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Getting started with Chinese 1
Getting started with Chinese 1

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Open Centre for Languages and Cultures

This course has been developed from extract parts of LGXC001 - Beginners Chinese 1: 开始吧 kāishĭ ba! [Tip: hold Ctrl and click a link to open it in a new tab. (Hide tip)] . The Open University has launched a dedicated learning centre called The Open Centre for Languages and Cultures. OpenLearn is supporting this project and is providing extracted units of all courses on The Open Centre in our dedicated Language and Cultures Hub.

The Open Centre for Languages and Cultures is the exciting new home for non-accredited language and intercultural communication short courses. You can study a wide range of language and language related subjects with us anywhere in the world, in any time zone, whatever your motivation – leisure, professional development or academic.   

It’s the one stop shop for engaging with languages, professional communication and intercultural dialogue.  

Our short courses allow us to be agile and responsive to the needs of learners who want to be part of a global society. We offer non-accredited short courses in a range of subjects including modern languages and languages for business and the workplace. We are also leading the way in developing short courses for academic research methods and pre-sessional English with IELTS, which will be available for registration in due course.

The Open Centre for Languages and Cultures is an international leader in online language learning and intercultural communications, built on our pioneering pedagogy and research.

What makes the Open Centre different?

  • The OU is the leader in online learning and teaching with a heritage of more than 50 years helping student achieve their learning ambitions.

  • The short courses are underpinned by academic rigour and designed by native speakers experienced in producing engaging materials for online learning of languages and cultures.

  • The graduating nature of the courses means that learners can build up their language and skills over time.

  • Learners will also gain a better understanding of the culture(s) associated with the language(s) they study enabling the development of intercultural communication skills.

  • Learners can mix and match the short courses and study more than one course at a time.

Once this course is complete you will be directed to OpenLearn’s hub for language content where you will be able to build on your newly found language skills.

Now that you’re fully prepared, it’s time to start on Week 1.

开始吧 kāshĭ ba Let’s start!