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The nature of the learners
Students are beginning their study of Chinese and typically have had little prior exposure to the language and associated cultures. Many will have learnt an additional language in primary school, some have proficiency in different home languages and bring existing language learning strategies and intercultural awareness to the new experience of learning Chinese. Students’ textual knowledge developed through English literacy learning supports their ability to access similar text types in Chinese. Skills in analysing, comparing and reflecting on language and culture in both languages are mutually supportive. Students may need encouragement to take risks in learning a new language at this stage of social development and to consider issues of how the experience impacts on their sense of ‘norms’ associated with their first language and culture.
Chinese language learning and use
The systems of spoken and written language in Chinese are distinct. They are also quite distinct from the English language system. Because of the role of character learning and its impact on reading and writing, learners’ spoken language use is more advanced than their written language use; therefore, students will be immersed in the sights and sounds of Chinese. They develop oral language through active listening, observing interactions between native speakers, and using the spoken language for purposes such as socialising, transacting and getting things done, sharing information and engaging in imaginative performance. They are likely to understand more words than they can say or write. They use Pinyin as a resource to support learning, prepare drafts of oral and written texts, and learn new oral vocabulary.
Contexts of interaction
Likely contexts for interaction are familiar classroom routines and structured and scaffolded settings. Students engage with resources and materials, and interact and exchange information and ideas with the teacher and peers.
Texts and resources
Students listen to, read, view and interact with a variety of short modified informative, imaginative and persuasive Chinese texts, including texts that are valued within Chinese culture and community. Texts written in characters may include a Pinyin glossary or character/vocabulary lists as appropriate.
Features of Chinese language use
Learning is conceptual and reflective as students develop their ability to share ideas about language and culture systems and develop their skills in mediating between languages and cultures. Learning and use focus on active exploration of the Chinese language system, which students draw upon to communicate their own ideas and engage in collaborative decision making and action.
Level of support
Correct language use is continuously modelled by the teacher. Students also utilise a range of resources, including online support materials, as well as dictionaries, character lists and glossaries.
The role of English
English is used when appropriate to allow for explanation and discussion and to reflect on students’ experiences in Chinese, comparing their everyday communication and experiences to those observed in Chinese language communities.
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Exchange feelings, ideas and opinions, establish and maintain friendships and participate in group action
[Key concepts: naming, friendship, politeness, family; Key processes: interacting, exchanging, describing]
Correspond and collaborate with peers, relating aspects of their daily experiences and arranging sporting and leisure activities
[Key concepts: time, etiquette, place, collaboration; Key processes: exchanging, corresponding]
Locate and share with known audiences factual information about people, places and events from a range of oral texts
[Key concepts: time, place, number, audience, purpose; Key processes: summarising, synthesising]
Locate factual information about life in other communities and about aspects of Australian life, including data from graphs and tables, and convey this information to known audiences
[Key concepts: fact, time, place, number, valued knowledge; Key processes: informing, obtaining, processing, stating]
Express opinions about imaginedand events seen and heard in contemporary media and performances, andown portrayals ofusing gesture, action, stress, and modelled phrases
[Key concepts: experience, emotion, character; Key processes: performing, expressing, responding]
Respond to simple narratives andshort texts about imaginedand events
[Key concepts: experience, imagination; Key processes: recounting, responding]
Translate simple texts from Chinese to English and vice versa, identifying words and phrases in Chinese that do not readily translate into English, using contextual cues, action and gesture to assist translation
[Key concept: politeness symbols; Key processes: translating, interpreting]
common colloquial phrases and culturally specific practices from Chinese contexts into Australian contexts and vice versa, identifying contextual restraints and considering alternatives
[Key concepts: equivalence, representation; Key process: translating]
Reflect on personal experiences and observations of using and learning Chinesein familiar contexts, and use these reflections to improve communication
[Key concepts: respect, context; Key processes: reflecting, observing]
Recognise the tone-syllable nature of the spoken language, discriminate use of tones, rhythm, and sound flow in interactions, and use Pinyin to support learning the spoken
Identify how character structure, position and component sequences relate the form of a character to its particular sound and meaning
