Presentation

This method seminar studies China and the Chinese world. The aim is to study history (key periods in the history of the 20th and 21st centuries), the geography of the territories (China, Taiwan, Chinatowns) and multiple populations (ethnic majority and minorities, urban and rural populations, etc.), contemporary Chinese society and links to the past, political life: the Chinese political system and its main actors and contemporary cultural like, through the media and the news. At the linguistic level, the aim is to work on reinforcing basic linguistic skills and concepts, to develop and broaden students' vocabulary and to improve syntax, to practice oral interaction skills in various forms, and finally to  learn to speak at length without notes or other aids.

Recommended Prerequisite(s)

A good terminale level in Chinese as a second foreign language: good understanding of the character system, autonomous use of the monolingual dictionary,  good command of Pinyin phonetic transcription (ability to transcribe new words without any aid), good pronunciation, solid knowledge of the basic structures of simple and complex sentences.

Bibliography

• Bescherelle, le chinois pour tous, éd. Hatier
• Manuel « Ni shuo ba! » éd. Didier
• Douze récits de la Chine d’aujourd’hui 今天中国的12个故事, édition CRDP, déc. 2013
• Revue « Planète chinois », éditions Canopé
• Le site de Radio France internationale propose des actualités en chinois sous forme d’articles mais aussi d’audios et de vidéos : http://cn.rfi.fr/ 

Educational formula

The objective of the method seminar in foreign language is to develop understanding of specific fundamental knowledge and methodology skills in both oral and written communication. The work is based on texts or any type of audio/audio-visual documents.... The themes are also presented in the form of presentations/debates: summary, commentary, press review, detailed presentation of an issue, debates, role playing... During the sessions, the emphasis is on oral communication; personal preparation prior to the class is mandatory. All preparatory work must be done in writing, for possible assessment by the lecturer.