Chinese (Version 8.4)

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Context statement

The place of the Chinese language and culture in Australia and the world
China's official language is Modern Standard Chinese, or Putonghua (the common or shared language) in Chinese.

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PDF documents

Resources and support materials for the Australian Curriculum: Languages - Chinese are available as PDF documents. 
Languages - Chinese: Sequence of content
Languages - Chinese: Sequence of Achievement - Background Language Learner Pathway - F-10 …

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Years 7 and 8

Years 7 and 8 Band Description

The nature of the learners

Students understand the ways in which they use more than one language in their daily lives. They understand the differences between the Chinese and English oral and written language systems and begin to extend their knowledge of language structures and texts.

Chinese language learning and use

Students are immersed in Chinese and begin to explore social issues, including environmental sustainability and family structure. Students explore the world of Chinese language with a focus on extending their contexts and purposes of use and refining their skills in using language that is appropriate to purpose and audience.

Contexts of interaction

Students interact using Chinese in the classroom and wider school environment, and with family and the local community, exploring the place of Chinese-speaking communities and the relevance of the experiences of past communities to the modern world.

Texts and resources

Students engage with language through visual media, poetry, drama, music, TV series and documentaries. They correspond with others by text message and email and through class-based social networking sites.

Features of Chinese language use

Written language use includes learning to read extracts from both Chinese and English literature to compare features of individual works. Students read nonfiction texts that are often glossed in Pinyin or supported with vocabulary lists. They learn to analyse new characters encountered in texts with a focus on mapping these character forms to their known spoken language. Oral language use includes participating in discussions and presentations on topics of interest and on life experiences in different contexts and cultures. Students participate in activities that focus on pronunciation, tone and rhythm, and learn to appreciate how their own language use compares to modern standard forms.

Level of support

Correct Chinese language use is modelled by the teacher to support students’ Chinese oracy and literacy development. Vocabulary lists and model texts support literacy development.

The role of English

Classroom interaction is predominantly conducted in Chinese, with English being used to compare languages and explore complex ideas related to language, culture, learning and concepts from other learning areas.


Years 7 and 8 Content Descriptions

Socialising

Interact with peers and familiar adults, exchanging opinions and feelings and establishing friendships

[Key concepts: context, choice; Key processes: responding, transacting, exchanging] (ACLCHC194 - Scootle )

  • Literacy
  • Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Capability
  • Critical and Creative Thinking
  • Personal and Social Capability
  • Intercultural Understanding
  • exchanging greetings with peers and familiar adults, choosing the appropriate greeting to suit age or position (for example, 您好,老师好) or time of day, for example, 你早,晚安
  • responding to invitations to participate in personal celebrations, including accepting and declining in appropriate ways, for example, 谢谢你的邀请,祝你生日快乐。但是我星期日要…对不起,不能参加你的聚会。希望你玩得高兴
  • sharing personal ideas and opinions on experiences such as home life and routine, school and education, diet and food, travel and leisure, climate and weather, expressing opinions and preferences, and stating reasons to elaborate the message, for example, 我不太喜欢…、我觉得…因为
  • exchanging information and opinions in class dialogue, responding to questions (for example, 你喜欢运动吗?), expressing agreement or disagreement with others’ opinions (for example, 对,我也很喜欢运动。) and ensuring that other participants are included in interaction, for example, 我去过法国,你呢?
  • comparing own experiences to the lives of young people in other Chinese-speaking communities, for example, 我觉得 7:30上学太早。 我不坐地铁上学,我坐公共汽车上学
  • using set phrases to greet, thank, apologise, and ask permission from peers and teacher, for example, 我可以上厕所吗?;谢谢;对不起
  • following teacher’s instructions such as 站起来 or 我们看书 and restating teacher’s instructions to peers when needed (for example, 老师说我们...再…); responding to teacher’s questions with actions or answers, for example, 懂了吗?
  • responding to teacher’s praise (for example, 非常好, 太棒了) or suggestions, for example, 明天做,今天休息
  • participating in a shared blog and exchanging personal information such as name, age, school, year level and nationality with readers from a sister school, for example, 你好,我叫 Ann, 我是澳大利亚的学生
  • responding to correspondence, such as letters from pen pals, including by answering questions, clarifying meaning (for example, 你说你想来澳大利亚, 是吗?), seeking further information (for example, 你想一月来吗?) and addressing requests, for example, 澳大利亚一月是夏天,很热
  • maintaining contact with classmates and recording events in everyday life by keeping a weekly or daily online journal or blog, recording highlights of school or home life and leisure activity (for example, 今天我的足球队又输了,真没劲! ) or a holiday experience, for example, 袋鼠岛游记
  • composing messages in an appropriate format for text messages, emails and letters, and using appropriate terms of address, for example, 敬爱的王老师 (for a formal letter) or 嘿,小王,最近好吗 (for a casual letter or message)
Participate in planning individual and group action to contribute to school and local community, making choices from available options