Identify and use the characteristics of Chinese word order and explain the use of Chinese-specific grammatical features
Identify the characteristics of familiartypes, noting particular textual features distinctive to Chinese
Recognise diversity in Chineseuse within different communities and regions, such as dialects, and local languages and character systems
Identify traditional phrases and contemporary terms in everydayuse and the role of technology in changing the way people communicate
Discuss howchoices reflect cultural practices, including clarifying roles and relationships between participants in interactions
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By the end of Year 8, students use spoken and written Chinese to interact in a range of familiar contexts. They respond to instructions, questions and directions. They use known phrases to exchange personal information (for example, 我叫…; 我的爸爸是澳大利亚人 ), seek clarification (for example, 对不起，我听不懂，你说什么？ ), and transact and make arrangements, for example, 你要来我家吗？ They use the question particle 吗 and familiar question words ( 什么，谁，哪儿，几 ). Students approximate tone, intonation and rhythm but meaning remains clear. They use gesture and some formulaic expressions to support oral interaction. They employ learnt vocabulary to express personal insights and compare experiences on topics of personal interest and significance. They connect ideas using basic cohesive devices (for example, 和，可是，所以 ), express opinions using 喜欢 and 觉得 , and give reasons using 因为 . In writing, students organise their ideas using time expressions and phrases which mark sequence, for example, 第一，第二… They apply 不 and 没有 in familiar phrases. They respond to and create simple informative and imaginative texts for known audiences and purposes. They use a range of verbs, including verbs of identification and existence such as 是 , and a range of action verbs to describe interests and events, for example, 踢足球，打乒乓球，听音乐 . They access and organise information from a range of spoken, audiovisual and printed texts. Students use simple sentences and paragraphs, and produce simple descriptions using intensifiers such as 很，非常，最. They reflect on their interactions when using and learning languages.
Students are aware of the key features of the Chinese writing system and its differences to the English writing system. They recognise the function of tone-syllables and Pinyin. They explain the word order of Chinese sentences and the layout and construction of simple familiar Chinese texts in comparison to their English equivalents. They recognise and describe diversity within the Chinese spoken and written language, and consider the influence of culture on everyday communication, for example, concepts such as respect, politeness and the importance of family. They are aware that literal translation between languages is not always possible, and that aspects of interpretation and translation are affected by context, culture, and intercultural experience.
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The nature of the learners
Students have prior experience of learning Chinese and bring a range of capabilities, strategies and knowledge that can be applied to new learning. They are expanding the range and nature of their learning experiences and of the contexts in which they communicate with others. They have a growing awareness of the wider world, including the diversity of languages, cultures and forms of intercultural communication. They are considering future pathways and prospects, including how Chinese may feature in these.
Chinese language learning and use
The systems of writing and speaking in Chinese are distinct. Learners analyse how messages are conveyed across languages and apply their skills in mediating between languages and cultures. Classroom discussions focus on exploring and extending learners’ understanding of contexts and audiences to enhance their personal communication skills. Students access information and explore texts written in Chinese, developing strategies to interpret meanings where not all characters are known.
Contexts of interaction
Students interact with a range of known and unknown participants locally and globally, engaging in discussions about issues of personal interest (for example, relationships at home and school) and developing their ability to speak with confidence, experimenting with flow emphasis and stress to enhance their message.
Texts and resources
Students explore a range of text types, including informative digital media texts, opinion pieces and news, narrative fiction and non-fiction, short videos, TV programs and music. They learn to interpret, create, evaluate and perform different types of texts, such as procedural, persuasive and narrative, across a range of domains.
Features of Chinese language use
Students reflect on their understanding of and responses to their experiences when communicating across cultures. They construct blogs to post online, correspond with others by text message and email, and compose short texts on a range of issues for different audiences and purposes. They use creative, expressive and persuasive language in advertisements and posters relating to contemporary issues or events. They work collaboratively to exchange information and ideas and to share their life experiences with other Chinese speakers around the world.
Level of support
Students continue to develop their communication skills with increasing autonomy while drawing on diverse forms of scaffolding and models, including word lists, digital dictionaries, and teacher advice and support as required.
The role of English
Some explanations and reflection are necessarily carried out in English but learners at this level are able to express some complex concepts and reactions in Chinese.
