Chinese for Beginners

"If language is not correct,
then what is said is not what is meant"

- Confucius

During the last two decades, the rapid economic growth drew a lot of foreign companies to invest in China. In order to be actively involved in China, it is not only important to possess the necessary technical and business know-how, but it is also important to know the language, the colloquial forms as well as the culture and society of the country.

The TU Wien Academy for Continuing Education wants to assist you to make this bridging towards China. This two-semester seminar is the initial study proposal for technicians. After finishing this introductory course, there is a possibility to deepen the acquired knowledge in the regular university course "Technical Chinese".

Didactics: Communicative language teaching; lecture, exercises, role plays. The weekly home exercises require an additional workload of approx. two hours

Trainer: Dr. Yan Li

Participation fee: 

  • Students: EUR 240 (VAT-free) per semester (excl. learning materials)
  • External participants: EUR 320 (VAT-free) per semester (excl. learning materials)
  • Employees of TU Wien: on request

Requirement for participation: Please register via our online form, opens an external URL in a new window.

Completion: Certificate of participation from TU Wien

 

  • Basics of modern standard Chinese (Mandarin)
  • Basics of Chinese culture and manners as well as intercultural communication
  • Technical terms

The content is strongly geared towards a stay in China and includes topics such as accommodation, travel organization, study and university aspects, working environment, medical appointments, etc. Participants learn to understand short texts and to communicate in a Chinese-speaking environment.

In view of China's growing economic importance, this event is primarily aimed at the following groups of people:

  • Students preparing for their study visit to China or Taiwan;
  • Academic staff from universities
  • Employees from companies (e.g. engineers, scientists) who want to establish relations with China or prepare for a foreign assignment in China
  • People with an interest in Chinese

13-15 dates per semester
each Monday between 6.00 p.m. - 8.30 p.m.

In this course, participants learn the basic structure of Chinese. The focus is on grammar, vocabulary and pronunciation as well as the Chinese character system (short characters). The course also covers the basics of Chinese culture, regional studies and traditions.

After attending the course, participants will be able to understand sentences and frequently used expressions in Chinese and communicate in simple, routine everyday situations. Participants will also be able to read and understand simple descriptions and short articles in technical Chinese.