现代标准汉语（通常被称为“普通话”）的入门教程设为两学期，本课程是第一学期。虽然不是每位选修此课的同学都是纯粹的初学者，这门课程仍然假定选修者先前缺乏在现代标准汉语方面的语言背景。这门课程的开设目的是为了培养学生的：（a）基本对话能力（包括发音、基本语法类型、常用词汇和标准用法）；(b)基本阅读技巧（包括传统的繁体字体系和简体字体系）；(c)对汉字书写体系构建方法的理解，以及抄写、书写汉字的能力；(d)在学习类似于基础汉语这样的语言时的语感及其所包含的特定学习步骤，使学生能够在以后的日子里有效地进行自学。

This subject is the first semester of two that form an introduction to modern standard Chinese, commonly called Mandarin. Though not everyone taking this course will be an absolute beginner, the course presupposes no prior background in the language. The purpose of this course is to develop: (a) basic conversational abilities (pronunciation, fundamental grammatical patterns, common vocabulary, and standard usage); (b) basic reading skills (in both the traditional character set and the simplified); (c) an understanding of the way the Chinese writing system is structured, and the ability to copy and write characters; and (d) a sense of what learning a language like Chinese entails, and the sort of learning processes that it involves, so students are able to continue studying effectively on their own.

本课所采用的主要教材是J. K. Wheatley编写的《汉语学习：普通话基础教程I》（未出版，但可在网上获取）。（本书第二部分为课程21F.102/152的基础内容，也已在开放式课程网页上发布）。

The main text is J. K. Wheatley’s Learning Chinese: A Foundation Course in Mandarin, part I (unpublished, but available online). (Part II of the book forms the basis of 21F.102/152, which is also published on OpenCourseWare.)

技术需求

需要安装一些媒体播放器，如 QuickTime® 播放器， RealOne™ 播放器，或Windows Media® 播放器，以支持该课程网页上的.mp3文件的播放。
Media player software, such as QuickTime® Player, RealOne™ Player, or Windows Media® Player, is required to run the .mp3 files found on this course site.