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Accessibility statement
An image to illustrate Beginners Chinese 1: 开始吧 kāishĭ ba! short course
Have you always wanted to learn to speak Mandarin Chinese? Are you fascinated by the sound, the script and this ancient civilisation? If so, this 16-unit course offers a solid introduction to the language. Across three to four study hours per unit, you’ll learn the basics of reading, writing, speaking and listening through online activities. Topics include saying hello and talking about jobs. By the end, you’ll be able to understand and speak simple Chinese in everyday contexts. This course teaches Mandarin and simplified characters. On completion, you’ll receive a digital badge to share, display or use as a certificate.
This short course is designed to give you a solid introduction to the Chinese language. You'll learn the essentials of reading, writing, speaking and listening in Chinese. You’ll also develop key skills that will enhance your future study of the language.
Delivered through user-friendly, ‘bite-sized’ blocks, in each unit you’ll discover basic vocabulary and set phrases. Audio material, featuring recordings by native speakers of Chinese, and a wide variety of speaking activities will aid your pronunciation. Throughout the course you’ll build up your own Chinese phrase book covering varied topics including:
You’ll learn that Chinese verbs do not change form regardless of tense and subjects preceding them; that measure words must be used between a number and a noun; nouns do not have singular and plural forms. Along with completing the activities and quiz in each unit to strengthen your learning, you’ll build your own language notebook, and gain a solid foundation of basic Chinese to move onto the next level.
Please note that although this course is non-accredited, it can be used towards the module Making your learning count (YXM130) to gain OU credits.
After completing this course, you should be able to:
This course is designed to help you achieve a level of language proficiency equivalent to level A1 of the Council of Europe Common European Framework of Reference for languages (CEFR).
You will have access to discussion forums that you are strongly encouraged to participate in as these forums combine support from fellow students with input from a language-specialist learning adviser. Other support is available via the StudentHome website and Computing Helpdesk.
The course is made up of 16 units, with each unit expected to take about 3–4 hours to study. In total, you’ll need around 64 hours to complete the course.
You can begin at any time during the life of the course and study at your own pace. The course will be open to you for a time period of between 6 and 18 months depending on your course registration date and you will be advised of the specific time limitations upon enrolment.
All learning materials are delivered entirely online and there is no formal tuition for this course.
Your study is self-directed and you’ll have access to a course website, which includes:
As a student of The Open University, you should be aware of the content of the academic regulations, which are available on our Student Policies and Regulations website.
There are no entry requirements for this course. It’s suitable if you are completely new to Chinese and to language learning, and it does not assume any prior knowledge.
If you have any doubt about the suitability of the course, please contact us.
The course is delivered online and makes use of a variety of online resources. If you use specialist hardware or software to assist you in using a computer or the internet you are advised to contact us about support which can be given to meet your needs.
The OU strives to make all aspects of study accessible to everyone and this Accessibility Statement outlines what studying LGXC001 involves. You should use this information to inform your study preparations and any discussions with us about how we can meet your needs.
StartEngland fee
At anytime before 31/07/2026£195
We accept American Express, Mastercard, Visa and Visa Electron.
If this course is geared towards your job or developing your career, you could ask your employer to sponsor you by paying some or all of the fees. Your sponsor just needs to complete a simple form to confirm how much they will be paying and we will invoice them.
The fee information provided here is valid for short courses starting in the 2026/27 academic year. Fees typically increase annually. For further information about the University's fee policy, visit our Fee Rules.
You can start this course anytime.
You can start this course anytime.
Level info