[Key concepts: leisure, education, relationships; Key processes: transacting, exchanging] (ACLCHC195 - Scootle )

  • Literacy
  • Numeracy
  • Critical and Creative Thinking
  • Personal and Social Capability
  • Intercultural Understanding
  • participating in conversations in imagined scenarios involving purchasing items, asking questions about availability and range of goods (for example, 你有没有红色的?/ 你有什么颜色的?) and specifying quantity or type of item when selecting from options, for example, 三斤苹果,一包糖, 我要买这件
  • negotiating with peers on colour, size, quantity and other aspects of goods and services, and making decisions based on collective opinions, for example, 我喜欢那个…你喜欢… 所以,我们应该…
  • completing transactions by confirming price (for example, 多少钱?五块吧) and exchanging money, recognising Chinese currency
  • creating posters or fliers to promote cultural events to the local Chinese community and the community at large, such as 悉尼艺术节,XXX音乐剧
  • producing Chinese language versions of school promotional materials to assist the Chinese community to engage with school activities, for example, a school fete, principal’s tour, sister school visit

Informing

Locate and organise key points of information from a range of familiar sources

[Key concept: information; Key processes: collating, analysing] (ACLCHC196 - Scootle )

  • Literacy
  • Critical and Creative Thinking
  • Personal and Social Capability
  • Intercultural Understanding
  • applying knowledge of the world and their own experience to assist understanding of the meaning of texts, such as by discussing topics studied in other learning areas and exploring related Chinese texts, for example, understanding 黄山归来不看岳 by connecting knowledge or experience of visiting 黄山
  • making connections between images and charts and the content of texts, and identifying key words to locate information, for example, in the chapter headings of a book
  • listing possible resources before undertaking a research project and giving reasons for why these resources might be useful
  • listening for structural cues such as signposting, and considering images, music and voice to enhance understanding of key ideas conveyed, for example, identify changes in tone of voice and pacing to indicate potential danger or a sense of urgency
  • experimenting with different note-taking strategies when listening, for example, noting key words in Pinyin and recording numbers using Arabic numerals
  • listening to or viewing public information texts such as weather forecasts and announcements and identifying specific information and key words, for example, 点, 度,米, 公里,元/块
  • viewing texts such as a cooking program and answering questions from classmates on key procedures and main ingredients, for example, 蚂蚁上树没有蚂蚁。树是粉丝,蚂蚁是猪肉
  • obtaining the gist or specific information when listening to a flow of words by focusing on familiar, predictable items, and identifying aspects of voice, gesture or language choice that convey varying degrees of enthusiasm or dislike, for example, 我一点儿也不喜欢… compared to 我不喜欢…
  • collating information and ideas to present to others using various tools and charts and with consideration of the relevance, organisation and sequencing of information, for example, considering: What is the best way to introduce the topic? What do they want the audience to remember? What is the main message being communicated?
  • representing information to others by restating key phrases and explaining reasons for actions and feelings, for example, 她很高兴, 因为…
Represent factual information related to other learning areas and on topics of interest in a range of texts and formats for different audiences

[Key concepts: information, data, significance, legacy; Key processes: locating, analysing] (ACLCHC197 - Scootle )

