51³Ô¹ÏÍø

Location: South Kensington Campus | Level: Intermediate

Who is this course for?

This course is for those who have completed our Mandarin Chinese 2 (Post-Beginners) course or have equivalent knowledge. You should be comfortable with basic conversations and recognize approximately 150-200 characters.

If you are unsure whether this is a suitable course for you, please contact us for a free language level check.

Course overview

This course aims to further strengthen your communication skills, with a focus on practical conversation, greater grammatical complexity, and a broader range of vocabulary.

You will build confidence in using Mandarin to navigate a wider variety of everyday situations—both spoken and written—such as making arrangements, expressing opinions, giving explanations, and handling basic transactions. Sessions will also include work with authentic materials, such as dialogues, short texts, and audio recordings, which will deepen your understanding of Chinese language and culture in real-life contexts.

More advanced grammatical structures will be introduced gradually to support your growing fluency, with regular opportunities to practise new forms in conversation and guided writing tasks. Cultural exploration remains an integral part of the course, allowing you to appreciate the social and linguistic nuances of contemporary Chinese life.

The pace and content of the course will be adapted to the group’s needs and learning goals, ensuring a supportive and responsive learning environment. By the end of the course, you will be better equipped to use Mandarin with accuracy and confidence in a range of everyday and semi-formal settings.

This course uses a textbook and other material to teach the course. Advice on which course textbook to buy will be given in the first class.

Term dates - subject to confirmation

•  Autumn/Michaelmas Term: week beginning 12 October 2026 until week ending 11 December 2026

•  Spring/Lent Term: week beginning 11 January 2027 until week ending 20 March 2027

For course content and language level enquiries: Contact the Mandarin Chinese Coordinator, Dr Ruth Herd at ruth.herd@imperial.ac.uk

For enrolment and booking enquiries: Contact Christian Jacobi at c.jacobi@imperial.ac.uk

Class recordings

These classes are not recorded.

51³Ô¹ÏÍø certificates

This course has no exams or assessments, so you can focus on enjoying your learning. Regular attendance may also lead to the award of an 51³Ô¹ÏÍø attendance certificate. (T&Cs apply).