Learn and study Chinese Mandarin at the International Language Institute (ILI) in Washington, DC!

Summer session starting the week of June 29, 2009 - enroll now!
Deadline: June 24, 2009

Chinese Mandarin Group Classes

  • 9 different  levels, plus Mandarin for Travelers

  • Classes once per week for 2.5 hours

  • Small class size (max. 9 students)

  • Experienced, native-speaking teachers

  • Four 10-week terms per year

  • Affordable tuition

  • Conveniently located at Dupont Circle

  • $340 for 1 level, $20 early-sign up discount through May 31, 2009

The Chinese Mandarin Language Program at ILI consists of four 10-week terms throughout the year. We are offering nine different levels from beginner to pre-advanced. Classes meet at the Institute once a week in the evening or on Saturday mornings.  Our teachers are all native-speaking and experienced. The Chinese Mandarin Language Program integrates speaking, listening, reading and writing. We maintain small class sizes to enable adequate time for conversation in every class. To find your level, please refer to the level description or use our self-evaluation guide. If you have further questions, please call Francisco Todd, ILI's Foreign Language Coordinator, at 202-686-5610 ext. 105.

Level Description

The Chinese language program offers nine terms of studies followed by a term of review and in-depth conversation before they move into Chinese Reader Series. All instructions are conducted in forms of lecture, oral drills, conversations, discussions, presentations, classroom exercises, homework, quizzes and final examination.  Grammar is introduced and explained in a logical, graduated sequence along with the lessons and repeated recalls. All levels sections A, B, and C are all identical in content.

Textbooks, $87: "Chinese Primer" - Lessons
  "Chinese Primer" - Notes & Exercises
  "Chinese Primer" - Character Workbook
  "Chinese Primer" - Character Text

Basic 1:

Objective: The course is to provide students the most basic skills in studying Mandarin; to understand the differences between traditional and simplified characters and the benefits and disadvantages of both, to master the pronunciation.
Learning Outcome: Upon completion of this course, students will be able to pronounce Mandarin correctly with tones; read and write 25 characters, make simple statements and ask simple questions.
Topics: Tones, initials and finals; names – surnames, full names; ordinal numbers; particles - “de” “ma” “ne” “ba”; nationalities; introductions; auxiliary nouns
Lessons:  The Foundation Work, Unit I, Lessons 1-2

Basic 1A: Wednesdays: 6:15 pm - 8:45 pm
Basic 1B: Thursdays: 6:15 pm - 8:45 pm
Basic 1C: Saturdays: 10 am - 12:30 pm

Basic 2:

Objective:

To strengthen the pronunciation; to understand stroke order in writing characters; to learn the basic radicals in characters; to recognize 100 new characters.

Learning Outcome:

After completing this course, in addition to read minimum of another 100 characters, students should be able to hold simple conversations on school life, food preferences using phrases.

Topics:

Time words; adverbial phrase – you yi dianr; particle - le; numbers  1 – 100; adjective –shi – adjective; minor sentences – no subject required sentences; verb-object compounds; resultative complements

Lessons: 

Unit I, Lessons 3-5

Basic 2A: Mondays: 6:15 pm - 8:45 pm
Basic 2B: Tuesdays: 6:15 pm - 8:45 pm
Basic 2C: Saturdays: 10 am - 12:30 pm

Basic 3:

Objective:

To enable students to hold uncomplicated communicative tasks in straightforward social situations; to express personal meaning on learned phrases or re-combinations of them.

Learning Outcome:

When successfully complete the course, students can expect to converse on topics in a more advanced patterns; students learned to comprehend more complex sentences and mastered at least an addition of 100 characters.

Topics:

Complex expressions; probability and certainty; describing likes and dislikes; first position verb; sports and exercises; completed action “le”; verbal expressions in series; complaining; past action with a quantified object

Lessons: 

Unit II

Basic 3A:  Mondays: 6:15 pm - 8:45 pm

Basic 3B:  Wednesdays: 6:15 pm - 8:45 pm

Basic 3C:  Saturdays: 10 am - 12:30 pm

Basic 4:

Objective:

To comprehend and compose more complex sentences; to study etymology of basic characters; to converse with much advanced vocabularies and be understood by interlocutors who accustomed to dealing with non-natives.

