Chinese Language Learning

Chinese Language Courses

Registration for our January - March 2025 classes is now open.

Please enrol now as places are limited.

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All classes will take place in person on the main Gilmorehill campus.

Classes will run for eight weeks, with the timings as follows:

Tuesdays 6.00pm - 8.00pm
Thursdays 6.00pm - 8.00pm
Saturdays 10.00am - 12.00pm

The total course cost is £135, which is a total of sixteen hours of tuition and includes a free set of textbooks (textbook, exercise workbook and character book) for the Beginner levels. 

We will also be running a free Chinese language corner at 12.15pm - 1.15pm on Saturdays after the classes. All levels are welcome to attend these sessions to practice their language skills.

We are now opening registration for the following classes:

Beginner 1
Beginner 2 
Beginner 3
Intermediate 1
Intermediate 2
Intermediate 3
Upper Intermediate 1
Upper Intermediate 2
Upper Intermediate 3
Advanced

Please see further information on our class levels and content below. To complete enrolment, you can use the class payment links found below or contact confucius-enquiries@glasgow.ac.uk for more information.

Please note that you must be aged 16 and over to attend our group classes. For students aged under 16, please contact confucius-enquiries@glasgow.ac.uk for more information on alternatives available.

Beginner 1

What you will learn

• introduction to Chinese phonetics and pronunciation; Pinyin, use of four tones 
• introduction to Chinese characters; have a basic knowledge of strokes, some radicals and common components, character structure and stroke order, recognition of common characters, and ability to practice handwriting simple characters 
• introduction to common Chinese words and expressions; basic Chinese classroom expressions, simple Chinese sentence patterns, self-introduction and greetings, basic conversation, shopping and bargaining 
• develop basic understanding about Chinese culture; Chinese surnames and given names 

Resources

You will study Units 0-2 from Contemporary Chinese Level 1 textbook set (included in the course cost). 

You will also have access to class slides, additional written and audio materials via the Moodle VLE. 

More information

Beginner 1 Course Syllabus 

Beginner 2

What you will learn 

• continued practice and understanding of Chinese phonetics and pronunciation; improved use of Pinyin
• recognition of more Chinese characters: understanding of character structure and stroke order, ability to handwrite simple characters 
• understanding of Chinese words and expressions; practice use of Chinese classroom expressions, express likes/preferences, talk about school/work and family, shopping and dining 
• Chinese sentence patterns for question and answers, introducing measure words  
• develop basic understanding about Chinese culture; Chinese family members, cultural festivals 

Resources  

You will study Units 3-5 from Contemporary Chinese Level 1 textbook set. 

You will also have access to class slides, additional written and audio materials via the Moodle VLE. 

More information  

Beginner 2 Course Syllabus

Beginner 3

What you will learn 

• improved accuracy and confidence in pronunciation of Pinyin 
• improved recognition of Chinese characters, stroke order and ability to practice hand writing characters 
• ability to read short sections of Chinese text and sentences without Pinyin
• ability to communicate in Chinese about everyday topics; making appointments, giving directions and finding locations, describing appearances, transportation 
• Chinese sentence patterns for question and answers, introducing measure words  
• develop basic understanding about Chinese culture; Chinese calendars, ways to address different people, education system 

Resources 

You will study Units 6-8 from Contemporary Chinese Level 1 textbook set. 

You will also have access to class slides, additional written and audio materials via the Moodle VLE. 

More information

Beginner 3 Course Syllabus

Intermediate 1

What you will learn

• review pronunciation of Pinyin and increased ability to recognise different characters through Pinyin 
• be able to recognise and typewrite new characters with reduced dependence on Pinyin 
• acquire new Chinese words and expressions which are related to more specific and functional topics 
• acquire increased knowledge of elementary Chinese sentence patterns which are more useful in the daily communication 
• develop elementary understanding about Chinese culture (e.g, the image of the dog in the Chinese language; traditional Chinese greetings; importance of the zodiac animals etc.) 
• be able to communicate about more varied topics (e.g pets, body, past experiences, new changes and recent plans, personal likes and dislikes, tourist attractions in China, how to wish someone a Happy Birthday, practical language for travel in China) 

Resources 

You will study Units 1-4 from Contemporary Chinese Level 2 textbook set. 

You will also have access to class slides, additional written and audio materials via the Moodle VLE. 

More information  

Intermediate 1 Course Syllabus

Intermediate 2

What you will learn 

• improve the accuracy of Pinyin in specific contexts, especially the phenomenon of phonetic changes 
• increase recognition and ability to typewrite new characters; with ability to write characters with more accuracy  
• acquire new Chinese words and expressions which are related to more specific and functional topics 
• increased knowledge of useful syntactic elements; be able to express more complex sentences instead of several simple sentences on the same topic 
• develop elementary understanding about Chinese culture (e.g, the idioms with four characters,  traditional replies to compliments) 
• be able to communicate about more varied topics (e.g, the weather, seasons and climate, direction and location, urban and rural areas, adjusting plans and solving problems, narrating a specific sequence of events, and taking transportation in China) 

Resources 

You will study Units 5-8 from Contemporary Chinese Level 2 textbook set. 