  • Literacy
  • Numeracy
  • Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Capability
  • Critical and Creative Thinking
  • Intercultural Understanding
  • preparing and creating a video clip to share with peers overseas introducing aspects of local culture, including interesting places, history, famous people, and lifestyle, for example, 墨尔本的电车
  • creating posters (for example, about a local city or popular site) to convey information to Chinese peers, using pictures, maps and data to support text
  • presenting information in alternative formats to suit the purpose and the needs of the reader, for example, creating graphs or tables to categorise information when contrasting 澳大利亚和中国的地理
  • selecting words from word lists to create informative texts such as signs, slogans and notices, and using electronic tools such as a digital dictionary to extend own expression
  • obtaining and representing information from texts that include both text and visual images to explain aspects of lifestyle or culture in different communities, for example, TV guide, brochures, advertisements or timetables
  • presenting information on topics of interest related to the natural world, human history and endeavour, geography, or the built environment, using visual supports such as tables, charts, calendars and maps
  • analysing what information is needed to research a topic, employing Chinese search engines to access diverse sources of information online and choosing the most suitable sources, for example, 这个网站看上去像正规网站吗? 这个网站是官网吗?

Creating

Interact with and express opinions on a range of imaginative texts

[Key concepts: imagination, attitude, beliefs; Key processes: analysing, creating] (ACLCHC198 - Scootle )

  • Literacy
  • Critical and Creative Thinking
  • Personal and Social Capability
  • Ethical Understanding
  • Intercultural Understanding
  • viewing segments of texts such as popular music videos in Chinese from various sources of media, such as Pop Asia on SBS, and expressing personal opinions, for example, 我觉得…很有意思
  • comparing stories and characters in Chinese and Australian popular media and identifying the themes and topics that interest young people from different cultural backgrounds, for example, 澳大利亚的年轻人也很喜欢看动作片
  • reading short texts such as comics and cartoons, and identifying words, phrases and expressions the author has used to capture characters’ emotions and reactions, for example, euphemistic phrases such as 真的吗?真倒霉!哎呀!
  • reading extracts from culturally significant Chinese children’s literature, discussing their personal responses to the characters and storyline, and relating the story to personal experience or expressing empathy for characters
  • reading jokes or cartoons in Chinese, discussing how humour is conveyed through words and the presentation of ideas, and comparing with humour in English, discussing whether ‘entertainment’ means the same thing in different languages and cultures
  • reading children’s literature, including fables and traditional stories, exploring values and morals such as the concept of 寓意 in 动画片,小人书, and comparing values and morals conveyed through texts across cultures, for example, 凿壁偷光,塞翁失马 (你能找到英语中类似的说法吗? 你觉得这个故事的寓意在澳大利亚有意义吗?
Adapt events and characters from popular Chinese narratives for particular audiences and to create specific effects

[Key concepts: sequence, story; Key processes: adapting, creating] (ACLCHC199 - Scootle )

  • Literacy
  • Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Capability
  • Critical and Creative Thinking
  • Personal and Social Capability
  • Intercultural Understanding
  • creating songs or jingles to promote products, services or events in imaginative ways
  • performing Chinese songs, experimenting with rhythm, voice, emotion and gesture to convey the songs’ intended sentiment and meaning and to enhance entertainment
  • exploring personal response to people, places, events and experiences within texts (for example, creating a diary entry from the perspective of a character encountered in a traditional story), and reflecting on language choices made
  • creating short narratives to capture the experiences, thoughts and emotions of characters in imagined contexts
  • creating digital stories by producing labels for pictures, photographs and cartoons, and presenting them in combination with sound, voice and music to convey a sequence of events
  • plotting a storyline in Chinese, considering: Who is the main character? How can I make this character interesting to readers? How can I sequence my story to grab the reader’s attention?
  • creating narratives to describe imagined experiences in diverse contexts, based on sample topics and texts, for example, imagining a visit to China and recounting a visit to a homestay family or an adventure on the Great Wall, or describing experiences when a Chinese student comes to stay in Australia
  • creating stories in various literary styles (for example, 记叙文、散文、诗歌), experimenting with descriptive language to capture the intensity of characters’ emotions and to create tension, for example, 我看到好多漂亮的花,有粉红的,雪白的,真是太美了

Translating

Translate short texts and identify words and phrases in Chinese that do not readily translate into English

[Key concept: equivalence; Key processes: comparing, translating] (ACLCHC200 - Scootle )