Learning Outcome:

Upon completion of this course, students can expect to start writing simple sentences in Chinese characters; will be able to write simple notes, apply sophisticated vocabularies and construct compound-complex sentences as well.

Topics:

Comparisons; describing things; commenting on actions; making timetables
“yue…yue”, “not only..but also”;
the pretransitive “ba”; “li” to indicate the distance
pivot sentences; “cai” and “jiu”; telling time;
“ban + AN +N” vs. No. + AN +ban + N

Lessons: 

Unit III

Basic 4A:  Tuesdays: 6:15 pm - 8:45 pm

Basic 4B: Thursdays: 6:15 pm - 8:45 pm
Basic 4C: Saturdays: 10 am - 12:30 pm

Basic 5:

Objective:

To provide students the abilities to actively participate in most informal and limited formal conversations related to work, school, home or leisure activities; to make structured arguments.

Learning Outcome:

By the end of this course, students can expect to write paragraphs with ease, carry conversation with greater fluency; will equip with the ability to gradually transition from Pinyin text to Character text.

Topics:

“qi lqi” as main verb and verb complement; “suo” to emphasis, to mean “all”; qishi and dique; tebie and youqi; locations words; describing locations; simple directional complements; compound directional complements; potential directional; complements; adverb and complement uses of zai and dao; subject + lian + object + dou/ye + verb

Lessons: 

Unit IV

Basic 5:  Mondays: 6:15 pm - 8:45 pm

Intermediate 1:

Objective:

To recognize minimum of five hundreds characters while able to write half of them at least; to study Pinyin and Character Texts simultaneously; to write compound-complex paragraphs; to converse with greater ease and confidence. 

Learning Outcome:

A successful completion of the course, the students will be able to use the language both in speaking and reading with greater ease; to read and write characters with greater confidence.

Topics:

Phone calls; short trips; classroom situations; weekend activities; indefinite number or quantity; wu-si movement; renshi and zhidao; kai and guan; shi to emphasizing time, place or manner of a past action

Lessons: 

Unit V

Intermediate 1A:  Mondays: 6:15 pm - 8:45 pm

Intermediate 2:

Objective:

To provide students the abilities to narrate with ease and confidence; to negotiate a bargain when shop; to discuss about everyday life; to participate in ease on conversations in routine and social situations.

Learning Outcome:

The students will be able to narrate with ease and confidence; can be understood by native speakers unaccustomed to dealing with non-native.

Topics:

Leaving home for college; counting money; ling/lingwei and biede; nominal predicates; calling home;subject + yibianr + v + yibian + v; roommates; xiaoxi – information, news; s-p predicates; visit to doctor’s office

Lessons: 

Unit VI

Intermediate 2A:  Tuesdays: 6:15 pm - 8:45 pm
Intermediate 2B:  Thursdays: 6:15 pm - 8:45pm

Intermediate 3:

Objective:

To provide students the abilities to actively participate in most informal and limited formal conversations related to work, school, home or leisure activities; to make structured arguments.

Learning Outcome:

When successfully completing the course, students can expected to converse with accuracy, clarity, and precision to convey their intents without misrepresentation or confusion.  They can also expect to discuss topics abstractly.

Topics:

Different opinions; returning home; meeting parents; passive sentences; particles

Lessons: 

Unit VII

Intermediate 3:  Thursdays: 6:15 pm - 8:45 pm

Pre-Advanced:

Objective:

To provide students the abilities to handle with ease and confidence on variety of topics relating to work, school, home, public interests as well as personal interests or individual relevance; to prepare students for Chinese Reader series.

Learning Outcome:

Upon successful completion of the course, students can expect to narrate and describe in all major time frames by providing a full account; their vocabulary is fairly extensive especially in the area of specialization or interest.

