Chinese 1

Course information

Learning outcomes

Upon completing the course, you will:

- be able to introduce yourself briefly and say something about your family, language(s) and nationality
- understand some Chinese culture
- know the basics of pronunciation and intonation as well as some basic grammar and structures of Chinese
- distinguish about 170 characters

Content

- Sounds and the pinyin system
- Basic vocabulary for everyday life and work
- Talking about yourself and your family
- Languages and nationalities
- Receiving guests
- Numbers and measurement words
- Customs related to different communicative situations

Teacher

Sari Annala

Study material

Textbook: Chi le ma ? (a course in basic Chinese / © 2019 the authors and Otava Publishing Company Ltd) 

(ISBN 9789511334156)

and additional material in the MyCourses learning environment

Workload

36 h (contact hours) + 45 h (self-study)

Prerequisites

0 (no prior studies)

Evaluation

1. Lectures 36 h and self-study 45 h, active participation (Passing the course requires 75% attendance in class.)
2. Group work, written and oral assignments (50%)
3. Oral exam (30 %)
4. Written exam (20%)

Teaching time and location

The teaching time and the location of the course can be found at Sisu information system

1. The link leads to Completion methods tab of the course page
2. From the top of the page (Version drop-down menu), check that academic year 2025-2026 is selected  

3. From the blue bar, click Lecture and open the Groups and teaching times tab to see the teaching time and the location of the course. Exam times can be seen by clicking Exam.
    

   Exam instructions at the Open University

The teacher has four (4) weeks to grade the exam submissions starting from the exam date.

Further information

Equivalences to other courses: Basic Chinese for Professional Needs 1 (LC-9410, LC-9111)

CEFR level: A1.1

See also the course "The Basics of Chinese Writing and the History of Characters," which is intended as a supplementary course alongside Chinese 1.

Online learning environment for the course  

MyCourses online learning environment is a tool for both students and teachers for communication and managing everyday course work. You need an Aalto User ID to log in to the course's MyCourses workspace and participate in teaching.

Digital workspace of the course:
MyCourses

More details on completing the course will be available at MyCourses closer to the start of the course.

Registration and course fee

Registration for Open University courses is done via the link below: 
Course registration

Registration for this course starts on 8.12.2025 at 9.00  
Registration for this course ends on 29.12.2025 at 23.59

It is not possible to register before the registration period has started or after it has ended.

The number of participants is limited to 6. Please note: The course is organized if a minimum of 10 students register for it.

This course is organized by the Aalto University Language Centre.

The course fee is paid upon registration for each course at a time and it is binding. Familiarize yourself with registration and payment rules as well as other guidelines for students:
Registration, payments and rules

Activating Aalto ID and Multifactor Authentication

You can activate your Aalto User ID the day after the registration and you should activate it no later than the day before the start of the course.
Instructions for activating your Aalto user ID

Once you have activated your Aalto user ID, also enable multifactor authentication. Some of Aalto University's services require multifactor authentication.

Instructions for using Multifactor Authentication