UCCI Course Description

1. Students create a chart of their extended family to identify relatives with special skills or  networks who could potentially influence or help their careers as entrepreneurs. (Presentational Task)
2. Students write a short paragraph in Chinese about personal background and experiences (work, education, volunteering, community services, etc.) (Presentational Task; Structures)
3. Students respond to the prompts on a Taiwanese entrepreneurship website ,TUN Entrepreneurship Weekend (台大創業週刊), to identify which types of entrepreneurship (e.g., the “Bill Gates” type,” the “Steve Jobs” type, or the “Yong-Qing Wang” type) best fits their strengths, interests, and personality. (Interpretive and Presentational Tasks; Content; Structures)
4. Students view the brief profiles of the entrepreneurs they identify themselves with in the previous activity, and identify which traits are perceived as advantageous or disadvantageous in both Chinese and English-speaking worlds using Venn diagrams. (Interpretive Task; Culture).
5. Students view and listen to videotaped texts in Chinese  (see links under Chinese entrepreneurial profiles in the Supplemental  Instructional Materials session) to identify common personality traits and key abilities of selected entrepreneurs in the Chinese-speaking world. (Interpretive Task; Structure) checking off,
6. Students view video clips in Chinese to identify the characters’ personality traits. (Interpretive Task; Structures)
7. Students survey their classmates’ skills and talents, interests, and personal achievement goals and chart the data to create a class profile. (Interpersonal  and Presentational Tasks)
8. Students view/read profiles of well-known entrepreneurs from the Chinese-speaking cultures  (Interpretive Task; Content; Culture), and discuss the similarities and differences of their personality traits, abilities, and key competence. (Interpersonal Task)
9. Students write a five-sentence summary in Chinese on a well-known entrepreneur from the Chinese-speaking cultures. (Presentational Task; Structures)
10. Students compare and contrast a contemporary entrepreneur from the Chinese-speaking world with one from the English-speaking world, NTUEntrepWeek, (Content; Culture)  and identify key cultural perspectives in each (Interpretive Task; Culture). Students summarize and present their findings  to the class. (Presentational Task)
11. Working in collaborative groups, students identify their own traits and abilities in relationship to one of the entrepreneurs and tell about the reasons why. Students give and receive feedback from their group members in process. (Presentational Tasks)
12. Students view videotaped texts in Chinese and identify (Interpretive Task; Content; Culture; Structures) and talk about five key qualities and competencies of entrepreneurship as perceived in the Chinese-speaking world. (Interpersonal Task; Content; Culture; Structures)
13. Students write a paragraph of at least five sentences to summarize their personal profiles as developed over the course of this unit identifying their potential to succeed as an entrepreneur in a Chinese-speaking world as well as in a Western business context. (Presentational Task; Content; Culture)

After much self-exploration and identification, students will now shift the focus to understand the nature of business, the role it plays in the Chinese society, and the influence it has on the entrepreneur and the Chinese community.

Students identify and understand fundamental elements of nature of business, including different types of ownership, and the impact these types of ownership have on the community.  With the help of classroom instruction and authentic materials and resources recommended or provided by the teacher, students research information and acquire knowledge about U.S. and Chinese economy, and its attitudes towards entrepreneurship, and identify how ownership type is chosen.

Students use listening, speaking, reading and writing skills to process information from primary sources to identify different types of business ownership and cultural factors that influence these ownerships, understand the nature of domestic and international business, compare the similarities and differences between U.S. and Chinese company cultures. They will research 5 local companies, including Chinese businesses whenever possible, and draft a short report in Chinese that summarizes the impact of these local companies to the economic engine to the community.

While acquiring and expanding Chinese language skills, it is also important that the students understands corporate culture and proper business etiquette, and the consequence or impact of behaving inappropriately.  By participating and practicing in Chinese language role-play activities in the given Chinese cultural context, students further understand different corporate culture and business etiquette between U.S. and China.