  • Literacy
  • Critical and Creative Thinking
  • Personal and Social Capability
  • Intercultural Understanding
  • reading bilingual texts such as advertisements and signs, and exploring the effectiveness of and reasons for particular translations
  • reading children’s stories in bilingual form and identifying which ideas in Chinese and English may or may not translate directly
  • observing interactions between speakers of Chinese and describing the interaction in English, including features of prosody as well as language
  • observing an interaction between a teacher and students in China and contrasting the patterns of interaction displayed with their own experience in Australia
  • explaining culture-specific concepts such as humility (谦虚) to people from different cultural backgrounds, providing examples of when and how 谦虚 should be shown and how it is understood by participants in an interaction, for example, when accepting/denying praise
  • identifying times when it is useful to employ words or phrases not normally used in English, for example, applying Chinese speech patterns when speaking about family members in English to a Chinese person, such as saying ‘my brother’s son’ instead of ‘my nephew’
  • identifying cultural differences in how meanings are conveyed by comparing texts in Chinese and English, for example, public announcements, TV advertisements, information brochures, public notices and signs
Create simple bilingual texts for different audiences, considering the influence of different roles, relationships, settings and situations

[Key concepts: audience, context, bilingualism; Key processes: translating, interpreting] (ACLCHC201 - Scootle )

  • Literacy
  • Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Capability
  • Critical and Creative Thinking
  • Personal and Social Capability
  • Intercultural Understanding
  • acting as interpreter for visitors of diverse backgrounds and communicating their message to speakers of other languages, applying strategies such as clarifying, rephrasing and explaining when mediating cultural concepts
  • using a range of resources to assist in creating a Chinese translation of an English language text, exploring the functions of print and digital translation tools and discussing their strengths and weaknesses
  • appreciating the role of code-switching as a tool for mediating language and culture, and applying it in their own communication

Reflecting

Reflect on personal responses and reactions during interactions in Chinese such as talking with a Chinese adult or interacting online with Chinese peers

[Key concepts: reflection, place; Key processes: reflecting, observing, noticing] (ACLCHC202 - Scootle )

  • Literacy
  • Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Capability
  • Critical and Creative Thinking
  • Personal and Social Capability
  • Intercultural Understanding
  • engaging with Chinese speakers through organised school activities, for example, communicating with students at a Chinese school via Skype or welcoming visitors to own school), recording moments when difficulty is experienced in communication, reflecting on the cause of the difficulty, and noticing how next interaction improves
  • observing interactions between Chinese speakers and noticing the difference word choices and use of gesture among participants
  • identifying language use in different contexts, such as a family eating out in a restaurant (for example, noticing the seating arrangement, the background environment and how dishes are ordered and presented) and discuss how this compares to one’s own experience
  • comparing how language and gesture are used to communicate in English and how these features would be understood when interacting with Chinese people; identifying how their communication style may need to be altered when conveying ideas in Chinese
  • improving language choices across cultures, such as when meeting people for the first time (for example, when being introduced to a parent’s friend);
  • comparing how the residential address in Chinese and English reflects certain values in the different cultures
  • recognising their own tendency to generalise or stereotype during interactions (for example, 地域歧), and considering questions to ask about the other person’s cultural background, being sensitive to the possibility of causing offence
  • participating in cultural events and reflecting on how cultural practices change in a different context, for example, 我们家不过中秋节,因为大家都觉得不太重要。母亲节有时候我们全家回去爷爷奶奶家一起吃饭
  • being aware of how own ideas may be perceived by others based on language choice, for example, 我妈妈不喜欢我说汉语中间夹英语,但是我和朋友经常这样说,她也经常这样说。有的时候姥姥听不懂,我就会想想全用汉语怎么说

