Mandarin Level 1 | Evenings

About this course

This course introduces Mandarin through everyday communication, including greetings, introductions, names and titles, nationalities, family and ages. Learners practise listening and spoken interaction through group work and role-plays while the teacher uses Mandarin throughout the lessons. Language work covers pinyin initials and finals, the four tones and neutral tone, Chinese character strokes and radicals, sentence patterns and particles including 是, 的, 吗, 呢 and 了. Vocabulary includes numbers to 100, countries, cities and family members, with cultural content on asking about age in Chinese. The course follows Chapters 1 to 5 of HSK Standard Course 1.

What you'll learn

• Use basic Mandarin expressions for greetings, farewells, apologies and thanks
• Introduce oneself and others using names, surnames, titles and nationalities
• Pronounce Mandarin using pinyin initials, finals, the four tones and the neutral tone
• Form basic statements and questions using core Mandarin sentence patterns and particles
• Recognise and write Chinese characters using appropriate strokes, stroke order and radicals

Is this course right for you?

The course is intended for complete beginners who have never studied Mandarin. The Beginner (A1) label indicates an introductory level, and participation combines spoken practice, listening, group work and role-plays with structured language study.

• Suitable for learners with no previous Mandarin study
• Includes regular group work and role-plays
• The teacher speaks Mandarin throughout the course

Before you go

• The HSK Standard Course 1 Textbook and Workbook is required and should be purchased after the first lesson.
• Learners receive access to an online platform with lesson summaries, notes and resources.