1. Students will read and analyze five local companies’ profiles to identify key entrepreneurial motivations, key elements of types of ownership, the year that the business was established, number of employees, and current revenues (Interpretive Tasks; Content). They will create a PowerPoint to present a chart in Chinese illustrating these key elements (Presentational Task).  Students draft a two-paragraph report of 100 to 200 Chinese characters to describe the impact of these businesses and how they contribute to economic engine of the community (Presentational Task; Content; Structures).
2. Students research and examine information from websites about the principles of U.S. and Chinese economic systems to compare and contrast the similarities and differences of these two systems (Interpretive Task; Culture; Content). Students also give two-sentence short answers in Chinese to the questions which are relevant to U.S. and Chinese economy. (Presentational Task; Content; Structures) Here are some sample questions:
   1. What is the percentage of state-owned companies in the Chinese economic system?
   2. Are individuals in China allowed to own their business?
   3. Which economy is bigger? Chinese or U.S.?
   4. What is the amount of latest available U.S. GDP?
   5. What is the amount of latest available Chinese GDP?
   6. List five major authentic Chinese products in U.S. market.
   7. List five major authentic U.S. products in Chinese market.
   8. Why are there so many products manufactured in China in U.S. market?
   9. Are you planning to set up a business that would produce a product in the future? If so, are you planning to have your product manufactured in China? Why or why not?
3. Students will be divided into collaborative groups to research and examine website resources to identify the similarities and differences of U.S. and Chinese company culture, pertaining to employee conduct, working condition, health benefit, supervisor-employee relationship, safety and the concept of “overtime”(Interpretive Task; Content; Culture; Structures; Settings). Each group will prepare a written report consists of 300 to 400 Chinese characters for their target topic (Presentational Task). The report should include topic, similarities,  differences, and their comment. They make a presentation for their peers reporting on the above differences between Chinese and U.S. corporate cultures. This assignment will help students utilize their listening, speaking, reading, and writing skills to get, share and convey relevant information about content area. Students also need their Interpersonal and communicative skills, and critical thinking skills to conduct this assignment (Interpersonal, Interpretive and Presentational Tasks).
4. Students present the culturally appropriate ways to exchange business cards, make and receive a telephone call (Culture). They acquire the basic principles of etiquette for interacting with Chinese business representatives in culturally appropriate ways (Interpretive Task). Students will be assigned role-play activities to present the business person, as well as the appropriate way to make and receive a telephone call, using accurate language and Chinese conventional, professional, and cultural features. This assignment help students improve their listening and speaking skills, and help them employ professional Chinese language and cultural behavior that is acceptable and expected in a Chinese professional setting to prepare them for potential China-related business career.Students organize the role-play presentation in a professional manner, follow Chinese conventional presentation styles and speak with the appropriate and expected level of accuracy. (Interpretive, Interpersonal and Presentational Tasks; Content; Culture; Structures).

The aim of this unit is to prepare students with foundational knowledge in the marketing sector while building on their Chinese language skills, through the use of authentic materials in Chinese, in order to make data-driven and culturally appropriate decisions for the business to stay competitive, including creating an advertising campaign portfolio that are appropriate and acceptable by the Chinese people.  The key topics of this unit aim to incorporate the 5Ps of marketing (promotion, people, product, place, and price), with the 3Ps of cultural reference (perspectives 觀點, practices 做法, products 產品).

Students will collect and analyze a community business’s marketing plan, targeting the Chinese community, using the Chinese language to collected data, such as conducting interviews, collecting authentic marketing materials, researching community demographics and psychographics, and visiting stores to understanding product placement and pricing information. Students gain understanding of the different cultures and language uses of the various Chinese-speaking regions, such as Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore, etc., and draw conclusions about regional and universal cultural characteristics.

Through reading and writing of Chinese-language materials, including but not limited to websites, newspaper and magazine articles, commercials, promotional materials, students examine each element of the 5Ps (promotion 促銷, people 員工, product 產品, price 價格, place 通路) independently and collectively; they will also study the inter-relationships between the 5P decisions and cultural factors in determining the business’s marketing plan, and present their findings to a target audience.

