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Second Foreign Language II (Chinese)

Code: 104136
Credits: 6
2026/2027
Degree programme Type Course
Hotel Management OB 2

Contact lecturer

Name :
Pau Viladiu Illanas
Email :
pau.viladiu@uab.cat

Group languages

You can consult this information at the end of the document.

Prerequisites

No entry requirements

Objectives

Students will develop their communicative skills –oral and written–, so that by the end of the course they will be able to:

1. Identify and reproduce the basic strokes of Chinese characters

2. Know about the Chinese phonological system and discriminating close sounds

3. Be familiar with pinyin (the Chinese transcription system) and relating it to phonemes

4. Communicate in simple everyday life situations

5. Use polite expressions in formal contexts

6. Introduce oneself and one’s family members in Chinese

7. Follow a basic conversation on the phone

8. Give directions in Chinese

9. Understand brief texts related to tourism (personal details, nationalities, a drinks menu, etc)

10. Identify Chinese cultural patterns, relevant to their field (tourism)

11. Acquire basic knowledge about intercultural communication and Chinese social behaviour

Students will also

1. Gradually develop accuracy (in sentence formation, pronunciation, vocabulary, register, etc) and fluency (production speed, ability to express ideas and developing discourse) both in written and oral expression.

2. Learn strategies and skills to understand simple written and oral texts.

3. Apply strategies of self-teaching outside the classroom context.

4. Become more able to function effectively in everyday situations.

5. Use online resources to learn the language

Learning outcomes

  • CM17 (Design projects and presentations related to medium-to-high level tourism in a foreign language that take into account sustainability principles.) Design projects and presentations related to medium-to-high level tourism in a foreign language that take into account sustainability principles.
  • CM18 (Independently integrate oral and written discourse in a foreign language adapted to the level required in its professional application to the tourism and hotel sector.) Independently integrate oral and written discourse in a foreign language adapted to the level required in its professional application to the tourism and hotel sector.
  • CM19 (Prepare academic papers, in the corresponding language, at a medium-to-high level, with levels adjusted to the demands and style of tourism companies, considering gender roles.) Prepare academic papers, in the corresponding language, at a medium-to-high level, with levels adjusted to the demands and style of tourism companies, considering gender roles.
  • KM18 (Identify complex vocabulary in the existing communication of tourism companies in a foreign language.) Identify complex vocabulary in the existing communication of tourism companies in a foreign language.
  • KM19 (Identify complex grammatical forms in the existing communication of tourism companies in a foreign language.) Identify complex grammatical forms in the existing communication of tourism companies in a foreign language.
  • KM20 (Identify the digital resources available on hotels, restaurants and other subsectors in different foreign languages.) Identify the digital resources available on hotels, restaurants and other subsectors in different foreign languages.
  • SM25 (Use the resources on tourism available in a foreign language on the internet.) Use the resources on tourism available in a foreign language on the internet.
  • SM26 (Apply medium-to-high-level language particularities of the tourism sector in a foreign language.) Apply medium-to-high-level language particularities of the tourism sector in a foreign language.
  • SM27 (Prepare appropriate discourses for different functions, contexts, media, activities and situations in the work environment in the sector.) Prepare appropriate discourses for different functions, contexts, media, activities and situations in the work environment in the sector.

Contents

In the process of learning a language all skills are developing simultaneously. However, for the purposes of this guide, linguistic contents have been divided into



  • language functions

  • grammar and syntax

  • lexical contents

  • phonetical contents.


A module on some sociocultural aspects of Modern China is also included, due to the importance of such knowledge for successful interaction with Chinese people.



