Chinese

Languages Unit

Prerequisite

Chinese (for those who do not have Chinese as a home language; this subject is suitable for beginner students and students with some knowledge of the language due to previous Chinese study).

All students who have developed oral proficiency due to having Chinese as a home language are encouraged to choose a second language to study. This may be French or Indonesian.

Students who have extensive prior language learning i.e., bilingual schools, in country study or students not eligible for Chinese SL should select Advanced Chinese. It is important that background information regarding students’ experience and proficiency in Chinese is provided during the subject selection process. Students will be asked to sit a written and spoken proficiency placement test.

Unit Description

Chinese is offered at Year 7 to students who wish to develop their vocabulary, character writing skills and gain confidence using the Language in guided situations.

 

The course offers development in the Chinese language and aspects of Chinese culture relevant to a range of topics covered.

In this unit students:

• develop their understanding of basic cultural elements;
• explore the pinyin sound system;
• develop their understanding of Chinese characters;
• learn to read and write Chinese words;
• learn to pronounce tones correctly;
• perform simple dialogues;
• learn how to count in Chinese, how to say and write the date, how to greet each other and how to introduce oneself and others;
• learn how to describe their family;
• learn to speak about one’s nationality and the languages one speaks;
• develop skills through a wide range of activities including language games, role-play, videos, writing tasks and computer-assisted tasks.

Assessment

• Formative vocabulary and grammar tasks.
• Aural and reading comprehension tasks.
• Oral tasks.
• Writing tasks.
• Cultural projects.