Students will also analyze the demographic, psychographic, and cultural differences between American Chinese and immigrant Chinese, and other members of our society. The authentic materials also serve as models of real-world language usage, which the students can model after in their writing exercises and projects.

Utilizing effective speaking, listening, viewing, and writing skills in Chinese, students create and conduct surveys and present results of a simple marketing research for a local business in Chinese, targeting the Chinese community. Students deliver a clear, persuasive presentation in Chinese of their promotional plan to a target audience, employ effective communication skills to address the needs of their intended audience. Students must demonstrate good language control, including orthography, phonology, syntax, and pragmatics in appropriate cultural context.  

Promotion

1. Students attempt to identify a list of commercial slogans, jingles, and logos. Based on the result, students will analyze and evaluate the effectiveness of the overall “branding” strategy by writing a short paragraph (at least five sentences) in Chinese. (Interpretive Task)
2. Students view (1) commercials for similar products and (2) promotional previews of the same movies, from both China/Taiwan/Hong Kong and from the U.S. Students compare and contrast the commercials and promotional previews they viewed and create a list of cultural and promotional differences (Interpretive Task; Content; Culture). Students create a PowerPoint presentation (at least five slides) in Chinese and present their findings, in Chinese, to the class. (Presentational Task)
3. Students create a matrix or a checklist in Chinese for evaluating whether a “branding” (using information from the prior assignments is successful to the target cultures. (Presentational Task; Culture; Content; Structures)
4. Students are assigned a two-part closure project that includes a role-play/communicative activity, and an advertising portfolio. In the role-play activity, using the Chinese language, as advertising executives, students, brainstorm, plan and create a “branding” portfolio for a business as if they were in the planning phase  (Presentational Task; Content; Culture; Structures). Student apply their knowledge and create an advertising portfolio, including artwork, slogans, and jingles, and present it to the class, which acts as the simulated client, and engage in a question-and-answer session with the simulated client in Chinese. (Interpretive, Interpersonal, and Presentational Tasks)

People

1. Students create and conduct surveys, in Chinese, to gather demographic, cultural-graphic, and psychographic data of the classroom population (Interpersonal Task). Students summarize their findings in a short essay (at least 3 paragraphs) in Chinese. (Presentational Task; Structures)
2. Students research the demographic, cultural-graphic, and psychographic data of local Chinese communities and write a short report (at least 3 paragraphs) in Chinese about their findings. (Presentational Tasks; Structures)
3. Students read and interpret the California state census data to develop a profile of the demographic, cultural-graphic, and psychographic data of the Chinese population. Students write a short report (at least 3 paragraphs) in Chinese. (Presentational Task; Structures)

Product

1. Students choose two similar products, such as Coca Cola and Pepsi Cola, and make a list, in Chinese, of each product’s strengths and weaknesses. ( Presentational Task)
2. Students create a survey in Chinese about their chosen products, and interview the class in Chinese to gather and present data about the class’s perception of those products.(Interpersonal and Presentational Tasks)
3. Students write a short report (at least 3 paragraphs) in Chinese based on the information from the above 2 activities. (Presentational Task; Structures)

Place

1. Students visit local stores to research and record how products were received by the store. Students conduct interviews in Chinese, and write a short description (at least one paragraph) in Chinese about the distribution method.(Interpersonal and Presentational Tasks)
2. Students analyze the data and evaluate the effectiveness of all potential product distribution channels by preparing a PowerPoint presentation in Chinese, and presenting, in Chinese, the presentation on the advantages and disadvantages of the different modes of distribution, such as cost and time.(Presentational Task; Content)

