Introduction

In September 1997, Modern Chinese was introduced into the curriculum at Glenealy with all children having two half-hour sessions each week. Starting this school year, all children in year 3-6 have daily 45-minute Mandarin classes, and year 1-2 children have 45 minutes of Mandarin three-times each week.

A unit-based approach has been chosen as the organizational focus of learning content. The curriculum is specially designed to be of immediate use, and to provide a good grounding on which to base further studies.

The teaching methodology of Mandarin is the Communicative Approach because language is learned for the purpose of communication. The students are provided with communicative activities and opportunities which focus on listening, speaking, writing and reading or a combination of these skills.

Activities are central to the teaching and learning process. Games, stories, role plays, interviews, writing reports, learning rhymes, singing songs, group work, peer work, projects and drama are some examples of these activities.

The course is designed to develop students’ language proficiency and competence so that they will be able to succeed at future higher course levels, and at the same time build their appreciation for Chinese language and culture.

We are particularly aware that children come to school with different experiences and proficiencies in speaking Mandarin. We do all we can to provide a differentiated experience for the diverse range of abilities.

Chinese Reading Programme