Mandarin Chinese Course: Beginners Level 1
Begin your journey into the Mandarin Chinese language and culture with our Mandarin Chinese courses online!
This beginner-friendly course is designed for complete beginners and offers a clear, supportive introduction to Mandarin Chinese — no prior experience required. You’ll start learning practical, everyday Mandarin from the very first classes, building confidence step by step.
Mandarin Chinese is often more logical than people expect. The language has no verb conjugations, no plurals, and no grammatical gender, making it highly accessible for beginners. You’ll learn how Mandarin works through Pinyin (the phonetic system used to represent sounds), while gradually being introduced to commonly used Chinese characters.
As a tonal language, Mandarin places strong emphasis on listening and pronunciation. With guidance from an experienced native Mandarin-speaking tutor, you’ll learn to recognise and use tones accurately, communicate using simple sentence structures, and understand how spoken and written Mandarin work together. Alongside language skills, you’ll gain insight into Chinese culture and everyday communication.
Learning outcomes
By the end of this Mandarin Chinese: Beginners Level 1 course, you should be able to:
- Understand the difference between the Pinyin system and written Chinese characters
- Hear, recognise, and pronounce Mandarin tones
- Greet people and introduce yourself and others using basic sentence structures
- Ask and answer simple questions, including personal information and country of origin
- Use basic negative structures in Mandarin
- Indicate possession and belonging
- Use common measure words correctly
- Say numbers, including phone numbers and age
- Tell the time, days of the week, and months of the year
- Distinguish between formal and familiar speech
- Recognise and use basic Chinese characters and vocabulary
- Demonstrate introductory understanding of Chinese culture
Course content
What will be covered in this Mandarin Chinese: Beginners Level 1 course?
Topics
- Greetings
- Introducing yourself and asking names, countries, and nationalities
- Alphabet (Pinyin) and numbers
- Dates and time
- Family members
- Basic Mandarin vocabulary
- Chinese culture
Grammar
- Use of tones
- Asking simple questions
- Basic sentence structures
- Forming negative sentences
- Introduction to measure words
Intended audience
Who is this Mandarin Chinese: Beginners Level 1 course for?
- Complete beginners with no prior experience learning Mandarin Chinese
- Learners interested in Chinese language and culture
- People planning travel or personal connections in Chinese-speaking regions
- Anyone curious about learning a tonal language in a structured, supportive environment
Course venue
Online via Zoom
- Zoom details will be emailed with your enrolment confirmation
- A device with a stable internet connection is required
Course materials
What to bring to class
- Notebook and pen
- Course textbook (see below)
Textbook
Students need to purchase the course textbook for our Learn Mandarin Chinese for Beginners Course and Learn Mandarin Chinese for Beginners: Level 2 Course.
Integrated Chinese Level 1, Part 1, 4th Edition (3rd Edition is okay)
ISBN: 9781622911356
or
Easy Peasy Chinese: Mandarin Chinese for Beginners
ISBN: 9780241513279
Please check to see which textbook is required for your class
We recommend purchasing your textbook after the confirmation of your course (usually within three working days of the proposed start). The enrolment fee does not include the textbook.
Certificate of completion
Achievement Recognition
Upon successful completion of the course with at least 80% attendance, you will receive a Certificate of Attendance, recognising your participation and commitment to learning Mandarin Chinese.
Additional information
- Course delivery: Fully online through interactive virtual classrooms
- Certificate: A Certificate of Attendance is provided to students who successfully complete the course
- Enrol in three Mandarin Chinese language courses and receive an automatic 15% discount
What's next?
What other Mandarin Chinese classes do we offer?
After completing this course, you may wish to continue with Mandarin Chinese Course: Beginners Level 2, where you’ll build on your foundation and develop greater confidence using Mandarin in everyday situations.
Enrol in both Mandarin Chinese Course: Beginners Level 1 and Beginners Level 2 and save 10% using the promo code GROUP10 at checkout. Please visit our discounts page for full details. Please visit our discounts page for full details.
<p>Begin your journey into the Mandarin Chinese language and culture with our <a href="https://www.sydneycommunitycollege.edu.au/courses/learn-language/mandarin">Mandarin Chinese courses</a> online!</
...
<p>Begin your journey into the Mandarin Chinese language and culture with our <a href="https://www.sydneycommunitycollege.edu.au/courses/learn-language/mandarin">Mandarin Chinese courses</a> online!</
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Course testimonials:
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Mary said: I won't deny that Mandarin is a difficult language to learn but by week 8 I was getting the hang of it. I particularly enjoyed the cultural asides which gave a good introduction to the way Chinese people interact at work and at home.
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Nick said: Our Tutor Fang was great, she made the learning experience very enjoyable. The course was all on zoom that’s why I rate the venue.5 I would like to continue my Mandarin lessons next year. Thanks also for the ability to get the video recording of the class I missed it made it easier to ‘catch up’ on what I had missed
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Theodore said: This was my first class with Fang Zhao. I found that she moderated the class very well. The pace was good and combined language, culture and grammar. She also gave relevant personal examples of experiencing the challenges of learning a second language. I enjoyed the small group Zoom class learning approach more than anticipated. I'm continuing with the next class in the series.