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Master of Arts (MA) programme in Chinese Linguistics and Language Acquisition

Introduction

To promote Chinese linguistics and its applications to other disciplines of research, and to respond to the growing global demand for the teaching and learning of Chinese as a second/foreign language, the Department of Linguistics and Modern Languages of the Chinese University of Hong Kong offers an MA programme in Chinese Linguistics and Language Acquisition. The programme aims to provide students with systematic training in Chinese language structure and the acquisition of Chinese, to help them develop a firm grasp of the complexities of the language, and an informed understanding of the teaching and learning of Chinese in monolingual and multilingual communities.

Objectives

The programme aims to:

  • Enable students to acquire a rich understanding of the systematic design of Mandarin Chinese, through providing them with principled accounts of Chinese language phenomena, in comparison to other languages and Chinese dialects;

  • Equip students with methodological tools for the analysis of Chinese language structure, and for the empirical study on learners of Chinese, as well as the dynamics of the teaching and learning process.

  • Enhance students' understanding of the complexities of second/foreign language learning and second dialect learning in the context of multi-lingual and multi-dialectal communities.

Learning Outcomes

  • Students will achieve a theory-based and informed understanding of the structure of Mandarin Chinese, and of the major findings related to the acquisition of the core features of Mandarin Chinese as a first or second/foreign language.

  • Students will be familiar with selected methodological tools used in the analysis of language form, language acquisition, and language performance, such as computerized corpora, naturalistic and experimental methods of data collection, data processing, and frameworks for analysis.

  • Students will be able to approach a teaching and learning problem with a deep appreciation of the complex array of variables underlying the learning of Chinese as a second/foreign language, and as a second dialect, in multilingual and multidialectal settings.

  • Students will gain practical experience in investigating the Chinese language through supervised training in conducting linguistic research under laboratory conditions, or engaging themselves in experimental teaching of Chinese as a second/foreign language, against the background of theoretical and typological understanding of the structure of Mandarin Chinese and current developments in language acquisition.

Programme Mode

The programme is offered in both full-time and part-time modes. The full-time mode covers a normal period of one academic year while the part-time mode covers a normal period of two academic years. Students are required to complete a total of 27 units, including 15 units of required courses and 12 units of elective courses. Currently, only full-time mode is offered.