UNIT 24

Singapore and Malaysia

COMMUNICATIVE OBJECTIVES

Once you’ve mastered this unit, you’ll be able to use Chinese to:

1.  Discuss aspects of the geography, population, history, politics, economy, society, linguistic situation, and culture of Singapore.

2.  Discuss aspects of the geography, population, history, politics, economy, society, linguistic situation, and culture of Penang, Malaysia.

3.  Discuss aspects of the geography, population, history, politics, economy, society, linguistic situation, and culture of your own and other countries.

4.  Talk about the natural world, its flora and fauna: names of various flowers, trees, and animals.

5.  Discuss environmental concerns: destruction of the natural environment, animals facing extinction, etc.

6.  Discuss the different names for “Mandarin” in mainland China, Taiwan, Singapore, and Malaysia, and the similarities and differences among these different varieties of Mandarin.

7.  Talk about schools and school systems: private, public, and independent schools; Chinese community schools; coeducation, etc.

8.  Discuss the purchase of a laptop computer: models, functions, features, multimedia, Wi-Fi, software, operating systems, applications, place of manufacture, warranty, etc.

9.  Handle more formal spoken tasks and topics, including some of the higher-level grammatical patterns and vocabulary typical of formal spoken Chinese.

10. Better understand Hokkien-influenced Mandarin.