Chinese (Mandarin) for Non-Chinese Background Students

Mandarin is spoken by more than 1.5 billion people in the world and is one of the six official languages of the UN. China has a 5000 year history and culture, boasts the fastest-growing economy in the world and is widely regarded as the potentially biggest global market in the twenty-first century.

A major in Chinese (Mandarin) provides a course of study which allows students who have no prior knowledge of Mandarin or of Chinese characters to specialise in Mandarin so that they are able to:

comprehend normal spoken and written Mandarin in a wide range of situations;

express themselves clearly and accurately in spoken and written Mandarin in a wide range of situations;

develop their knowledge of the foreign language to move from dependence on formal instruction to ongoing independent acquisition of linguistic proficiency;

gather and synthesise information on topics of current interest from different Chinese language texts and different media;

recognise and respond personally to differences between Chinese culture and their own cultural heritage by analysing film, poetry and other cultural products;

take advantage of the opportunity to include a period of study abroad at an exchange university in China as part of their Wollongong undergraduate study.

Students may commence their studies as beginners or advanced learners. Students who enter the major at post-HSC may be exempted from some language subjects and should consult the convenor of Chinese. Native or near-native speakers and speakers of another Chinese dialect who are familiar with Chinese characters will enrol in the major Chinese (Mandarin) for Character Background students.

Major Study

A major in Chinese (Mandarin) for beginners or near beginners consists of 66 credit points, and must include

18 credit points at 100-level (MAND151, MAND152, ELL 110);

24 credit points at 200-level (MAND251, MAND252 and ELL 210 or HIST252 or MAND253); and

24 credit points at 300-level, (MAND351, MAND352 and a 300 level subjects with relevant content as approved by the Convenor of Chinese (Mandarin) studies and the Director of the Language Centre).

Students who have achieved a strong 2 Unit HSC pass or equivalent may choose to enter the language sequence at the level of MAND251 and complete a 54 credit points major comprising 6 credit points at 100-level (ELL 110), 24 credit points at 200-level including ELL 210 or HIST252 and 24 credit points at 300-level, as set out below. All students wishing to enter the Chinese (Mandarin) major at the level of MAND152 or MAND251 must obtain approval from the Chinese (Mandarin) Convenor.

Students may also include a period of in-country study by enrolling in MAND253.

Minor Study

A minor study in Mandarin consists of four sequential subjects in Mandarin. The minor will consist of 28 or 32 credit points of language study (28 credit points for students beginning at 100-level). Students may not cross-count any subjects from the minor in any other minor or major study.

Example: A student beginner could take a minor by studying MAND151, MAND152, MAND251 and MAND252.

A student who had studied Mandarin to HSC level and was commencing university Mandarin at second year level could take a minor by studying MAND251, MAND252, MAND351 and MAND352.

Whilst the minor will not be stipulated on the student's testamur at graduation, it will be recorded on the academic transcript.

Diploma in Languages (Mandarin)

To qualify for award of the Diploma in Languages (course code 1002) a student must complete a total of at least 48 credit points from subjects listed from the Mandarin study program below.

Students will complete a minimum of 6 subjects. These subjects will predominantly be language acquisition subjects and may include study abroad as part of an exchange or study abroad program. Other subjects may be included with the permission of the Convenor of the Mandarin program and the Director of the Language Centre.

Students entering at 100 level may include one culture subject; students entering at 200 level may include 2 culture subjects and students entering at 300 level may include up to 4 culture subjects.

Example: A student beginner could take the Diploma by studying MAND151, MAND152, MAND251, MAND252, MAND351, MAND352, and ELL 110 or ELL 210 or HIST252.

A student who had studied Mandarin to HSC level and was commencing university Mandarin at upper level could complete the Diploma of Languages in Mandarin by studying MAND251, MAND252, MAND351, MAND352, ELL 110 and ELL 210 or a further 300 level subject.

Other subjects from the Mandarin program may be included with the permission of the Director of the Language Centre.

Students may also include a period of in-country study by enrolling in MAND 253.

Subjects can be counted only in one course, that is, subjects counted towards the Diploma cannot be counted towards another degree. Students who complete the Diploma will not receive a testamur or attend a graduation ceremony specifically for the Diploma. However, when students do the Diploma concurrently with a Bachelors Degree course, they will have the Diploma listed in their Bachelors degree subject transcript upon graduating.

Click here for more information on the Diploma in Languages

Honours

See Bachelor of Arts (Honours)

Other Information

Further information is available at:
UOW Course Finder 
Email: lha-enquiries@uow.edu.au