Burmese 4
UndergraduateANU-BURM20022025
Course information for 2025 intake View information for 2024 course intake
- Study method
- 100% online
- Assessments
- Subject may require attendance
- Enrol by
- 13 July 2025
- Entry requirements
- Prior study needed
- Duration
- 14 weeks
- Price from
- $1,700
- Upfront cost
- $0
- Loan available
- FEE-HELP available
Burmese 4
About this subject
Upon successful completion, students will have the knowledge and skills to:
- Use an active vocabulary of around 1,600 items, including both spoken-style and literary-style Burmese.
- Use more sophisticated grammatical patterns and expressions including some Burmese proverbs in the spoken-style Burmese conversation and writing on matters regularly encountered in university life, social situations and the workplace.
- Demonstrate a solid knowledge of spoken-style Burmese in reading and writing on Myanmar in a wider range of topics such as current affairs, history, rural culture, gender roles, education and business.
- Read and comprehend the basic rules of the literary-style Burmese grammar and appropriate vocabulary some of which are drawn from Pail and Sanskrit.
- Demonstrate a basic reading ability of authentic materials in the literary-style Burmese such as encyclopedia entries, school textbooks, governmental notices and excerpts from literary works.
- Demonstrate deeper understanding of the cultural diversity and social practices of Myanmar with awareness of the history of the country.
- Lesson 1 Martyr’s Day: 19th of July is the Martyr’s Day. On the day in 1947 General Aung San was assassinated without seeing Burma’s independence. Let’s learn how Burmese people spend this day.
- Lesson 2 “ 8888 ”: Burmese people remember the crackdown against civilian’s peaceful demonstration happened in Yangon on 8th of August in 1988. Two Burmese tell their memories.
- Lesson 3 Organizing a Business Meeting: Let’s brush up business negotiation skills in Burmese. Imagine you are sent to Myanmar in order to establish a branch of your company. One day the head quarter asked you a task.
- Lesson 4 Myanmar History - The Captive of the Myanmar’s Last King : This is an opportunity to learn Myanmar history related words and expressions. This week we will learn about the end of the Burmese Kingdom.
- Lesson 5 Myanmar History – Colonial Period: The history of British colonial period in the twentieth century is also a history of Burmese nationalism. How their narratives are accepted by today’s Myanmar people?
- Lesson 6 Nat Spirits and the Festivals: Together with pagoda festivals, Myanmar’s another well-known events are Nat Spirit Festivals. Their passionate and entertainment feature attract pilgrimages.
- Lesson 7 The Tradition of Drinking Water Pots for Public: This is a Buddhist teaching based beautiful tradition in Myanmar. In today’s changing society, how do they maintain this tradition?
- Lesson 8 I Have Got Stolen!: If you lost your belongings, when your valuables were stolen, how will you report to the authorities? This chapter will give you some ideas.
- Lesson 9 Our Benefactors, Our Uncles: Myanmar’s school textbook describes Myanmar as an agricultural country and teach children to pay respect to farmers and peasants.
- Lesson 10 National Flag: What is the meaning of the national flag for Myanmar people? One of the important aspects is as a symbol of unity of many ethnicities living in the country.
- Lesson 11 A Media Interview: Writing in Burmese: Familiarise yourself to listening to radio interviews. This is a cultural program about a significant trend of Burmese literature during the colonial period.
- Lesson 12 Burmese Literature: Theikpan Maung Wa: Theikpan Maung Wa, was a popular author in the 1930s and his short stories and essays are still widely read in Myanmar. Here is his work, now you can read authentic literary style.
This course builds on skills learned in Burmese 3 and students will have ample opportunities to review, exercise, and expand their knowledge of the spoken style of Burmese. A variety of listening comprehension materials including business negotiations and basic discussions on academic topics will encourage the development of students' speaking skills.
Students will learn the basic rules of literary-style Burmese and appropriate vocabulary, some of which are drawn from Pali and Sanskrit. The course contents will help students gain access to authentic Burmese materials in both print and online platforms such as newspapers, magazine articles, governmental documents, encyclopedia entries, dictionaries, and excerpts from literary works.
The topics include Myanmar history, economics, anthropology, mythology, and practical conversations such as negotiations and problem-solving in business. These topics deepen students’ understanding of Myanmar culture and society. Students will write Burmese compositions and speech scripts in spoken-style Burmese on both the assigned topics and the research topics of their interest in Myanmar.
The course often invites Burmese native speakers and Myanmar specialists as guests, to enhance students’ Burmese speaking abilities and exposure to the language. Students will give presentations to the guests, based on the topics covered in the course.
Each week students are expected to study for 6 hours as follows:
- 90 minutes in total, before each online class, working on the written and audio materials for the week, and, memorising the written and spoken forms of that week’s vocabulary
- 180 minutes in total, participating in two 90-minute online classes
- 90 minutes in total, completing online follow-up exercises regarding listening, speaking, reading and writing skills and vocabulary
It is also expected that students should spend at least 4 hours of individual study practising the week’s written and spoken language forms and vocabulary and reviewing feedback on their work.
- 10 Weekly quizzes (15%)
- Mid-Term Exam: (1) Listening, (2) Writing & Reading, (3) Composition and (4) Speaking (30%)
- Final Exam: (1) Listening, (2) Writing & Reading, (3) Composition and (4) Speaking (50%)
- Class Participation (5%)
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Entry requirements
Prior study
You must have successfully completed the following subject(s) before starting this subject:
Others
Students must have completed ANU Burmese 3 or have equivalent knowledge.
Additional requirements
- Equipment requirements - To successfully engage in this course students will need the following: • Laptop or computer • Computer camera (either inbuilt or webcam) • Headset with microphone • Mozilla Firefox or Google Chrome browser • Reliable internet access • Access to a scanner or smartphone
- Other requirements - Via face-to-face video at a set time prescribed by the University. Please be aware of potential time zone differences. This is a fast paced academic course at a University level. Please make sure your computer and devices can read Unicode Burmese font.
Study load
- 0.125 EFTSL
- This is in the range of 10 to 12 hours of study each week.
Equivalent full time study load (EFTSL) is one way to calculate your study load. One (1.0) EFTSL is equivalent to a full-time study load for one year.
Find out more information on Commonwealth Loans to understand what this means to your eligibility for financial support.
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