You will also have access to class slides, additional written and audio materials via the Moodle VLE. 

More information  

Intermediate 2 Course Syllabus

Intermediate 3

What you will learn 

• opportunity to increase accuracy and receive correction on pronunciation of Pinyin
• increased recognition and ability to typewrite new characters, with increased opportunity to practice handwriting simple characters
• learn basic and commonly used grammatical complements and expressions, including important sentence structure components such as bǎ (把) and bèi (被)
• acquire new Chinese words and expressions, with ability to communicate about more specific and functional topics (e.g, talking about past, present or future events, expressing regret, sympathy, dissatisfaction, gratitude, and ability to describe stories and experiences)

Resources 

You will study Units 9-12 from Contemporary Chinese Level 2 textbook set. 

You will also have access to class slides, additional written and audio materials via the Moodle VLE. 

More information  

Intermediate 3 Course Syllabus

Upper Intermediate 1

What you will learn 

• review the Chinese phonetic system, practice writing unknown Chinese characters according to the pronunciation 
• be able to read many Chinese characters in text without the use of Pinyin 
• acquire 149 new Chinese words and develop related expressions based on these words 
• increased knowledge of useful Chinese sentence patterns to express meaning more accurately 
• ability to communicate more advanced topics (e.g, seasons and nature, traditional birthday customs in China, multicultural issues) 
• gain a more nuanced understanding about Chinese language learning, especially the difference between Putonghua and dialects 
• begin to acquire text reading skills, with ability to read texts more autonomously 

Resources 

You will study Units 1-4 from Contemporary Chinese Level 3 textbook set. 

You will also have access to class slides, additional written and audio materials via the Moodle VLE. 

More information  

Upper Intermediate 1 Course Syllabus

Upper Intermediate 2

What you will learn 

• improve pronunciation of phrases 
• acquire 148 new Chinese words and expressions 
• practice listening skills, learn to recognise and repeat simple sentences without text 
• learn more complex and unique Chinese sentence patterns 
• develop deeper understanding about Chinese culture, customs and traditions, (e.g Dragon Boat Festival celebrations) 
• improved ability to communicate Chinese names and their meanings, understanding and comparisons of life and the environment between China and other countries 
• improved Chinese writing skills, with ability to write letters and emails in Chinese 
• enhanced text reading ability, with ability to practice extracting key information from text 

Resources 

You will study Units 5-8 from Contemporary Chinese Level 3 textbook set. 

You will also have access to class slides, additional written and audio materials via the Moodle VLE. 

More information  

Upper Intermediate 2 Course Syllabus

Upper Intermediate 3

What you will learn 

• improved pronunciation and intonation skills, with increased understanding of pronunciation by native speakers 
• acquire 149 new Chinese words and expressions to achieve a more rich vocabulary 
• practice listening skills, with ability to recognise and repeat long sentences without text 
• learn Chinese common prepositions and conjunctions and Chinese two-part allegorical sayings 
• develop further understanding about Chinese culture (e.g, Confucianism, festivals and celebrations in modern China, and family relationships) 
• strengthened text reading skills, with ability to extract key information from text more quickly and accurately 
• be able to express own ideas and opinions accurately, including describing family relationships in different countries and relationships at work 

Resources 

You will study Units 9-12 from Contemporary Chinese Level 3 textbook set. 

You will also have access to class slides, additional written and audio materials via the Moodle VLE. 

More information  

Upper Intermediate 3 Course Syllabus

Advanced

What you will learn 

• improved daily communication similar to native speakers, with a focus on practising intonation and pauses in sentences 
• improved ability to write Chinese characters, and develop understanding of cultural meanings behind the creation of characters (e.g, pictographic, indicative, associative, picto-phonetic) 
• develop strong listening and speaking skills, with ability to reiterate concepts and conversations in own words 
• learn more advanced words, especially function words and affixes 
• ability to distinguish differences between spoken Chinese and written Chinese expressions 
• increased opportunity to practice discussion skills and ability to express own views 
• develop deeper understanding about Chinese culture (e.g, attitudes towards work, Chinese family relationships) 
• improve text narrative ability, with ability to tell a story in chronological order 

Resources 

This course is tailored to the topic interests of the student group and the teaching resources used are varied. You will have the opportunity to study a variety of texts and reading materials, including Contemporary Chinese Level 4 textbook set, texts from Chinese media and literature. 

You will also have access to class slides, additional written and audio materials via the Moodle VLE. 

More information  

Advanced Course Syllabus