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Fall 2009 CHI 412K: Second Year Chinese I
Instructors
Camilla H. Hsieh (8 A.M. class) Elsa Chang (9:30 class)
Office: WCH 5.132 (475-6046) Office: WCH 5.116 (475-6041)
Office Hours: Office hours: T 12:30-2:00p; TH 1:30-3:00p
E-mail: camilla@mail.utexas.edu E-mail: elsa_cwc@yahoo.com
Teaching Assistants (Office WMB 1.114, 475-6796):
Shaohua (Sarah) Guo Flora Chuang
E-mail: shaohuasunshine@yahoo.com E-mail: fchuang@mail.utexas.edu
Office Hours: TBA Office Hours: TBA
Required Course Materials:
(1) Practical Chinese Reader II
(2) CHI 412K course packet by Dr. Wen-Hua Teng, available at
Paradigm Books on 24th Street. (472-7986)
The instructors of this course will use e-mail to communicate with you. It is your
responsibility to update your e-mail address with the University and to check your e-mail
regularly. We also use Blackboard (courses.utexas.edu) to supply any supplementary
materials, and group e-mails.
PRE-REQUISITE: CHI 507 with a grade of at least C.
Tentative Final exam dates:
(Hsieh) December 12, 2:00-5:00
(Chang): December 15, 9:00-12 noon
Grading Policy
8 Vocabulary quizzes 8%
4 Tests 40%
8 Homework 12%
3 Listening quizzes 12%
5 Reading Fluency Tests 6%
1 Dialogue Test 6%
Final Exam 16%
Attendance Mandatory
Preparation Mandatory
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All CHI 412K grades are calculated numerically throughout the semester. For transcript
purpose, letter grades are given at the end of the semester according to the conversion chart
below:
A+ = 97-100, A = 94-96, A- = 90-93 B+ = 87-89, B = 84-86, B- = 80-83
C+ = 77-79, C = 74-76, C- = 70-73 D+= 67-69, D = 64-66, D- = 60-63
F = 0-59
Vocabulary quizzes: A vocabulary quiz is only ten minutes long. At the end of the semester,
the lowest score will be dropped. Each student is entitled to have one (1) make-up vocabulary
quiz. In the event that a second make-up quiz becomes necessary, a 10% deduction from your
score will be implemented. Any make-up quiz must be taken within three (3) days after the
regular one is given. A third make-up quiz will not be allowed.
Tests: All test scores will count toward your final grade. Each student is entitled to one make-
up test provided that a legitimate reason is given at least one (1) day before the test take place,
and the make-up test must be taken within three (3) days after the regular one is given. In case
there is an unforeseen emergency, the arrangement for taking the make-up test must be made as
soon as possible. In the event that a second make-up test becomes necessary, a 10% deduction
from your score will be implemented; e.g., a 90 becomes 81. A third make-up test will not be
allowed. All make-ups must be taken during office hours.
Homework Assignments
Homework #1: All assigned homework #1 must be completed before coming to class,
but they do not have to be turned in. If you wish to have it checked, you are required to turn in
the character version on or before the day Homework #2 for the same lesson is due. However,
character mistakes will not be corrected; corrections will only be made on grammatical errors.
You are encouraged to use a Chinese word processor to write Homework #1.
Homework #2: All assigned Homework #2 must be written by hand, and are due on
the next class day after the answers are discussed. After that, the homework will not be
accepted and you will receive a zero (0) for that assignment. Homework past due by more
than one (1) week will not be accepted.
Students who come to class on the day when answers of Homework #2 are to be
discussed without doing the homework in characters beforehand will be considered
absent for that day.
Fluency tests: These tests will be conducted in classroom on the days when the texts are to be
read. Guidelines and the evaluation sheet can be found on p. 64 in this packet.
Listening quizzes
A. Each student is entitled to one (1) make-up listening quiz provided that there is a
legitimate reason. If no legitimate reason is provided, a 10% deduction from your make-up
score will be implemented. A second make-up quiz will not be allowed.
