Chinese I is an introductory course to Modern Standard Chinese, which includes the spoken language Mandarin and the written language of simplified characters. Students will also learn the basics of Pinyin for pronunciation purposes. This course introduces a beginner’s vocabulary of Chinese characters using scenario-based examples. Students will also get a glimpse of Chinese tradition and society through cultural tips.

These courses include auditory comprehension assessments that require students to listen to audio files and to record themselves speaking. For these courses, it is essential that students have either a headset equipped with a microphone or access to an internal microphone within their computers.