Elementary
New Self-Paced Online Elementary Course (2025)
A new online course has been designed for beginners who are interested in learning Chinese for personal, professional, or cultural reasons, and is ideal for those seeking flexible online study.
This flexible, self-paced online course offers an engaging introduction to the foundational elements of Mandarin Chinese—covering vocabulary, pronunciation, sentence structure, and cultural context. Designed with busy learners in mind, the course requires a total time commitment of approximately 2 to 3 hours per week, including access to optional live online classes held between 5:30 PM to 7:30 PM (AEST/AEDT).
Through a blend of interactive learning activities, you’ll build confidence in speaking, listening, reading, and writing. The course features audio dialogues, quizzes, and cultural insights to reinforce your learning and deepen your understanding of Chinese language and culture. You’ll also receive guidance and support from experienced Chinese language instructors throughout your learning journey.
While live sessions are not recorded, you’ll have continued access to the Learning Management System (LMS) and all course materials for six months from the date of registration, allowing you to review and revisit content at your own pace.
There are no formal assessments, but upon completing all "Test Your Knowledge" sections, you’ll receive an official La Trobe Confucius Institute Certificate, recognising your achievement and progress in Mandarin Chinese.
Disclaimer: Please note that live tutorials will not be offered for this course in 2025. While the course typically includes optional live online sessions, this year’s offering is being launched as a trial version.
As part of this trial, a discounted course fee will be applied to reflect the absence of live tutorials and to support learners exploring the course in its pilot phase. All core materials—including audio dialogues, quizzes, cultural insights, and admin guidance—remain accessible for six months from your registration date.
We appreciate your understanding and welcome your feedback as we continue to refine and enhance the learning experience.
Elementary Group Course
- Prerequisite: Nil (little or no prior knowledge of the Chinese language)
- Duration: 12 weeks
- Textbook: Developed in-house
The Elementary course is based on a textbook developed in-house, designed by La Trobe Confucius Institute staff. Instructors will provide learning materials and exercises for each class and students will be provided complimentary audio files to facilitate your independent study after class.
Learning Outcomes
(Speaking and Listening)
After completing Elementary Chinese, you will be able to:
- Greet and introduce yourself and others
- Ask for someone's name and provide your name
- Ask and talk about your family and hobbies
- Talk about age and occupations
- Conduct simple conversations in Chinese on a range of topics
(Reading and writing)
After completing Elementary Chinese, you will:
- Read sentences (Pinyin) with correct pronunciation, tones, intonations and rhythms
- Recognize approximately 150 Chinese characters
- Write at least 20 characters
- Understand basic Chinese sentence structure
(Chinese Culture)
During our Elementary course, you will learn more about Chinese culture and history, customs and social etiquette, value systems, cultural taboos and current affairs. You will understand the formation of characters by learning the meaning of some basic radicals, which will help you guess the meaning of different characters.
Teaching Modes
Teaching aids:
- Pictures
- Multimedia
- On-line software
- Audio and video resources
Methods:
- Lectures and language practice
- Demonstration
- Role play
- Discussion
- Simulation
Assessment
No formal assessment will be conducted. You will receive consistent feedback from the instructor regarding your learning progress. You will receive an official Confucius Institute Completion Certificate after you finish the course (80% of the attendance is required for this Certificate).
Online Resources
- Chinese Plus: https://www.chineseplus.net/?lang=en
- HSK Model Test http://www.chinesetest.cn/godownload.do
- Chinese Interactive Exercises: http://www.quia.com/dir/chinese/
- Chinese learning: http://www.yes-chinese.com/
- Nciku (Online dictionary): http://www.nciku.com/
- Travel to China: http://www.travelchinaguide.com