Hey guys I'm looking to build a lighter first year course load and was wondering if anyone had an opinion on how relaxed this course is?

I've searched the forums extensively for any information I could find on the course but there isn't a lot out there. I thought this course would be a good choice to fill in the last 2 units in my time table though I have never spoken a word of Mandarin in my life. Any replies greatly appreciated as course registration is right around the corner for me

I'm also interested if I would be able to get into this course if I'm a Chinese student but I have no knowledge of Mandarin whatsoever. I know Cantonese but I'm not fluent in it (I suck).

I believe you need a placement test or some sort of special permission from the Confucius Institute in order to register for the course.

Source: http://confucius.mcmaster.ca /courses/index.html

Originally Posted by guerilla

Hey guys I'm looking to build a lighter first year course load and was wondering if anyone had an opinion on how relaxed this course is?

I've searched the forums extensively for any information I could find on the course but there isn't a lot out there. I thought this course would be a good choice to fill in the last 2 units in my time table though I have never spoken a word of Mandarin in my life. Any replies greatly appreciated as course registration is right around the corner for me

Out of curiosity, why do you want to learn Chinese?

Originally Posted by Alexmahone

Out of curiosity, why do you want to learn Chinese?

From 13:00 in, Mr.O'Leary describes my views better than I could

Ok, let's get started xP Just a forewarning, this course fills up extremely fast and includes almost at most 2-3 first years, while the rest being 3rd or 4th years and the odd 1 or 2 2nd years. I took this course in my first year and it was extremely easy. Despite being asian myself, I did not speak an ounce of chinese or any language other than english (white washed ==). Mandarin is simple to pick up but needs a lot of practice, and the prof who taught it last year was actually on a foreign exchange program and was traveling from Beijing.

Basically, CHINESE 1Z06 teaches you the fundamentals of Mandarin, from pinyin to how to speak and communicate in basic Mandarin. It is has a lesser course load in terms of homework and assignments compared to other courses such as bio or chem. The course includes several quizzes and 2-3 tests (subjected to change as the prof teaching this year would most likely be new) For this course, you also have to buy the textbook (similar to courseware) and a workbook. The CD is optional but I didn't buy it. Personally, I did not find the workload for this course to be any threat compared to other courses. You have 3 classes per week and 1 tutorial where you review the previous class' material. The reason I say classes is because it is held in TSH (Togo Salmon Hall) and there are only approximately 20-30 students in the course. There are 2 cores so approximately 40-60 students get into the course each year. The pace of the course is relaxed and is class dependent. My prof taught at a pace where everyone was able to grasp the concept. Of course, my class had A LOT of slackers who skipped because it was a bird course, so she sped up the teaching pace but it was still reasonable.

The homework and assignments are fairly simple. Homework will include practicing writing characters on a practice sheet, and completing workbook exercises (this got swept under the carpet as the prof forgot about them). The assignments in the course involve writing mini conversations about the current topic being taught (Introducing yourself to a person, shopping at a mall, asking for prices, etc) and they only had to be around 10-12 sentences. The tests involve True and false, multiple choice where you had to listen to a CD and circle the correct answer, fill in the blanks (directly from the text) and an audio component where you listen to several profs pronouncing pinyin and you had to circle the correct word (examples could be where the prof says "ba" and you have 4 choices with one of them being "ba")

All in all, the course; being a language course is easy if you're willing to learn the language and put in a decent amount of time studying for it (I'd say depending on how quick you can pick up a language, around 2-3 hours per week) They say 2-3 hours per day but I never really followed that =P

Since you register on SOLAR before the placement test, do you then choose the course that you're hoping to take? Did anyone get moved to a easier/harder course than they originally registered for after the placement test?

I took an intro to Chinese course at U of T St. George in the summer a couple years ago. If McMaster's course is anything like that, on the first day they're basically going to tell anyone Chinese registered for the course to **** off and go to the Mandarin for Chinese speakers class (1ZZ6 at McMaster).

I'm surprised people call the McMaster one a bird course... I was under the assumption that all first year Chinese courses are hard :/. I had a quiz every week that we'd typically have to learn 20 to 30 new traditional characters for... pain in the ass.

FYI:

• 1Z06 is strictly for non-heritage beginners. Students can register for this course on SOLAR directly. If those of heritage background were to register for this course, they will be asked to leave in the first week of class. 1ZZ6 is for heritage beginners.

http://confucius.mcmaster.ca /news/course_registration.h tml

Hey guys,

I e-mailed them yesterday about this course. They at first told me that I wasn't allowed to enroll in it because I was of Chinese heritage. But then I told them that I had a friend who is Chinese but he was still allowed to take it so why was I not allowed? She then told me that they encourage those who are of Chinese heritage to not enroll. But she said that if I still want to, I have to register for a placement test first and see if I meet the criteria for the intro course. Then I have to wait to see if there is even an opening for the course then.

Seeing as how the placement tests are all at the end of August, I don't know how I'm going to be able to get in. Anyone else in this predicament? :s

Originally Posted by wangsamantha

Hey guys,

I e-mailed them yesterday about this course. They at first told me that I wasn't allowed to enroll in it because I was of Chinese heritage. But then I told them that I had a friend who is Chinese but he was still allowed to take it so why was I not allowed? She then told me that they encourage those who are of Chinese heritage to not enroll. But she said that if I still want to, I have to register for a placement test first and see if I meet the criteria for the intro course. Then I have to wait to see if there is even an opening for the course then.

Seeing as how the placement tests are all at the end of August, I don't know how I'm going to be able to get in. Anyone else in this predicament? :s

If you pass the placement test, they will open a spot for you.

Oh really? I hope so cause the lady I e-mailed said that she couldn't just open a seat for me and that if I were to be placed in the course I'd have to see if there are available seats.

Originally Posted by guerilla

Hey guys I'm looking to build a lighter first year course load and was wondering if anyone had an opinion on how relaxed this course is?

I've searched the forums extensively for any information I could find on the course but there isn't a lot out there. I thought this course would be a good choice to fill in the last 2 units in my time table though I have never spoken a word of Mandarin in my life. Any replies greatly appreciated as course registration is right around the corner for me

I also was trying really hard to get into that course and I'm not really from any Chinese, well even Asian, background. I'm a registered political science student so pretty much the priority goes to those in Humanities.
I've sent an e-mail to the Confucius Institute and I actually went and visited them personally and all they could do is put me in a waiting list. Here's how it goes you're put in a waiting list but you have to check SOLAR every now and then that's way better than being in a waiting list after all.

How about you go check out the classes at the first 2 weeks of university? Go see if they suit you. A lot of my friends told me that I can do that but I think after sept 14 that would be very difficult. I will personally do it, sometimes talking to the prof can help preserve a seat for you in the course. Although I'm not so sure about those with a heritage background, after all linguistic classes are always limited and they do ask for specific requirements. SO much for learning a new language if you ask me -_-

Finally before I end this, and sorry this might sound harsh, but if you want to join this course because you really want to work hard and learn a language then go ahead. Yet, if you're just looking for a way to earn a credit and easy earned marks then please don't. That would be considered unfair to those who really want to work hard to learn a new language, especially as I said language courses are always limited. That's all I have to say for that.

I wish you best of luck, actually for both of us cause if I don't get to this course I'll end up taking French and I really don't want to take French