Price

1. Students understand the concept of “break-even” price point by reading/examining/calculating different pricing schemes. Students also explore the concepts of “capital-needed, profit, and loss” by reading/examining/calculating different price schemes. Students are introduced to the concept of fundraising and capital. (Interpretive Task; Content)
2. Students research and make a list of “promotional pricing” strategies, such as discounting, buy one get one (BOGO), promotional sales, coupons/groupons by comparing and contrasting the advantages and disadvantages of these for different demographics. Students will also study the feasibility of employing these strategies in Chinese cultural contexts. (Presentational Task; Culture)
3. Students research the pricing strategies of similar business and discuss their findings, including the pros and cons of the effectiveness of each of the pricing strategies, in Chinese. (Interpersonal) Task; Content; Culture)

5Ps (culminating project for Unit 3): Students form a Chinese-language advertising team for a local business or student-simulated business owner.

1. Students interview, in Chinese, a local Chinese business that is interested in marketing a product to the members of the Chinese community (Interpersonal Task; Content; Settings). They will learn about the nature of the product, its market niche, assess the competitors’ products, the price range, and develop and recommend a viable, culturally-responsive/relevant  marketing plan in Chinese for this product.(Content; Culture; Structures)
2. Students research, read, view, and summarize authentic marketing materials, in Chinese, about similar products in the market. (Interpretive Task; Culture; Content)
3. Students engage in role-play activities, speaking in Chinese, and act in different roles in a focus group to represent different sectors of the community in order to gain a better understanding of the market needs of the product, and will relate its findings both verbally and in writing, in Chinese, to the stakeholders. (Presentational Task; Content; Structures)
4. Students revise, in Chinese, the designated business’s marketing plan, based on information received from the focus group and stakeholders’ feedback. (Interpretive and Presentational Tasks)
5. Students present, in Chinese, the final marketing plan with specific recommendations for how to market the product in the designated market. (Presentational Task)

Building on the knowledge and skills from the prior three units, this unit explores the different sources for various start-ups using their knowledge about 5Cs (capital 資本, credit 信用, collateral 抵押品, capacity 容量, and character 性格).

Using authentic materials and target language, students discuss the different funding sources as they relate to their daily life, such as friends, family, business associates, government funding, commercial banks and finance companies, venture capital financing, as well as state and federal grants. Students will also identify the funding criterias for each of the funding sources. Finally, students will also evaluate and explain, using the target language in a presentation, the appropriate sources of funding for different types of start-up venture.

Through instructional strategies that teach them appropriate Chinese language and cultural features and opportunities to contact different investors, students learn how to obtain and apply the knowledge needed in order to secure the funds for their proposed enterprise. Through Chinese language role-play activities, students will practice the appropriate language and etiquette for contacting a potential investor in different situations, such as requesting a meeting on the phone, meeting in person, negotiation, and accepting and rejecting proposal.

In the process of the exploration, students read authentic materials,  talk to community members that are potential investors, and prepare short reports as the final presentation for the unit, and gain proficiency in all three communicative modes (interpretive, interpersonal and presentational).

1. In Chinese, students first review their marketing plan (Presentational Task; Content), and then work on a project to create a fundraising plan, using information gained from research on funding sources and criteria, targeting different potential investors (Presentational Task; Content). They present their plan for feedback to industry experts if possible, record and chart the responses from the potential investors, analyze the data, and revise the plan as needed in preparation for the next assignment. (Interpretive and Presentational Tasks; Content)
2. Marketing Plan Gallery Walk: In Chinese, students in groups prepare their marketing plan/investment charts and post them around the wall, and then serve as docents to explain what is in their charts to the rest of the students who visit the different charts in the gallery walk. In their presentation, students should explain why their funding sources/investment choices make sense for their particular marketing plan. Each group charts and shares responses with the entire class and invites the larger class to add comments or to ask questions, the purpose of which is aid in further refinement and improvement of the plan.  After each group shares, students are given time to write their own responses to comments and questions, and any further ideas are included in their evolving plan. The key concepts or components reviewed in this activity will be a preparation for the project in the current unit. (Interpretive and Presentational Tasks; Content; Structures)

