WORKING Mandarin

Working Mandarin™ provides insight to the Chinese business world and equips participants with a solid ability to communicate orally in Mandarin in the everyday Chinese work world. Because it is intended to provide a grounding in spoken Mandarin, there is only a brief introduction to Chinese characters towards the end of the course. From the first day of the course, Mandarin is written in pinyin, which uses the Latin alphabet, with accents to indicate the tones. In this way, students can start using the spoken language immediately.

This elective course follows an unusual schedule. Working Mandarin™ begins in January of a student's First Year, includes an in-country immersion in May, and does not end until the conclusion of MOD II of the student's Second Year. First Year KFBS students should be aware that registering for the course in January automatically registers you for each of the 4 MODs. Second Year MBA students may be allowed to register for just the first half of the course, but only on a space available basis.

Working Mandarin™ with the immersion provides 4.5 of academic credit towards the KFBS MBA degree: 3.0 credits for the units and 1.5 credits for the immersion. Students taking Working Mandarin for credit receive grades of H (high pass), P (pass), L (low pass), and F (fail).

Under certain circumstances participation in the immersion may be waived for individual students, for example if the student is also participating in an exchange or a Global Business Project in China. Please discuss your situation with the professor at the beginning of the course. Generally, students must complete all 4 MODs as well as the immersion in order to receive credit for the course.

In-Country Immersion

The in-country immersion is held during mid to late May and usually lasts 12 days. The immersion gives Working Mandarin participants a chance to practice what they have learned, in context. Classroom sessions and debriefs are given daily to orient the students on their activities around town, provide information and discussion on business-related topics. During the immersion, participants are given a "Mission Impossible" - a series of tasks to accomplish individually or in small groups around town on their own and on organized excursions. The immersion also includes company visits, some sight-seeing, and a community service project.

In recent years the Working Mandarin™ immersion has been based in Beijing, with trips to Xian and Shanghai. Here are some key components of the Working Mandarin immersion, May 16 - 30, 2006:

Beijing ( May 17 - May 24) - accommodations with Beijing families

Daily Mandarin classes at the Foreign Language Institute at Tsinghua
Community service day with local orphanage
Visits to Forbidden City, Temple of Heaven, Hu Tong district, and Mutianyu Great Wall
Lecture on Chinese economy and business trends at Tsinghua
Two company visits, one a local Chinese company and one multinational
Mission (im)possible team activities ( accomplishing tasks around town and finding the answer to questions about Chinese history and business)

Xian ( May 25 26) - accommodations in hotel

Visits to Terra Cotta Soldiers, Tao Temple, Big Goose Pagoda
Lecture on Xi'an, the ancient capital and its role in China today
Visit with cave dwellers
Mission (im)possible team activities (answering questions related to Xian)

Shanghai (May 27 - 30) - accommodations in dorm

Lecture on Shanghai and stock
Visit to Suzhou and tour of silk factory
Business trips to stock exchange and outsourcing operation
Mission (im)possible team activities ( accomplishing tasks around town and finding the answer to questions about Chinese history and business)

Course Materials

The course textbook was written by UNC's Prof. Yi Zhou and CIBER Director Lynne Gerber, and is published by Georgetown University Press. Books will be available at the first workshop of each semester. Students will also make extensive use of an internet classroom found on the Quia website.

Technology Requirements

Course Fees

Instructional fees

Materials

Immersion fees (not including airfare)