Systems of language

Explain the phonological and tonal features of Chinese, including variations in tone, stress and phrasing in diverse settings (ACLCHU203 - Scootle )
  • Literacy
  • Critical and Creative Thinking
  • recognising the value of Pinyin romanisation to assist in distinguishing and analysing differences in spoken Chinese, to generate digital texts and to develop understanding of sound–symbol correspondences in characters
  • identifying subtle differences in pronunciation in spoken Chinese, including variations in regional accents, especially in speakers of other dialects, for example, distinguishing between ‘qing’ and ‘qin’, ‘lou’ and ‘rou’, ‘liang’ and ‘lang’, ‘shi’ and ‘si’, ‘lan’ and ‘nan’
  • developing tone discrimination and exploring the impact of tone choice, including tone sandhi, on the meanings expressed in speech, for example, ‘mǎi’ and ‘mài’, ‘bùqù’ and ‘búqù’
Identify features of individual characters and the form and function of components in individual characters and in related characters (for example, 心,想,情,闷), and learn to relate components (部件) and sides (偏旁) to the meaning and sound of characters (ACLCHU204 - Scootle )
  • Literacy
  • Critical and Creative Thinking
  • recognising subtle differences and the implications for sound and meaning when discriminating between characters of similar appearance, for example, and
  • analysing the nature of components, and their arrangement and function in a range of characters, for example, fire (火/灬) and heart (心/忄) components
  • analysing common simple and compound characters and identifying the possible placement of specific radicals and components in a compound character, for example, the placement of on the left-hand side
  • recognising clues inherent in characters when attempting to map specific sounds and meanings onto correct character forms, for example, exploring the reliability of semantic and phonetic functions of components and sides regularly encountered in characters containing common elements such as 请、 精、 猜; 认、 忍、 任; 忍、 想、思
  • categorising words containing a common morpheme to better understand the relationship between morphemes and specific word meanings, for example, using dictionaries to explore the range of words created from a common character morpheme such as and
  • discriminating between the functions of morphemes with related meanings, for example, 餐-饭; 玩-做; 做-作
Explore features of the Chinese grammatical system (ACLCHU205 - Scootle )
  • Literacy
  • Critical and Creative Thinking
  • Personal and Social Capability
  • developing a metalanguage to talk about and compare features of grammar across languages
  • comparing the impact of sequencing choices (for example, 我不能按时交作业因为我感冒了 versus 我感冒了所以不能按时交作业) when explaining or justifying an action
  • exploring the multiple uses of frequently encountered features of Chinese syntax such as particles and
  • exploring uses of cohesive devices such as 可是; 因为…所以…;如果…就… to sequence and order ideas and events (for example, …的时候、以后、以前;先…然后…; 完), to compare ideas (for example, 跟…一样/不同;比), and as simple connectives, for example, 不但…而且…;虽然…但是…
  • organising information in diverse ways and discussing the logical flow of the information, considering whether it meets the audience’s expectations, for example, comparing 目前陆地上的煤,石油等资源 由于长期开采,已经越来越少。 and 由于长期开采陆地上的资源,比如煤和石油,目前已经越来越少
  • comparing metaphorical and literal meaning in texts, for example, 远远的街灯明了,像是闪着无数的明星
  • analysing rhetorical devices in texts (for example, 比喻、夸张、排比), identifying culturally specific features such as 日月如梭,难于上青天, and experimenting with rhetorical devices in own texts
Identify how information and ideas are organised in a range of genres, and compare the textual features of narratives in Chinese and English to determine features which are distinctive to Chinese (ACLCHU206 - Scootle )
  • Literacy
  • Critical and Creative Thinking
  • Personal and Social Capability
  • comparing the expression of ideas in diverse traditional and contemporary literary texts, for example, exploring the different ways in which the story of 孙悟空 is told in a cartoon, story or TV show
  • recognising and applying features of diverse text types, for example, comparing features of narrative, recount, report and procedure
  • comparing the ways in which similar ideas and concepts are presented in diverse genres, discussing the impact of genre choice on text structure and language use (for example, in persuasive and evaluative texts) and examining how language choices achieve the desired effect
  • exploring the traditional structure of persuasive texts in Chinese (for example, 总起-分述-总结) and discussing its effectiveness
  • reading samples of formal texts such as news articles, official letters and informative reports, and identifying how language use compares to their own everyday speech
  • analysing and explaining the organisation and development of ideas or an argument in a range of genres, including textual features such as paragraphing