B. At the end of the semester, the lowest score will be dropped.
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Dialogue Test: this test will take place in class. The dialogues included in this test are on
p. 13, p. 20, p. 37, p. 44, p. 49, and p. 108 of this packet. Each student will say two (2)
dialogues with two different partners. The two dialogues will be drawn randomly at the time of
the test. The evaluation standard will be: grammar accuracy (40%), pronunciation (30%), and
fluency (30%).
Attendance
A. You are allowed a maximum of three (3) absences without penalty during the
semester. Each subsequent absence will incur a penalty of 0.5 point deduction from your end
of semester grade. You must use these three penalty-free absences wisely and carefully (e.g.,
doctor's appointments, job interviews, family reunion, car problems, oversleeping, studying for
another class, being unable to do Homework #2, etc.). Unless you can provide adequate
evidence that you are ill for a period of time, which lasts longer than three (3) days, no
exceptions will be made.
B. Being more than ten (10) minutes late will be considered a half absence. On the day
when answers of Homework #2 are to be discussed, being more than 5 minutes late will be
considered a half absence.
C. More than seven (7) absences, the three penalty-free ones included, during the
semester will lower your semester grade by one full grade.
D. Twelve (12) absences, the three ones included, will automatically result in an F
grade for this course.
Preparation: All students are required to prepare for each class day's material according to the
Homework Preparation Schedule (pp. 3-6) in this packet. A letter grade will be given to each
student on their classroom performance on a regular basis. On days when answers of
Homework #1 or in-class exercises are to be discussed, those who did not prepare will
automatically receive an F grade for classroom performance. On days when answers of
homework #2 are to be discussed, those who did not prepare will be considered absent. At the
end of the semester, the preparation grades will be averaged, and each student's semester
average will be adjusted based on the following chart:
A+, A +1
A- +0.5
B+, B, B- no change
C+, C, C- -0.5
D+, D, D- -1
F -2
Mobile Phones: Mobile phones must be turned off during class time. Students whose mobile
phones ring in class will receive a warning the first time. Each subsequent violation of this
policy is equivalent to half an absence. Students whose mobile phones ring during a quiz or
a test will have 5 points taken off that quiz/test.
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Scholastic Dishonesty
A. Copying another student's homework is considered an act of scholastic dishonesty.
The student who does the copying will receive a zero for the assignment, and the other student
will receive 50% of the original grade. Any dispute will be forwarded to the Office of the Dean
of Students.
**Do not share the answers of Homework #2 with a classmate who was absent on the day
when the answers were discussed. This is considered an act of copying.
B. Collaboration on any homework assignment is considered an act of scholastic
dishonesty. Both, or all, of the students involved will receive 50% of the grade of the
homework assignment. Both, or all, students involved will be reported to the Office of the
Dean of Students.
C. Passing information from one class to another is considered an act of scholastic
dishonesty. Both, or all, students involved will be reported to the Office of the Dean of
Students.
**Do not accept answers of homework from a student who took this course previously; do
not pass answers of homework to a student who will take this course in the future.
D. Any form of cheating, along with those who commit it, will be reported to the
Office of the Dean of Students even if there is only circumstantial evidence.
Important Notes
A. After each of the tests and listening quizzes has been graded, all students are
strongly encouraged to visit the instructor during office hours to discuss the
mistakes. All tests, including the final exam, will be kept in the department's office
until the end of the following semester. After which, they will be destroyed.
B. You should go to http://www.laits.utexas.edu/itsaud/ and find the CHI 412K
listening materials. Listen to the text and listening practice for each lesson from time
to time to strengthen your listening comprehension and to prepare for the listening
quizzes.
C. The following are useful links for studying Chinese. They are also listed in
"External Links" of our class Blackboard.
http://www.zhongwen.com
http://ktmatu.com
http://www.njstar.com (Chinese word processor).
* It is the policy of the University of Texas at Austin that the student must notify each
instructor at least fourteen (14) days prior to the classes scheduled on dates he or she will be
absent to observe a religious holy day. For religious holidays that fall within the first two
weeks of the semester, the notice should be given on the first day of the semester.
** The University of Texas at Austin provides upon request appropriate academic adjustments
for qualified students with disabilities. For more information, contact the Office of the Dean of
Students at 471-6259, 471-4641 TTY.