II. Teaching
Individual tuition
The centre specialises in providing tutors for the one-to-one teaching of individuals. All students have the opportunity to follow their tutor in an integrated course that involves the four skills of listening and speaking, reading and writing, as well as learning about relevant aspects of Chinese civilsation and culture.
Because the teaching is individual, students can choose the balance of these topics to suit their own particular needs. The individual approach has other advantages such as:
students can start studying at any time and at any suitable level, and can, depending on their commitments, stop and re-start their study any time they wish.
students can work at a speed that suits them without being rushed ahead or slowed down by other members of a class.
students receive the entire attention of their tutor, and so will not be frustrated by having to work with another class-member, who cannot correct their mistakes, answer their questions, or offer better alternatives to their responses.
students can have a say in planning a programme of study that does not confine them to a syllabus which does not suit their own personal needs.
Tutors at the centre can coach students preparing for recognised qualifications in Chinese in NZ universities and polytechnics, as well as for overseas qualifications in Chinese such as the Australian Language Certificate, Chinese for the International GCSE of Cambridge University, and the HSK proficiency examination of the Chinese Government, held annually in Christchurch, Wellington and Auckland.
Tuition in small groups and by correspondence
Tuition in small groups and by correspondence can also be arranged. For fuller information please contact the centre by post, phone, fax or email.
At present tutors are available for teaching:
1. Modern standard Chinese.
This is the form of Chinese used by educated Chinese throughout the Chinese-speaking regions of the world. It is the form of the language taught in schools, and used in Chinese magazines and newspapers, and on radio and TV. According to the Concise Oxford Dictionary, "Mandarin" means standard spoken Chinese. Courses at the centre teach both the written standard and the spoken standard. Courses are available in
- Basic Chinese
- Chinese for general purposes
- Chinese for specific purposes
i Basic Chinese
Chinese is the language of over a billion people, as well as being one of the five official languages of the United Nations. Historically, Chinese language and literature strongly influenced the thought and culture of the other countries of East Asia. Today China is rapidly becoming important economically in the Asian region, so that Chinese is likely to remain an important language of communication and of culture in the future.
Unfortunately, Chinese has undeservedly acquired such a reputation for being one of the most difficult languages to learn, that many would-be learners are put off from even making the attempt. This attitude is beginning to change, as more and more educational institutions, primary, secondary and tertiary, introduce Chinese into their curricula, and an increasing number of students take up its study.
In spite of this, many people still feel wary of embarking on a course in Chinese, afraid that it may prove too difficult for them, resulting in a waste of time, effort and money. In order to allay their fears, the centre offers a short-term Basic Course in Chinese, aimed at helping participants to decide whether or not or not they have the interest or the stamina needed to make a success of learning Chinese.
ii Chinese for general purposes
Part I Listening and speaking
Listening and speaking at this level requires learning the kind of social conversation that is essential for establishing a good rapport or relationship with a Chinese-speaker. Greetings, introductions, the number system, shopping, telling the time, the date, telephoning, asking the way, talking about the family, food, the weather, and other simple topics need to be learned before moving on to more serious subjects for conversation.Part II Reading and writing
The vocabulary covered in part I is used for learning to read simple stories and articles.
iii Chinese for specific purposes
Once Chinese for general purposes has been mastered, students will want to extend their vocabulary, based on their individual needs and wishes. Topics for listening, speaking, reading and writing, can be chosen for example, from history, art, literature, philosophy, religion, science, technology, education, health, economics, business, trade, commerce, or any other activity which the student wishes to study.
2 Classical Chinese
A basic knowledge of classical Chinese will improve the student's grasp of modern standard Chinese in the same way that a knowledge of the basics of Greek and Latin language and of classical allusions improves a student's grasp of modern standard English.
Level 1 is based on the standard classical texts used for teaching Chinese children in the past.
Level 2 is based on those classical texts still taught in Chinese primary and lower secondary schools today.
Level 3 is based on the standard classical texts of Chinese civilsation and culture, taught today in Chinese Universities and the upper forms of schools.
3. English as a second language
Tutors can also be arranged for speakers of Chinese or of other languages in English as a second language (Courses in Reading Latin or French as a second language can also be arranged.)
Who can benefit from the Chinese courses?
- people contemplating taking up the study of Chinese language and culture but unsure as to what is actually involved, or of what can be achieved.
- People intending to visit, live or work in a Chinese-speaking region of the world.
- managers, executives, administrators, and others who need to have some basic idea of Chinese language and culture either because they have to deal directly with Chinese organisations and people or have to rely on New Zealanders, whose expertise they need to be able to monitor.
What can be achieved?
After proceeding through an appropriate number of courses, students will eventually:
- obtain the knowledge of the language they will need for mixing socially with Chinese-speakers.
- obtain the knowledge of Chinese culture needed to reduce the chances of making a faux pas when in the company of Chinese- speakers.
- understand enough about Chinese language and culture to enable them to decisions about China and the Chinese with confidence. decide whether or not to deepen their study of Chinese language and culture through study at a university in New Zealand, China or elsewhere.
Reading and writing
Opportunities to practise and improve your spoken Chinese while remaining in New Zealand tend to be limited. However, progress in written Chinese can be unlimited, opening up a vast new world by enabling you to obtain first-hand knowledge of China through newspapers and magazines, and even through writing to people there. The skills required for reading and writing are quite different from those needed for listening and speaking.
Civilisation and culture
Knowing Chinese, does not just help you to interact more easily with Chinese-speaking people. It also gives you a much deeper understanding of their civilisation and culture, their customs, attitudes and behaviour. Your tutor will make a point of discussing with you aspects of Chinese civilisation and culture as they arise in the course of the language teaching. To summarise, the knowledge you gain from taking an individual language course will not only help you socially, but through the basic cultural information that you will pick up in your language studies will also enable you to read reports about China with discrimination, by helping you to distinguish between fact and opinion, and so help you to make more accurate judgements about the accuracy, reliability or plausibility of the reports on which you may have to rely.
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revised on: 12th December, 2000