Chinese for Beginners
Chinese for Beginners expands on your basic Mandarin skills, helping you build confidence in everyday conversations, enhance vocabulary and grammar, and deepen your understanding of Chinese culture.
Location
Online or in-person at AEF Boardroom, Ground Floor, Peter McPhee Centre, The University of Melbourne. Thursday evenings 6-7:30 pm.
Price
$495 per term (Course cost includes a textbook and all learning materials)
Course details
This course is designed for learners who have a basic foundation in Mandarin and can ask and answer simple questions about names, nationality, and personal information. Building on these fundamentals, Chinese for Beginners will expand your vocabulary, grammar, and conversational skills to help you communicate more confidently and naturally in everyday situations.
Using Standard Course HSK 1 as a foundation, the course integrates listening, speaking, reading, and writing skills while deepening your understanding of Chinese culture. You will learn how to introduce others, discuss daily activities, describe locations, and engage in basic social interactions. Through interactive exercises and cultural insights, you will also improve your pronunciation and expand your knowledge of Chinese characters.
By the end of the course, you will be able to participate in simple conversations with greater confidence, understand and respond to basic questions about daily life, and recognize and write over 50 Chinese characters.
The course is offered in a hybrid format. You can enjoy engaging weekly in-person sessions, coupled with the freedom to choose online learning, either partially or entirely. This approach ensures that participants have the flexibility they need to tailor their language-learning journey to their unique preferences and schedules.
In-person classes are conducted by Asialink's China Capability and Language Centre (CCLC) at University of Melbourne's Parkville campus, and are streamed for online attendees.
2026 Term Dates
- Term 1: 1st February – 27th March
- Term 2: 27th April – 19th June
- Term 3: 27th July – 18th September
- Term 4: 5th October – 27th November
No classes will be offered during Term 1. the class will instead take place on Monday evenings in Term 2 from 6 to 7:30pm.
Please note that the deadline to register for the program in Term 2 is 5pm Monday 20th April 2025.
For queries, or if you are interested in Chinese language courses at an intermediate or advanced level, please use the below form.