Language functions


The language functions of the communicative activities below have language functions related to tourism and general language.


a) Social function



  • Making contact with somebody: greeting and adapting our response to a formal or informal context

  • Saying goodbye

  • Introducing oneself and others in formal and informal contexts

  • Apologising

  • Thanking


b) Informative function



  • Identifying oneself and others. Giving and asking for personal details (name, age, profession, nationalities, languages)

  • Giving and asking for information about places (location, characteristics, etc)

  • Ordering and offering drinks

  • Talking about activities


c) Expressive function (feelings and moods)



  • Expressing a wish

  • Expressing joy

  • Expressing complaint


d) Inductive function



  • Making questions and expressing will or a wish to do something

  • Letting others know if something is doable or not

  • Suggesting an activity


e) Metalinguistic function



  • Asking for repetition

  • Asking the meaning of a word or expression



Grammar and syntax


Students will be able to identify and use correctly thefollowing grammatical and syntactical elements:


The sentence



  • Basic structures: adjective phrases, noun phrases, verb phrases and phrases with 有

  • Yes / No interrogative sentences

  • Wh- questions (what, who, where, when, which, how, how many)

  • Word order in sentences with place and time complements

  • Noun modifiers


Pronouns



  • Personal pronouns: 我， 你，您， 他，她，我们，你们，他们 ，她们。

  • Demonstrative pronouns: 这，那。

  • Interrogative pronouns: 什么，谁，哪儿，哪，怎么， 几，多少。


Verbs



  • Modal verbs: 要，可以。

  • Transitive verbs: 喝，叫，来， 去，姓, etc.

  • Coverbs: 在。


Adverbs and other expressions



  • Degree: 很，太 ，真

  • Time: 现在，昨天，今天，明天。

  • Place: 这儿，那儿。

  • Negation: 不，没。

  • Others: 都 (all), 也 (also).


Others:



  • Place prepositions: 在。

  • Measuring particles: 个，张，口，岁。



Lexical contents


The lexical contents of the course are classified as follows:



  • Describing people: name, surname, profession,nationality, languages, age, birthday and birthplace.

  • Dates and time

  • Food and drink

  • Numbers from 1 to 99

  • Buyingand selling, prices

  • Family and work

  • Telephone communication

  • Addresses and directions



Phonetics


Students will be able to identify Standard Chinese sounds and match them to their pinyin representation. They will also identify and pronounce correctly the sounds represented by pinyin. We will focus on those sounds that do not exist in the students’ native languages, and whose pinyin representation is different from Catalan and Spanish sounds:



  • Aspirated consonants (p, t, k, ch, c)

  • Retroflex consonants (zh, ch, sh, r)

  • Dorso-palatal consonants (j, q, x)

  • Sons vocàlics segons la síl·laba en què apareixen (a, e, i, o, u, ü)

  • Standard Chinese tones (mā, má, mǎ, mà, ma)

  • Tone variation in some characters (一， 不)



Sociocultural contents


The sociocultural topics that will be explored in class are:



  • Name structure in Chinese (surname + name), first names and the most common surnames. Polite patterns and expressions.

  • Introductions: how to give and receive a business card (body language)

  • Chinese linguistic diversity (geolects and dialects)

  • The history of Chinese handwriting (from writing on tortoise bones to the current ways of writing). Chinese orthography systems (simplified and traditional).

  • Chinese traditional medicine

  • Chinese tourist flow

  • Sights in China

  • The Chinese cultural revolution


Learning activities and methodology

Title Hours ECTS Learning outcomes
Theory 14 0.56 CM17, CM18, CM19, KM18, KM19, KM20, SM25, SM26, SM27
Tutorials 3 0.12 CM17, CM18, CM19, KM18, KM19, KM20, SM25, SM26, SM27
In-person 56.5 2.26 CM17, CM18, CM19, KM18, KM19, KM20, SM25, SM26, SM27
Classes 56.5 2.26 CM17, CM18, CM19, KM18, KM19, KM20, SM25, SM26, SM27

Students are expected to use the language in and out the classroom to get first hand practice in different communicative contexts. The teacher will prompt them to use the language during the learning process: thus, activities are designed to promote student participation in class.