Language variation and change

Differentiate features and apply rules for expressing meanings in spoken and written modes in different contexts (ACLCHU207 - Scootle )
  • Literacy
  • Critical and Creative Thinking
  • Intercultural Understanding
  • exploring how the rules of word order can be altered in informal interactions, for example, noticing that the time can be placed at the end of sentences in speech but not in writing
  • matching the use of 成语 and 俗语 to appropriate contexts, for example, 夕阳西下 is normally used in written language while 猪八戒照镜子——里外不是人 tends to be used in spoken contexts
  • analysing how language is used differently in public texts across different Chinese-speaking regions, for example, the use of traditional versus simplified character forms in overseas Chinese newspapers; word choices and ways of reporting on controversial issues
  • identifying variability in language used in different contexts, for example, interacting in the supermarket, at the doctor’s surgery, or when visiting a friend or relative
  • recognising language choices that reflect varying levels of formality as appropriate to context, and applying this to their own interactions (for example, 爷爷 and 祖父, 累死了 and 非常疲惫)
Explore the role of language in passing on cultural values and beliefs to younger generations and identify changes in language use over time (ACLCHU208 - Scootle )
  • Literacy
  • Critical and Creative Thinking
  • Personal and Social Capability
  • Intercultural Understanding
  • exploring the extensive and ongoing role of idiom (for example, 成语 and 谚语) in contemporary texts and everyday speech
  • recognising the influences of other languages and cultures on the Chinese language (for example, and the use of code-switching), and exploring how language choice (such as communicating in regional Chinese, English, standard Chinese or youth slang) indicates membership of a group and can exclude others from the interaction
  • identifying situations in language can be used to position themselves or others as an insider or outsider, for example, the use of 老外 in Australia to refer to non-Chinese; the choice between 咱们 and 我们 to include or exclude participants
  • experimenting with voice projection, pitch and rhythm when trying to assert own view or idea without disempowering or dismissing others, for example, to appear authoritative when speaking on an issue or topic, or to reprimand, advise or motivate others

Role of language and culture

Discuss ways in which language choices indicate aspects of social position (such as class, gender and ethnicity) and inhibit or encourage others’ involvement or sense of belonging (ACLCHU209 - Scootle )
  • Literacy
  • Critical and Creative Thinking
  • Personal and Social Capability
  • Intercultural Understanding
  • exploring how known languages influence their communicative preferences, such as how the values of one culture may be reflected when communicating in another, for example, differences in the use and frequency of ‘thank you’ and 谢谢 which is simply a sign of gratitude in English, whereas in Chinese overuse of this indicates distance between participants in interactions
  • exploring how cultural concepts of family and the importance of one’s sense of connection to others influence use of Chinese
  • exploring the origins of 成语 and 歇后语 encountered in texts such as 朝三暮四,姜太公钓鱼, and using set phrases to share or convey a cultural idea in own writing, for example, 塞翁失马,笨鸟先飞

Years 7 and 8 Achievement Standards

By the end of Year 8, students use spoken and written Chinese to sustain interactions in their personal and social worlds (for example, 你叫什么名字?你多大了?你住在哪个城市?,不对,我是说… and 老师,我可以用电脑吗?), making appropriate language choices for different roles, relationships and situations, for example, 你的那个,那个 assignment 做完了吗? They access and analyse information (for example, 排版结构,表格,图标)from a range of sources which include familiar characters and use this information for a range of purposes. Students interpret, translate and create a range of spoken, written and multimodal Chinese texts for imaginative, informative and persuasive purposes and for different audiences. Sentences generally contain two or more ideas connected by cohesive devices (for example, 如果…就…), and use a range of time phrases (for example, 然后;就)to sequence events and ideas. Students make comparisons (比;跟…一), and provide reasons to explain their opinions or actions, using conjunctions (因为、所以、因此).

Students explain the diversity in speaking and writing systems across languages, including regional variations within Chinese, and how these differences impact on their own understanding and communicative practices. They identify familiar characters in their simplified and traditional forms, and explain the differences between standard Chinese and dialects that may be spoken in their family. Their written literacy is still developing and they produce longer and more complex texts through the use of digital resources than in handwriting. They describe how the distinctive features of Chinese grammar and texts can be used to achieve particular effects and purposes. They explain how ideas are mediated across languages and cultures in their local communities. They express their own understandings of the Chinese cultural values that influence their own communicative practices.