EALC 204 (Chinese III )

Spring 2008 EALC 204 (Chinese III )

Instructor: Nansong Huang Office: THH 356F; THH 356 (mailbox) Phone: (213) 821-1263 E-mail: [email protected]

Texts: 1. Liu, Yao, Shi, & Bi. Integrated Chinese, Level 2: Textbook ( Second Edition ). Boston, MA: Cheng & Tsui Company. 2. Liu, Yao, Shi, & Bi. Integrated Chinese, Level 2: Workbook( Second Edition ). Boston, MA: Cheng & Tsui Company.

Course Objectives: To consolidate the foundation which students have built in Chinese I and Chinese II and to develop language and cultural studies further. At the end of the semester, students are expected to be competent in the following areas: a) Listening and speaking: Ability to initiate a dialogue and converse with a Mandarin speaker on simple topics of daily life with relative ease, as well as to formulate and understand structurally more complicated sentences; Ability to gather the general ideas within a paragraph-length speech, as well as to narrate and describe with a paragraph-length discourse on familiar subjects; b) Reading and writing: Ability to understand short essays, and to produce compositions for the length of several paragraphs;

Class Meetings: 1. It is essential to prepare for each class in advance. In class, students are expected to have already studied the new vocabulary and understood the general idea of the relevant text. Active participation in classroom activities is expected. In addition to the discussion of materials from the textbook, classroom activities include practice of vocabulary and patterns, simulated activities and group-based tasks. Please note that lack of preparation and participation in classroom activities will definitely affect the final grade. 2. Attendance is an essential course requirement. If for any reason you cannot come to class, you must inform the instructor in advance and provide supporting documents (such as a doctor's note) to be excused. Frequent absences without legitimate reasons will affect your grade. For every 8 hours you are absent from class without any legitimate reasons, you will be downgraded by 1 level (e.g. from an A to an A-). If you miss 40% or more of total class time during the semester, you will automatically receive an F, regardless of your performance in the class. 3. Please come to class on time. Arriving 10 minutes late or leaving 10 minutes early will be considered as an absence. . 4. Course syllabus, Daily Schedule, all announcements and handouts will be posted at http://blackboard.usc.edu . The instructor is not responsible for students not being informed of

1 Spring 2008 homework or not receiving the handouts due to absence from checking the website. 5. Please turn off your cellular phones in the classroom.

Quizzes and tests: 1. There are two pre-lesson quizzes and one post-lesson test for each lesson. Pre-lesson quizzes are short quizzes on vocabulary, which will be administered at the beginning of the first-half lesson and the second-half lesson. The post-lesson test is a review test following completion of each lesson. 2. One section in a post-lesson test requires writing characters. In other sections, both characters and pinyin (including correct tones) are acceptable. 3. Be sure to be on time for quizzes/tests. Quizzes/tests missed will be graded as zero point. If any students miss the listening comprehension part in the beginning of a test, it will not be repeated. 4. The pre-lesson quizzes and post-lesson tests not taken at the scheduled time may be made up only if advance arrangement has been made with your instructor, or if a documented emergence is received. Please note make-ups will have 20% taken off the initial marks for pre-lesson quizzes and 10% off for post-lesson tests. Make-ups for pre-lesson quizzes must be completed within 3 days. Make-ups for post- lesson tests must be completed within a week.

Oral Evaluation: 1. There are one mid-term oral evaluation and one final presentation (before the final exam). 2. The mid-term oral evaluation involves performing a dialogue with another student. Several topics will be given one week before the evaluation. In the oral evaluation, one of these topics will be randomly assigned to a pair of students who will perform a dialogue on the topic. Students will be evaluated on the fulfillment of the task. 3. The final presentation can be a group project involving two or three students. The script for the presentation should be typed and submitted one week before the scheduled presentation time. Discussion of the script with the instructor is required before the oral presentation. Time for each presentation is around 3-4 minutes per person. The presentation should be accompanied by effective use of visual aids (photographs, video, drawings, maps, etc.). Students will be evaluated on their command of the sentence patterns and vocabulary taught during the semester, as well as on the originality of their presentations. After the presentation, the group will also lead a short discussion on the topic presented (such as asking the audience relevant questions).

