One of Duke Kunshan University’s goal is for students to graduate with strong skills in multiple languages, especially English and Chinese. To this end, all students are required to take 8-16 credits of foreign language courses appropriate to their needs. For more information, please check the Undergraduate Bulletin.
This is a content-based academic writing course for EAP-track students that further builds written and oral communication skills introduced in EAP101. In this course students will study generalizations that are often made about significant aspects of a Western culture (e.g. the idea that U.S. culture is relatively individualistic); then they will write papers in which they analyze and critically examine these generalizations. Students will practice researching issues and appropriately making use of resource materials. They will practice planning and writing course papers in which they take a stand on an issue and then make a case for their position. Students will also share ideas by making presentations. This course, required for EAP-track students, is normally taken in Year 1, Term 2.
EAP 102B is the continuation of EAP 102A. Prerequisite(s): EAP 102A
CHINESE 102A continues teaching basic communicative proficiency in Mandarin Chinese. As with CHINESE 101, the course teaches speaking, listening, reading, and writing skills. Special emphasis will be placed on learning the oral communication skills needed for daily life interactions in Chinese, and students will be expected to practice using Chinese for daily life tasks outside class. Students will learn to read high-frequency characters and learn how to write characters properly with correct stroke order. Additionally students will learn about Chinese culture, especially as it relates to managing the daily tasks of life in China. Prerequisite(s): CHINESE 101B or the equivalent
CHINESE 102B is the continuation of CHINESE 102A.
Prerequisite(s): CHINESE 102A
CHINESE 202A is designed to help students continue building basic communicative proficiency in Mandarin Chinese. The primary emphasis is on oral communication skills, with a focus on social conversations in Chinese, and the course includes assignments in which students will find opportunities outside class to practice using their Chinese for social interaction. Students will also continue building their ability to read dialogues that provide good models of social interaction in Chinese, and practice writing simple texts. Additionally students will learn about Chinese culture, especially as it relates to Chinese life and society.
Prerequisite(s): CHINESE 201B or equivalent
CHINESE 202B is the continuation of CHINESE 202A. Prerequisite(s): CHINESE 202A
CHINESE 232, a continuation of CHINESE 231, is designed to help Chinese heritage students continue improving their formal and informal discourse in speaking and writing. This course aims to further expand and refine students’ language skills by studying a variety of texts that are written with advanced intermediate-level vocabulary (including vocabulary denoting abstract concepts), complex grammatical structures, and formal language uses. Students will develop these skills both through curricular activities (such as pair work, writing essays and diaries, and group work) and extracurricular activities (such as Chinese Table and Language Partners). Topics of the course focus on social and cultural issues in contemporary China.
Prerequisite(s): CHINESE 231B or equivalent
CHINESE 232B is the continuation of CHINESE 232A.
Prerequisite(s): CHINESE 232A
This course transitions students toward reading authentic texts relating to Chinese society (e.g. newspaper and magazine articles), with emphasis on learning relevant vocabulary. It also builds students’ ability to comprehend authentic media resources (e.g. television programs, documentaries, etc.) on similar topics. Oral skills will be built through discussion of these topics, and students will also be expected to practice their spoken Chinese outside class by conversing with Chinese speakers about the topics studied in class. Students will also continue to build their writing skills by writing short papers in Chinese relating to the topics studied.
Prerequisite(s): CHINESE 301B or equivalent
CHINESE 302B is the continuation of CHINESE 302A. Prerequisite(s): CHINESE 302A
The Advanced Chinese course sequence is designed to build students’ ability to read authentic texts in Chinese, such as newspaper texts; it also builds students’ ability to watch and listen to authentic media programs (e.g. television programs, documentaries, etc.). Students will be introduced to the following themes: popular culture, social change, cultural traditions, history and politics. Through study and discussion, students will be able to better understand the social and cultural issues in China, improve reading and listening abilities, and deliver detailed and organized presentations
on these topics. Prerequisite(s): CHINESE 401B or equivalent 240
CHINESE 402B is the continuation of CHINESE 402A.
Prerequisite(s): CHINESE 402A
This course is designed for learners of Chinese who already have read authentic texts in textbooks, but have read few or no Chinese books for native speaker audiences. The goal is to help students develop stronger extensive reading skills, more specifically, to improve the reading speed, build the ability to guess the meaning of sentences and paragraphs even when students don’t know all the words in them, and increase the comfort level when reading authentic texts.
Prerequisite(s): CHINESE 402B or equivalent
This content based-course contextualizes advanced-level Chinese language learning in new media narratives. It aims to help students further their oral and literacy skills by creating content on a platform of new media to communicate ideas and tell stories of experience and/or interests to a broader audience in the DKU community and beyond. Through various reading, writing and discussion activities, students will get familiar with major platforms of new media in China, critically review popular projects, and get hands-on experience of creating and sharing their original projects.
Prerequisite(s): CHINESE 402B or equivalent
This is a content-based academic English skills course focused on writing, designed for first term EAP-track students. In this course students will study one or more issues related to language learning (e.g. how to sustain motivation); then they will write course papers presenting their views on these issues. Students will learn how to research an issue, and how to appropriately quote and/or cite sources. They will learn how to plan and write course papers that summarize the views of others, state clear positions in response, and make cases for those positions. Students will also practice making short presentations. Additionally, students will design and carry out plans to improve the accuracy of their written English. This course, required for EAP-track students, is normally taken in Year 1, Term 1. EAP 101B is the continuation of 101A. Prerequisite: 101A.