Topics:

Studying Chinese culture, traditions, addressing others, frequently used phrases, idioms, expressions

Lessons: 

Unit VIII

Pre-Advanced:  Thursdays: 6:15 pm - 8:45 pm

Mandarin for Travelers:  This course is designed with the social traveler in mind. Using a phrase book/travelers guide the student will practice basic phrases for everyday use while traveling, through in-classroom role-plays, enabling them to communicate instantly on a host of topics: restaurants, shopping, hotel check-ins, health and medical situations, essential services, boat, plane and train travel, much more. Vacation travelers will find everything they need for a smooth, successful trip with the combination of the use of the phrase book/travelers guide and real-life classroom instruction. Tuition:  $160.

Textbook:  Phrase Book, cost included in the tuition.

Length of program:  Saturdays, 12:30-2:30 pm; 5 weeks.

Program Details

2009 Schedule:

Winter Term

 

Jan. 12 - Mar. 21, 2009

Deadline: Wednesday, January 7, 2009

Spring Term

 

Apr. 6 - June 13, 2009

Deadline: Wednesday, April 1, 2009

Summer Term

 

June 29 - Sept. 5, 2009

Deadline: Wednesday, June 24, 2009

Fall Term

 

Sept. 21 - Dec. 5, 2009

Deadline: Wednesday, September 21, 2009

Tuition:  $340 for one level. Early sign-up discount of $20 through May 31, 2009. $160 for Traveler class. Please click here to apply on-line.

Duration:  Classes meet once weekly in the evening or on Saturday mornings for 10 weeks. Each session is 2.5 hours.

Refunds:  No refunds are issued once classes have started.

Textbooks: May be purchased at the time of registration or at the Institute before or on the first day of class.

Attendance & Tardiness Policy: It is important for students to attend every class meeting. It is also important that they arrive on time for class. We cover a lot of material in each class. The instructor cannot repeat material for students who are absent or come late. Students will be marked absent when they do not come to class. Students who arrive 15 minutes after the advertised starting time will be marked late. For every 3 times that the student is marked as late, it will count as a missed hour. If we notice that a student’s attendance is in danger of falling below 70%, we will issue an attendance report to the student.

Performance Measurements: Our program requires each student to participate in weekly quizzes, which will be graded, based on a “Pass” or “Fail” system. There will be a final quiz that will measure the sum of the instructional objectives for the course. Grades are verbally communicated to students at the end of each class/course, and are marked on the attendance/performance sheet. Students must have completed and passed at least 70% of the quizzes to move to the next level.

ACCET Certification: ILI’s foreign language group programs are now accredited by ACCET (Accrediting Council for Continuing Education & Training), and we also offer 2.5 Continuing Education Units (CEU’s) per every successfully completed course, 5.0 for the accelerated courses. Upon request, our Certificates of Completion can include the CEU’s earned per semester.

Certificates of Completion: We issue certificates at the end of the semester and they can be ordered at the front desk. In order to be eligible to receive a certificate or pass to the next level, you are required to attend a minimum of 70% of the classes and have a “Passing” grade. We will need a couple of days in order to verify your attendance and passing grade before issuing the certificate.

Inclement Weather:  Classes are cancelled in accordance with federal government closings (not school closings!) due to inclement weather. Please check public announcements on radio, TV and the Web; or call ILI at (202) 362-2505.

Cancellation/Substitution:  The International Language Institute reserves the right to cancel any class if deemed necessary. Prior to commencement of class, students will be given a full refund. In the event of cancellation after the commencement of class, the pro-rata portion of the unexpended tuition will be refunded within $5. The pro-rated amount of refundable monies will be determined by the ratio of classes completed to the total number of classes in the scheduled program.  The International Language Institute reserves the right to assign substitute instructors whenever necessary.

Location: See address below.

Questions?  Please call Francisco Todd, Foreign Language Coordinator of ILI, at 202-686-5610 extension 105.


International Language Institute

1337 Connecticut Ave, NW, 4th Floor
(Metro: Dupont Circle)
Washington, DC 20036

Phone: 202-362-2505
Fax: 202-686-5603

ili@transemantics.com

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