Mid-term and final written examinations: 1. One mid-term and one final written exam. 2. Documented emergencies qualify for make-ups for mid-term and final exams with 10% off the initial marks awarded.

Assignments: 1. Regular assignments a. Character writing practice: You are required to write each Chinese word in the vocabulary list 5 times and also write once the pinyin and meaning in English for each word. b. Homework from the workbook. Please note: 1) The exercises must be completed in Chinese characters .

2 Spring 2008 2) The listening sections require audiotapes/CD that can be ordered on-line at http://www.usc.edu/go/language. The audio files are also accessible on-line at the same web site, free of charge. c. Speaking Exercises: At the end of each lesson will be an e-exercise providing speaking opportunities for each student to practice new materials carefully and solidly at their own pace. Please note that it will not be available 7 days after the deadline.

2. a. Assignments (Character writing and homework) turned in a week after the due date will be accepted with 50% off the initial points awarded. b. Assignments more than a week late will NOT be accepted. c. Carelessly written assignment, incomplete assignment or assignment with too many errors will be returned without any points. d. After your assignments are graded and returned to you, you may make corrections and resubmit them within two workdays to be regraded. (Note: the resubmitted assignments will be awarded with the addition of 70% of the points increased to the grade initially earned.)

The Language Center and useful web resources: 1. There are textbook/workbook CD’s and audiotapes, videotapes, and computer software in the Language Center (THH 3rd floor). Serious efforts should be made to take full advantage of the available audio/video materials and computer software. 2. Chinese III students enjoy first priority in the use of the computers at the Language Center. Students who use the computers at the Language Center to type their assignments should bring their own zip disks. Files saved in the hard disks at the center will be deleted and lost. 3. Students are strongly encouraged and occasionally required to visit our web site at http://www.usc.edu/schools/college/ealc/chinese/, which contains valuable learning materials (such as progressive reading projects) and provides links to other related web sites.

More fun projects: 1. Extra credit: If you are interested in earning an extra credit in the range of 0.5%-2% added to your final grade, you can initiate and complete a special project, after consultation with your instructor. Such a project must be of semester-long efforts. The credit will be awarded according to the merit of the project. To begin such a project, you must meet with your instructor by 01/31/2008 (Thursday) to decide on the topic and plan. The special project should be completed and submitted by 05/01/2008 (Thursday). It should be typed and include related pictures.

2. Field trip: A field trip may be organized (details to be provided later in class).

Addendum * Academic Integrity and Plagiarism: University policies concerning academic dishonesty will be strictly enforced, and students are responsible for familiarizing themselves with these policies. Plagiarism and/or cheating on exams are subject to the sanctions set forth in the Student Conduct Code and may include expulsion or suspension from the university. For a detailed description of plagiarism and other types of academic dishonesty and the sanctions pertaining thereto, the student is referred to the 2005 Scampus. The student publication, "Guide to Avoiding Plagiarism" (http://www.usc.edu/student- affairs/student-conduct/ug_plag.htm) may also prove helpful. * Accommodation for students with disabilities: Students who need to request accommodations based on a disability are required to register each semester with the Disability Services and Programs (DSP) 3 Spring 2008 office (Student Union, Room 301.) In addition, a letter of verification to the course instructor, from the Disability Services and Programs office is needed for the semester in which you are enrolled for this course. If you have questions concerning this procedure, please contact both the instructor of the course, and the Disability Services and Programs office at (213) 740-0776. * The final exam date CANNOT be changed without first obtaining approval from the Provost's office, even if the entire class agrees to a new time or date. The students are not allowed to take final exams prior to or after the exam date, except in the case of an emergency. A student's desire to return home a few days early does not constitute an emergency.

Grading 1. Assignments: 25% (character writing: 5%; workbook homework: 10%; speaking exercises: 15%) 2. Pre-unit quizzes: 10% 3. Post-unit tests: 15% 4. Mid-term written exam: 10% 5. Mid-term oral exam: 5% 6. Final written exam: 15% 7. Final oral exam: 5% 8. Class attendance: 5% 9. Class preparation and participation: 5% ------

Total 100% A 94-100 A- 90-93 B+ 87-89 B 84-86 B- 80-83 C+ 77-79 C 74-76 C- 70-73 D+ 60-69 Pass: C- or above F below 60