is cancelled. Please check your inbox leading up to your course, including the junk folders. For anyone without an email account, our Admissions team will phone you instead.

For the first week of the course you will need to bring a valid form of identification; this includes passport, driving licence, debit/credit card, Birth Certificate or National Insurance card.

Please note - you should be 19 years old or over at 31st August 2024 prior to starting the course.

Fee information
If you are new to the course you will need to purchase a standard course book (HSK1), which normally costs around £25. You will also need to buy a small dictionary if you haven't already got one.

Courses offered by the college are fully or partly funded by the Government and the published fee takes account of this funding.

Before starting a course, the College is required to check you meet conditions relating to that funding, e.g. age, residency status within the UK/EEA, prior qualification level and employment status. In some circumstances (such as with online enrolments), these checks can only be completed after you have enrolled and paid.

If you are unable to pay in full for this course at the time of enrolment, and the course tuition fee is £300 or more, an instalment plan is available. If this is your preference, please do not enrol online but rather call the Admissions Team on 01235 216400 to enrol.

Once enrolled, Admissions will take the first instalment payment from you and pass on your details to the Finance team who will email you to set-up your payment plan. Please return a fully completed instalment plan to Finance as failure to do so could result in being withdrawn from your course.

The rules on fee reduction are complicated, we would encourage you to talk to our Admissions Team on 01235 216400 to discuss these options. You can find more information on our Fees and Bursaries page - search "Fees and Bursaries" at the top of the page.

Course fees

19+ Fee:

Tuition Fee: £192.00

Exam Fee: £0.00

Books: £25.00

Total Cost: £217.00

19+ Reduced Fee:

Tuition Fee: £96.00

Exam Fee: £0.00

Books: £25.00

Total Cost: £121.00

Qualifications received
As this is a non-accredited course, there is no formal qualification. However, you will be asked to complete activities that demonstrate how you are progressing on your course.
Learning & method assessment
- Course book and workbook

- Digital tools – online quizzes & activities

- Tutor demonstration and repetition, classroom interactive activities - pair work and group work

- Independent learning: homework/digital learning

- Informal on going assessment via Q&A, digital online quizzes, and audio tools. Peer assessment.

As this is a non-accredited course, there is no formal qualification. To track your progress and achievement you will be required to complete a short document.