This is an introductory course in Modern Standard Chinese for students with no previous knowledge of the language. It provides integrated training in speaking, listening, reading and writing through interactive activities as well as foundation work on pronunciation, pinyin and the Chinese writing system. On completion of this unit students should have a basic level of interactive competence in Chinese and a working knowledge of approximately 300 characters to meet their immediate survival needs in everyday social situations.

This unit further develops the language skills and basic interactive competence students have acquired in Chinese 101. On completion of this unit students should have a basic level of proficiency in Chinese and a working knowledge of approximately 600 characters to meet their basic social needs.

The unit is for students who have completed Chinese 102 or the equivalent. It further develops students' interactive competence in speaking, listening, reading and writing to meet their general social needs in a Chinese environment. On completing this unit students should be able to interact with native Chinese speakers on everyday topics in familiar settings and know approximately 900 characters.

This unit further develops students' language skills acquired in Chinese 201 to a level of proficiency to satisfy their general social needs. While students' aural and oral skills are further developed, greater emphasis is placed on reading and writing. On completing the unit students should have a working knowledge of approximately 1200 characters.

This unit is normally offered in Autumn semester. This is an intermediate unit for students majoring in one of Arabic, Chinese, French, German, Italian, Japanese or Spanish. It is normally taken concurrently with Language 201. It aims to develop speaking and listening skills, on the basis of intermediate level grammatical structures, towards more sophisticated communicative transactions ranging from casual to formal styles of speech. This unit presents aspects of oral contemporary culture and society of the country (or countries) where the language is spoken. Cultural and social understanding is also fostered through research work on specific cultural or social aspects that are of interest to the student.

This unit is normally offered in Spring semester. This is an intermediate unit for students majoring in one of Arabic, Chinese, French, German, Italian, Japanese or Spanish. It is normally taken concurrently with Language 202. It provides an extension of reading comprehension, and writing skills over a range of written registers. The content for reading and writing activities is selected from contemporary materials e.g. magazines, short stories as well as websites. This unit also fosters cultural and social understanding by presenting aspects of contemporary cultures and societies which use the language as well as through research work on specific socio-cultural aspects that are of interest to the student.

This unit builds on the language skills and cultural understanding acquired through Chinese 101-202, and further develops students' proficiency in both spoken and written Chinese. It focuses on the ability to sustain conversations on familiar topics and express opinions, and the ability to use different reading skills and strategies for different purposes. Some authentic materials are used in order to enhance students' understanding of the language in its cultural context, and their ability to interact in similar settings.

This unit further develops students' proficiency in both spoken and written Chinese acquired in Chinese 301, with an emphasis on oral expression, reading and writing skills. It enhances students' ability to interact with native speakers in both spoken and written Chinese in various situations, and expands their understanding of Chinese culture. Some authentic materials are used in order to enhance students' understanding of the language in its cultural context and their ability to interact in similar settings.

This is an advanced unit for students majoring in one of the following languages: Arabic, Chinese, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Spanish or Vietnamese. Lectures are held in English for students of all languages. The tutorials are language-specific. This unit aims to develop a practical and theoretical understanding of the ways in which major concepts used in everyday speech and writing are mapped and organized in the lexicon and the grammar of human languages, and how these forms develop in learners and users.

This unit introduces students to modern and contemporary Chinese literature in the Chinese language. It includes a brief overview of Twentieth-century Chinese literature, and exposes students to a variety of literary genres. Students are expected to work individually and in groups in order to analyse, evaluate and critique these works, whose social and cultural context is integral to understanding them. This process will not only increase students' understanding and appreciation of Twentieth-century Chinese literature, but it will also develop their critical thinking skills.

This unit introduces students to Chinese classical literature in the Chinese language. It includes a brief overview of Chinese classical literature and exposes students to the prose, poetry, drama and fiction genres of Chinese classical works from the Han dynasty to the Qing dynasty. Through selected readings, students will gain some knowledge of the stylistic and linguistic features of classical prose and develop skills in reading classical Chinese. Students will also develop an understanding of the Chinese literary tradition and an appreciation of the continuing relevance of classical Chinese in contemporary China.

This unit offers a brief review of Chinese film and introduces some of the best Chinese-language productions of the last two decades from mainland China and Taiwan. Students will be required to work individually and in groups to critique the social and moral issues raised in these films. They will also consider the historical context from which these films emerged. This process will develop a deeper understanding of Chinese society and the lives of Chinese people of different eras. It will also enhance students' appreciation of Chinese cultural identity and moral values.

This unit introduces students to the heritage of Chinese philosophical thought, and briefly traces its historical development. Students read selected works of prominent Chinese thinkers in their original versions, or in modern Chinese or English versions. They are expected to interpret these works in their Chinese context as well as from a western perspective. Students will develop an understanding of the part the various schools of philosophy have played in forming the cultural identity and social reality of traditional and contemporary China. The unit is conducted in Chinese.

This unit provides a brief overview of Chinese culture and examines the cultural interchanges of which it has been a part throughout history. Students will analyse the effects of these cultural contacts, both positive and negative. They will also evaluate and critique relevant cultural issues, from a comparative perspective. This process will increase students' understanding of the cultural identity of China, and it will also enable them to appreciate the importance of outside cultural influences, thereby reinforcing an open and mature attitude towards multiculturalism. The unit will be conducted in Chinese.

This is an optional level 3 core unit for the major in Arabic, Japanese, Chinese, Spanish, and Italian, within the BA Languages Key Program. It also constitutes part of the linguistics major and sub-major. It can also be taken as an elective. This is a language-specific unit intended to develop the students’ awareness of language usage issues which may have an impact on intercultural communication and, therefore, on cultural stereotyping as well as other real life interests, such as business relationships and professional performance. It covers issues such as the relationship between culture and language use, ingroup-outgroup relationships, speech acts across cultures, politeness in text and discourse, miscommunication and stereotyping.

This is primarily a self-study unit designed to cater for a special area of interest in languages and/or linguistics not otherwise covered in the units on offer in the languages Key Program and where the student may otherwise find it difficult to complete his or her program of study. Once the student is approved by the Head of Program to undertake such study a supervisor is nominated and an individually-tailored learning contract, which will include appropriate language-specific readings and tasks, is drawn up in collaboration with the supervisor and is submitted to the Head of Program for approval.