Chinese
Studying Chinese at LJMU
Why Study Chinese?
Courses with Chinese
The Year Abroad
Studying Chinese - FAQs
The extraordinary rise of China in recent years is beginning to make itself felt all around the world. This presents tremendous opportunities for work and cross-cultural communication for students outside the country. Despite its importance, opportunities to study the Chinese language have been limited, and the number of qualified graduates still falls well short of the increasing demand in the UK.
The Chinese economy has been growing at a rate of 9.6% since the early 1980s. It is now the fourth largest economy in the world. In the UK there is a growing demand for graduates with a knowledge of the Chinese language and culture.
The Facts:
- China is the most populous nation in the world, with 1.28 billion people.
- Mandarin Chinese is spoken by 885 million speakers, making it the most widely spoken first language in the world.
- In addition to the People's Republic of China and Taiwan, Mandarin Chinese is also widely spoken in Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Brunei, The Philippines, and Mongolia.
- China is one of the world's oldest civilizations, being over 5000 years old.
- China is one of the UK's largest trading partners.
- Increasing number of companies do business in China.
At LJMU, Chinese may be studied from scratch (ab initio) in the following combinations with another discipline:
As a requirement of the course, you will spend your third year in China. We currently have three partner universities in China - two in Beijing and one in Shanghai.
Studying Chinese - FAQs
- How will I learn?
Regular practice is of crucial importance for learning Chinese. Apart from attending the class, students are encouraged to study in a group to practise oral Chinese. There are many Chinese students studying at our school, so there are very good opportunities for you to practise your Chinese with native speakers. You should make an effort to get to know the Chinese students, who will be as keen as you are to have contact with native English-speakers. There are plenty of audio-lingual materials in the library that you can use to practise your Chinese. We also have live television programmes from China, which are regularly taped for the convenience of the students to watch at their own time and pace. - What is the aim of this course?
The Chinese ‘Ab Initio’ course at Liverpool John Moores University is designed for those who have no previous knowledge of Chinese, or a limited knowledge, and wish to study Chinese up to Honours Degree level in combination with either Business Studies, Tourism and Leisure, or with French and Spanish.
- How will I be required to study?
You will follow a language programme of study that moves at a steady pace in your first year of study. In order to develop a solid foundation for your Chinese, we will introduce systematically the Chinese phonetic system pinyin, which will help you build confidence in speaking the language, and transcribing the Chinese spoken language in a Romanised script. Of course, the Chinese characters, the longest surviving written language in the world, will be taught right from the beginning. All four skills of the language, listening, speaking, reading and writing will be emphasised. You will also be introduced to the Chinese history and society, with a focus on the 20th century. You will study in the classroom with a native speaker tutor for nine hours per week (2 hours more than European languages), and will be required to study independently, as directed by the tutors, for a further eight hours per week. The course includes an introduction to basic Chinese grammar and a practical vocabulary of about 3,000 characters. - How will my progress be evaluated?
The evaluation and examination procedures of the course follow the teaching pattern of the four basic course elements very closely. They combine coursework (including regular exercises in writing the Chinese characters), and translation from and into Chinese.
- Resources
The course is taught by native Chinese staff, and supported by a very good collection of Chinese textbooks, dictionaries, and other learning materials. LJMU has received a generous donation of teaching resources from the Chinese embassy in the UK, including the current subscription of six Chinese language magazines directly from China. Textbooks recommended for purchase include "40 Lessons for Basic Chinese" by Shanghai East China Normal University. In the final year of your study, major teaching materials are compiled by one of our Chinese tutors. All materials used in class in the final year are authentic Chinese texts from China, including Chinese newspapers and magazines. - Who should I contact for further information or advice?
For information on Chinese programmes, please contact the Admissions Office on +44 (0) 151 231 3999 or e-mail BLWadmissions@ljmu.ac.uk