The methodology is basically interactive. Students have to apply their language knowledge to complete a series of oral and written tasks about tourism and general contexts. The main focus of this course is, then, the student’s learning process rather than teacher’s theoretical explanations.

Annotation: within the schedule set by the centre or degree programme, 15 minutes of one class will be reserved for students to evaluate their lecturers and their courses or modules through questionnaires.

Assessment

Continuous assessment activities

Title Weight Hours ECTS Learning outcomes
Vocabulary tests 20% 4 0.16 CM17, CM18, CM19, KM18, KM19, KM20, SM25, SM26, SM27
Final exam 30% 4 0.16 CM17, CM18, CM19, KM18, KM19, KM20, SM25, SM26, SM27
End of a term exam 20% 0 0 CM17, CM18, CM19, KM18, KM19, KM20, SM25, SM26, SM27
Listening activities 10% 4 0.16 CM17, CM18, CM19, KM18, KM19, KM20, SM25, SM26, SM27
Oral activities 10% 4 0.16 CM17, CM18, CM19, KM18, KM19, KM20, SM25, SM26, SM27
Essays 10% 4 0.16 CM17, CM18, CM19, KM18, KM19, KM20, SM25, SM26, SM27

Assessment

No specific attendance percentage is required in order to be eligible for the Continuous Assessment.

It consists of

1. Continuous assessment activities

2. Final exam

Continuous assessment activities

  • Writing tasks
  • Vocabulary tests
  • Oral activities. Throughout the course, the student will produce a minimum of one oral activity (or a maximum of two), either individually or in group and in the form of monologues, dialogues, presentations, etc.
  • Mid-term test
  • Presentations on cultural topics
  • Final exam

Final exam

Students who opt not to do the continuous assessment have the right to do a final exam.


The grade for the subject will be NOT EVALUABLE when the student attends less than half of the assessment activities and/or does not attend the final exam.



Single assessment

The final grade for the subject will be calculated according to the following percentages:

Oral exam 20%

Written exam 30%

Exam about other skills 50%

Grade revision and resit procedures for the subject are the same as those for continual assessment.

Thissubject entirely prohibits the use of AI technologies in all its activities. Any submitted work that contains content generated using AI will be considered academic dishonesty; the corresponding grade will be awarded a zero, withoutthe possibility of reassessment. In cases of greater infringement, more serious action may be taken.



This subject entirely prohibits the use of AI technologies in all its activities. Any submitted work that contains content generated using AI will be considered academic dishonesty; the corresponding grade will be awarded a zero, withoutthe possibility of reassessment. In cases of greater infringement, more serious action may be taken.


Bibliography

The book used in class will be:

Ding Anqi, Chen Xin, Jin Lili (2010) Discover China: Student's book One + workbook (Llibre de l'alumne U + Llibre d'exercicis). Oxford: Macmillan Education; Beijing: Foreign Language Teaching and Research Press.

The teacher will also provide extra exercises on specific vocabulary related to tourism either in class or on moodle.

As this is a beginners course, the suggested resources are websites for extra pronunciation, reading and writing practice.

Online resources for studying:

— http://www.nciku.com/ - dictionary with extra information about writing strokes and vocabulary

— http://www.chino-china.com/ - dictionary, text editor, writing resources, forum and information on Chinese culture

— http://www.yellowbridge.com/ - several resources for learning Chinese

— http://www.hanzigrids.com/ - templates to practice character writing

For pronunciation practice:

— http://www.quickmandarin.com/chinesepinyintable - grid of all Chinese syllables (with sound)

— http://pinyinpractice.com/tones.htm - interactive games to practice tones

— http://lingomi.com/products/chinese-listening-practice - Chinese pronunciation course (free demo)

Software

There isn't

Course groups and languages

The information provided is provisional until November 30. After this date, you will be able to consult the language of each group through this link. To access the information, you will need to enter the course CODE

Type of teaching Group Language Semester Shift
(TE) Theory 1 Chinese annual morning-mixed