Mandarin
This subject allows students to develop the ability to communicate with Chinese native speakers in both speech and writing.
Students will study across a variety of contexts relevant to their age and interests and will also develop a greater awareness of Chinese-speaking communities, cultures and countries. You will need to develop and use your knowledge and understanding of Chinese grammar progressively through your course of study.
How will you be assessed?
The assessment will consist of four exam papers one skill each: Listening, Speaking, Reading and Writing. Each paper is allocated with 25% of the overall weighting. Students will be assessed on how well they have achieved the following objectives:
- Listening – understand and respond to different types of spoken language.
- Speaking – Communicating and interacting effectively in speech for a variety of purposes
- Reading – understand and respond to different types of written language.
- Writing – Communicating effectively in writing for a variety of purposes
Exam Board specification – click here
What will you study?
- You will study the key language for each topic as follows:
Theme 1:
Identity and Culture
Topic 1
Me, my family and friends
Topic 2
Technology in everyday life
Topic 3
Free-time activities
Topic 4
Customs and festivals in Chinese speaking countries and communities
Theme 2:
Local, national, international and global areas of interest
Topic 1
Home, town, neighbourhood, and region
Topic 2
Social issues
Topic 3
Global issues
Topic 4
Travel and Tourism
Theme 3:
Current and future studies and employment
Topic 1
My studies
Topic 2
My life at school/college
Topic 3
Education Post 16
Topic 4
Job, career choice and ambitions
2. You will study key grammar/structures as follows:
- Nouns
- Measure words
- Adjectives/stative verbs
- Exclamation and interjections
- comparatives
- Adverbs
- Pronouns
- Verbs
- Preposition/co-verbs
- Interrogatives
- Location
- Conjunctions
- Number, quality, dates and time
3. You will also develop skills of a great linguist throughout the course such as
- Speaking Spontaneity
- Techniques in role play
- Techniques in translation
- Listening skills
- Reading skills
- Approaching Authentic material
What qualities do I need to be successful in the subject?
A successful Mandarin learner is someone who
- is not afraid of making mistakes;
- can recognise patterns and not get caught up in rules;
- plays an active role in-class activities and language-learning activities outside class;
- listens to and speaks Mandarin as much as they can!;
- devotes extra time to memorise and write Chinese characters by heart.
What future opportunities can I have with this subject?
Learning Mandarin will allow you to communicate with over one billion Mandarin speakers. It will open up new job opportunities everywhere and help you to gain a competitive advantage, especially in the business world. By having a good command of Mandarin, you will enjoy movies, TV shows, music and literature authentically and form a stronger relationship with your co-workers and friends. By studying Mandarin at GCSE level, you will be able to further study it at A-level and degree level and have access into one of the richest civilisations in the world.
Who should I contact for further information?
Contact Mr Kral (d.kral@kwschool.co.uk) for further information.