Chinese (Mandarin): Beginners – Part 1

Level and demands

Pitched at level A1 of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR).

Find out more about our language levels.

Course aims

To enable learners to communicate at a very basic level with speakers of the target language in a limited range of practical, real-life settings.

Course objectives:

• Develop the language skills of listening, speaking, reading and writing for very basic routine communication in the target language.
• Build confidence in speaking and clear pronunciation using the sounds, basic intonation and stress patterns of the target language.
• Familiarise learners with a range of high-frequency vocabulary and grammar structures for very basic routine interaction in the target language.
• Develop an initial appreciation of the culture and civilisation of the country (or countries) in which the target language is spoken.

Programme details

Course starts Tuesday 29 September 2026

This is an in-person course which requires your attendance at the weekly meetings in Oxford on Tuesdays, 5.00-7.00pm.

The weekly schedule below is intended to give an indication of the main topic(s) likely to be covered in each session. Please note that these may sometimes change according to the tutor’s discretion to reflect the interests of course participants.

Week 1:  Getting started – Experiencing Chinese

• Introduction to Chinese language – Chinese Mandarin,  Simplified Chinese and Traditional Chinese
• Introduction to Chinese Pinyin – alphabetic letters, four tones and pronunciation
• Introduction to numbers 1-10
• Some basic Chinese phrases and classroom expressions

Week 2:   你好 !  (Unit 1/L1)

• Exchanging greetings
• Introduction to Pinyin rules
• Counting from 11 to 99
• Cultural corner: Chinese names and their meanings; Chinese and numbers

Week 3:   你好！(Unit 1/L2)

• Greetings, introducing oneself and asking people’s names
• Addressing people with extended vocabulary
• Chinese, computers, and Pinyin

Week 4:  你好！(Unit 1/L3)

• Communicative activities including exchanging greetings, introducing oneself and consolidation of classroom expressions
• Introduction to radicals and Chinese character writing – strokes and rules of stroke order
• Introduction to Chinese word formation and the relationship between radicals, characters and words

Week 5:  你是哪里人？(Unit 2/L1)

• Countries, people and their nationalities
• Asking for and giving information about nationalities
• Asking for and giving information about where people live

Week 6:  你是哪里人？(Unit 2/L2)

• Learn more about people and their nationalities
• Reading descriptions about real people, where they live and where they are from
• Additional classroom expressions

Week 7   你是哪里人？(Unit 2/L3)

• Communicative activities including asking for and giving information about nationalities
• Learning more radicals
• Cultural corner: Chinese dialects

Week 8:  你做什么工作？(Unit 3/L1)

• Jobs and occupations
• Asking and answering questions about one’s family members, their names, occupations and where they live
• Pinyin consolidation

Week 9:  你做什么工作？ (Unit 3/L2)

• Learn more about occupations
• Read about family members and related information
• Cultural corner: How to identify Chinese family members

Week 10: 你做什么工作？ (Unit 3/L3)

• Communicative activities including asking and answering questions about a family member in more details
• Learn more radicals and characters
• Overall revision on Pinyin and language

Key grammar points

* Basic sentence structure including pronouns as modifiers

* Types of sentence patterns & different types of interrogative sentences

* Usage of some common adverbs including 也/都/不/很/真

* Introduction to parts of speech including pronouns, verbs and adjectives

Key functions

* Exchanging greetings

* Asking for and giving information about one’s names, nationalities and where they live

* Describing family members and their occupations

* Recognising & writing some basic Chinese radicals/Character

Teaching methods

You will learn through practical activities that encourage the use of the target language. Sessions typically integrate meaningful scenarios, pair and small‑group work, and collaborative problem‑solving in a supportive and friendly environment. The activities bring together speaking, listening, reading, and writing, enabling you to apply the language purposefully in real‑world situations.

The course is designed to build your spoken and listening abilities while deepening your understanding of cultural nuances, etiquette, and everyday usage. We will work with new grammatical structures through meaningful, communicative tasks, and you will continue developing your reading and writing skills both in class and independently through self‑study.

Learning outcomes

By the end of the course, participants will be able to:

• use very simple phrases and utterances to provide basic personal information, such as name, address, family members and nationality;
• interact in a simple way using a very basic range of language in routine everyday contexts;
• understand the gist of very short, simple written texts and audio/video excerpts containing the highest frequency vocabulary items and basic grammar structures;
• write simple phrases and very short texts using basic structures and vocabulary items.

Assessment methods

You will be set optional assignments to consolidate your learning and to allow you to progress at your own pace.

Mrs Zhao Godfrey

Born in the city of Tangshan in North China, Huiqiu Zhao studied English at the University of Shandong. She has been working as a freelance translator, interpreter, teacher and examiner in the UK since 1995.

Certification

Digital badge

Upon successful completion of this course, you will be issued with an official digital badge from the Department for Continuing Education, University of Oxford. In order to be issued with your badge, you will need to have attended at least 80% of the course.

After the course, you will receive an email with a link and instructions on how to download your digital badge. You will be able to add this badge to your email signature and share it on social media if you choose to do so.

Fees

Funding

If you are in receipt of a UK state benefit, or are a care-leaver in the UK, you may be eligible for a reduction of 50% of tuition fees. Please see the below link for full details:
Concessionary fees for short courses

Recommended reading

Recommended reading is optional and you are not required to purchase these books to study this course.

Library facilities

All weekly class students may become borrowing members of the Rewley House Library, part of the Bodleian Libraries, for the duration of their course. Prospective students whose courses have not yet started are also welcome to use the Library for reference.

• More information about the Library can be found on the Bodleian Libraries website. 
• This guide for Weekly Class students also provides further information.

Preparatory reading

• Discover China Student’s Book One / DING, Anqi; CHEN, Xin; JIANG, Lili

Recommended Reading List

Textbooks

To participate in the course fully, you will need access to the following textbook:

• Discover China Student’s Book One / DING, Anqi; CHEN, Xin; JIANG, Lili

Please use the ‘Book now’ button on this page. Alternatively, please complete an enrolment form.

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