This course is designed to help students continue building basic communicative proficiency in Mandarin Chinese. The primary emphasis is on oral communication skills, with a focus on conversations in Chinese, and students will be expected to find opportunities outside class to practice using their Chinese for social interaction. Students will also learn to read dialogues that provide good models of social interaction in Chinese, and will practice writing simple texts. Additionally students will learn about Chinese culture, especially as it relates to social interaction. Prerequisite(s): CHINESE 102B or equivalent.
CHINESE 201B is the continuation of CHINESE 201A. Prerequisite(s): CHINESE 201A
CHINESE 202A is designed to help students continue building basic communicative proficiency in Mandarin Chinese. The primary emphasis is on oral communication skills, with a focus on social conversations in Chinese, and the course includes assignments in which students will find opportunities outside class to practice using their Chinese for social interaction. Students will also continue building their ability to read dialogues that provide good models of social interaction in Chinese, and practice writing simple texts. Additionally students will learn about Chinese culture, especially as it relates to Chinese life and society.
Prerequisite(s): CHINESE 201B or equivalent
CHINESE 202B is the continuation of CHINESE 202A. Prerequisite(s): CHINESE 202A
This course reinforces what students have learned in the Intermediate Chinese courses, and continues to expand and refine their skills in listening, speaking, reading, and writing by learning a variety of texts that are written with advanced vocabulary (including academic vocabulary and vocabulary denoting abstract concepts), complex grammatical structures, and formal language uses. In addition, students will be introduced to current social issues in China (such as parenting, demographics, marriage, etc.) and different aspects of Chinese culture (such as courtesy, family relationships, ethics, etc.). Through learning and discussing these social and cultural issues, students are expected to deepen their understanding of Chinese society and culture. Students will further practice their spoken Chinese outside class by conversing with Chinese speakers about the topics studied in class. Prerequisite(s): CHINESE 202B or equivalent
This course transitions students toward reading authentic texts relating to Chinese society (e.g. newspaper and magazine articles), with emphasis on learning relevant vocabulary. It also builds students’ ability to comprehend authentic media resources (e.g. television programs, documentaries, etc.) on similar topics. Oral skills will be built through discussion of these topics, and students will also be expected to practice their spoken Chinese outside class by conversing with Chinese speakers about the topics studied in class. Students will also continue to build their writing skills by writing short papers in Chinese relating to the topics studied.
Prerequisite(s): CHINESE 301B or equivalent
CHINESE 302B is the continuation of CHINESE 302A. Prerequisite(s): CHINESE 302A
In this course students will learn about social and cultural issues in China through study of authentic texts in Chinese and authentic media resources (e.g. television programs, documentaries, etc.). Oral skills will be built through discussion of these topics, and students will also be expected to practice their spoken Chinese outside class by talking with Chinese speakers about the topics studied in class. Students will also continue to build their writing skills by writing short papers in Chinese relating to the topics studied.
Prerequisite(s): CHINESE 302B or equivalent
CHINESE 401B is the continuation of CHINESE 401A. Prerequisite(s): CHINESE 401A
The Advanced Chinese course sequence is designed to build students’ ability to read authentic texts in Chinese, such as newspaper texts; it also builds students’ ability to watch and listen to authentic media programs (e.g. television programs, documentaries, etc.). Students will be introduced to the following themes: popular culture, social change, cultural traditions, history and politics. Through study and discussion, students will be able to better understand the social and cultural issues in China, improve reading and listening abilities, and deliver detailed and organized presentations
on these topics. Prerequisite(s): CHINESE 401B or equivalent 240
CHINESE 402B is the continuation of CHINESE 402A.
Prerequisite(s): CHINESE 402A
This course introduces a variety of Chinese romance films and related cultural discussion from the last decade of the 20th century to the 21th century. We will explore how these films present and twist the idea of forbidden love in modern China, how they shape and break contemporary director’s and audience’s expectations, and how they connect to the development of contemporary Chinese pop culture and media industry. With the class discussion alternating between “Chinese days” and “English days,” both international students and Chinese students will get the chance to practice listening and speaking in their target languages and learn to make presentable digital essays using video making tools.
Prerequisite(s): Chinese (EAP-track) students must have completed EAP 102 or have permission from the instructor; international (CSL-track) students must have completed or placed out of CHINESE 402
WOC 106–Introduce Suzhou to the World
WOC 107–Suzhou Literature and History
WOC 108–Intercultural Communication
WOC 110–Endangered Languages
WOC 201–Academic Writing 1
WOC 206–Debating for Sustain Futures
WOC 211–Developing a Research Proposal
WOC 214–Reading Chinese Love Stories
WOC 217–Introduction to News Writing
WOC 218–Public Speaking
German 101–Beginning German 1
Japanese 101–Beginning Japanese 1
Korean 101–Beginning Korean 1
Spanish 11o–Introduction to the World of Spanish
Spanish 101 Beginning Spanish 1
