Introduction

Elementary reading course aims at developing reading ability of international students who have basis of Chinese language. By using reading skills, students can have good comprehension of reading materials.

Elementary reading course is supplement to integrated course, depending on integrated course and being independent as learning goes on.

Aims and Tasks

Developing students’ Chinese reading comprehension ability is the main task of this course. And for second language learners, repeated practice is the only way to gain the ability of reading comprehension. The tasks of elementary are as followed:

1. Fast-reading

2. Picking out key words

3. Comprehending the reading materials

4. Intensive-reading

5. Finding certain information in reading materials 

Contents and Requirements

The Elementary Reading Course is generally open for one academic year (2 class hours per week, 2 credits in total).

1. Teaching Contents 

1) New Chinese Characters: Characters are the basis of writing. Students can learn characters with their fonts, sounds and meanings.

2) Terms: Terms are the key words from the texts. Students can learn the expressions in the form of “word-terms”.

3) Texts: Texts are the core of reading course. Vocabularies and grammars can be reviewed and reading skills can be acquired by reading texts. Text should be taught carefully with plenty of practice.

4) Exercise: Exercises include finding words, terms, and gap filling etc. aiming at consolidate the newly learnt terms and reading skills.

5) Extra-curriculum exercise: Chinese characters transcription, outside reading and preview.

2. Requirements

1) Accuracy. The accuracy of understanding should be prior to all. During practicing, students should read after teachers and be noted to pay attention to the fonts, phonetics and meanings.

2) Specificity. With the help of real contexts, pictures and objects, the teacher should provide students with some hints and instructions to stimulate their desires for reading, and then instruct them to use various reading skills.

3) Practicality. The teacher should give detailed explanations and more exercises, motivating students to actively take part in reading and guarantee their equal opportunities.

4) Communicativeness. Foreign students usually study reading before expression. It is much essential for students to master practical and proper sentences.

5) Pragmatism. The teacher should focus on teaching students most practical knowledge and skills, such as predicting and deducing by context and looking for topic sentences. 

Teaching Steps and Methods

· Teaching Steps

1. Learn new words

2. Learn terms and expressions

3. Learn texts

1) Lead reading and help students have a general understanding of the texts.

2) questions and give tips.

3) Lead students to use reading skills and ask students to answer questions.

4) exercise and help analyze structures.

5) Discuss in groups and draw conclusions.

4. De exercise and explain to students.

5. Give homework.

· Teaching methods

1. Teacher demonstration

2. Group practicing of students

3. Ask & Answer

4. Scenarios Simulation

5. Integrated Methods

6. Assign Tasks 

Test

1. Test principle: This is a course results test, not for testing language level. Tests are closely related to teaching contents. Students have to grasp key words, terms, contents and information, and try to understand the implications of texts. Full mark: 100. Time: 100 minutes.

2. Test Types

1) Write Chinese characters according to Chinese pinyin.

2) Combine words.

3) Gap filling

4) Reading Comprehension

3. Test Form

Two equal-level test papers (A, B) will be prepared. A is for normal test, B is for supplementary examination.

4. Scoring Method

Final result is the score of test. With an score above 60, students can pass the test.