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Interact and socialise with known and unknown participants in familiar contexts to plan and arrange events, and exchange feelings, opinions and preferences
[Key concepts: leisure, neighbourhood, education, time, space; Key processes: planning, arranging, negotiating]
Correspond with peers and teacher, exchanging ideas, negotiating decisions and inviting others to participate in collective action
[Key concepts: travel, environments, community; Key processes: corresponding, exchanging, deciding]
Locate and compare perspectives on people, places and lifestyles in different communities, from a range of spoken information texts, and convey this information to others
[Key concepts: representation, time, leisure; Key processes: processing, informing, stating]
Locate and organise information on topics of interest from a range of written sources to develop a position, and convey this position to a familiarin a range of texts
[Key concepts: representation, time, leisure, community; Key processes: selecting, organising]
Respond to imaginative texts by stating how themes such as relationships, image and acceptance are portrayed, andown performances to express ideas on personal experiences of these themes
[Key concepts: experience, emotion, beauty, character; Key processes: viewing, listening, responding, creating]
Respond to andor adapt simple narratives that describe experiences andfrom folk tales or popular fiction
[Key concepts: experience, adventure, journeys, fantasy, description; Key processes: responding, describing, adapting]
Translate simple modified Chinese texts and familiar interactions in different contexts, identifying alternative ways tomeaning
[Key concepts: respect, directness and indirectness, representation; Key processes: translating, interpreting]
descriptions of Chinese and Australian life, identifying what experiences and ideas are not readily translated between cultures
[Key concepts: equivalence, assumption; Key processes: translating, interpreting]
Reflect on the reactions and experiences of participants (including their own) in interactions and observe how languages is adapted to communicate effectively in unfamiliar contexts
[Key concepts: face, disagreement, approval; Key process: reflecting]
Discern differences in patterns of sound andin extended Chinese speech when listening to speakers of different age, gender, and regional background
Relate prior knowledge of character form and function to infer information about sound and meaning of unfamiliar
Analyse functions of grammatical rules and useappropriate to different forms of oral and written
Compare the purposes,structures andof traditional and contemporary Chinese texts
Explore the development of Chinese as an internationaland as a lingua franca in Chinese communities
Explore the role of tradition in contemporaryuse and how languages change over time
Reflect on howandboth shape and reflect each other
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By the end of Year 10, students use spoken and written Chinese to initiate and sustain interactions in familiar and unfamiliar contexts. They exchange information, ideas and opinions and enquire into the experiences and opinions of others, using question words such as 为什么，怎么，怎么样 to elicit more information. They summarise and collate information from different sources and perspectives to compare how ideas and concepts are expressed and organised in Chinese texts and contexts. Students observe how texts are created for different purposes and audiences. They respond to narratives, identifying language features that do not translate easily between cultures, mediating these ideas and expressing insights in Chinese while adjusting language use for different audiences. They justify their opinions with reasons and specific examples ( 比如 ), using tone and rhythm emphatically. Students respond to and create a range of informative and imaginative texts for different purposes and audiences, including Chinese audiences, and describe adjustments they have made in their language use for these different audiences. They use prepositions of time and place, and prepositions to show relationships with other people, for example, 给，跟，对 . They make comparisons using 比, and describe people in terms of appearance, personality and behaviours, and places in terms of scenery. They use a range of cohesive devices (for example, 不但…而且；除了…以外; 如果…就 ) with the support of models and cues. In writing, they organise their ideas according to themes or sequence events using specific time words, temporal markers such as 的时候，以前 and connectives, for example, 先…然后. They also indicate changes in tense with tense markers such as 了，过, and use verbs to express modality (for example, 可以，要，会，应该) or intention, for example, 希望，想，打算.
Students discern differences in patterns of sound (for example, ‘qing’, ‘qin’) and tone in extended speech for different contexts and audiences. They apply knowledge of character components and morphemes to assist their understanding of new characters and words encountered. They analyse grammatical rules, use language appropriate to the form of communication, and compare textual features. Students recognise the key features of grammar and sentence structure that are distinctive to Chinese, such as measure words, and varied uses of verbs ( 是 ， 有 and attributive 的 ), and apply them in new contexts. They are aware of particular issues relating to translating between Chinese and English and recognise that certain concepts cannot be translated readily from Chinese to English and vice versa. They are aware that language use varies according to context, purpose and mode. Students explain how culture and language shape their own and others’ communication practices, and reflect on how their own cultural experience impacts on interactions with Chinese speakers.
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