In this unit students recall and reflect, in the Chinese language and appropriate cultural context, on the four previous units of self-discovery, the nature of business, marketing and capital financing by role playing the Entrepreneur and role-playing the Investor. This unit is the culminating project that brings together the information and knowledge of the Chinese language and culture learned throughout the course. This project allows students to present their knowledge through the presentation of the business concept, to practice their business decision making skills and to demonstrate their ability to act in a culturally appropriate way through role-play as investors.  Overall, this unit focuses on student comprehension of fundamental business and entrepreneurial principles and best practice of the Chinese market through the Chinese language and cultural context.

For the Entrepreneur role, the assignment is to write a report in the Chinese language, to create a powerpoint presentation in Chinese and to deliver a culturally-appropriate oral presentation to student role-played investors, in Chinese. Students are assessed on using their command of the Chinese language to deliver their knowledge of the business concept, along with their demonstration of culturally appropriate behavior. Students must behave and interact in a culturally acceptable way.

For the Investor role, the assignment is to evaluate the student role-played Entrepreneur’s business concept using a Chinese-language graphic organizer to evaluate the following:

• Evaluate the effectiveness of the promotional strategies that they have created for their business in Chinese
• Identify sources of capital financing for their business in Chinese
• Analyze their ability to obtain capital financing in Chinese

Students who role-play the investors will then have a round-table discussion in the target language to make decisions on whether this business opportunity is investment-worthy, and deliver their decision to the entrepreneurs in a culturally appropriate way.

This assignment integrates the content from the previous four units.  Each student, role playing the Entrepreneur in a culturally appropriate way, develops a business concept report.  Each student in the class is an Entrepreneur who presents their business concept to the student audience who role-plays the Investor. (Presentational Tasks; Content; Culture)  

As the Entrepreneur, students a written report and a Powerpoint presentation outlining a business they conceived, in Chinese, that they present orally to the student Investors demonstrating their knowledge and understanding of Entrepreneurship and Chinese literacy.  (Presentational Task; Content; Culture)

For this project, as the student Entrepreneur’s presentation, it includes the following information:

1. What is your business name?

2. Who are the owners / partners of the business?

3. Why are you qualified to lead this business?

4. What date did your business begin?

5. What does your business do (in a nutshell) and what products or services is it marketing?

6. Where is your business located?

7. What is the structure of your business (sole proprietorship, partnership, corporation)?

8. Do you have any business “advisers” (for example, a lawyer or accountant)? If so, who are they?

9. What is your marketing mix?

       a. What is your product?

       b. How much will customers pay for your product (price)?

       c. What is your promotional

i. Jingle

ii. Slogan

iii. Tagline

iv. Logo

v. Mascot

       d. How will you deliver your product to market (place)?

       e. What are the demographics of the Chinese market?

       f. What are the psychographics of the Chinese market?

       g. What are the cultural-graphics of the Chinese market ?

       h. What are your brand’s colors

10. What is your source of capital?

       a.  How much money will you need (capital) to start this business?

       b.  What is your capacity for repayment of this loan?

       c.  What collateral will you provide to the lender?

       d.  What is your credit rating? (i.e. Excellent, Good, Fair, Bad)

       e.  What adjectives describe your character as a borrower?

For this project, student Investors evaluate the student Entrepreneur’s presentation for capital financing feasibility by creating a graphic organizer in Chinese that evaluates the presenter's viability.  The Investor will create an authentic graphic organizer (Thinking Map, bubble-map), in Chinese, that outlines the viability of the business concept (Interpretive, Presentational):

The student Investor’s graphic organizer includes the following criteria:

1. Is the product viable?
2. What is the Entrepreneur’s capacity for obtaining capital financing?
3. What collateral, character and credit rating does the Entrepreneur bring to the business concept?
4. Is the target market well identified?
5. Does the Entrepreneur have the temperament to execute the business concept?
6. Would you do business with this Entrepreneur?