Chinese (Version 8.4)

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Understand how Chinese works

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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Context Statement

Years 7 and 8

Years 7 and 8 Band Description

The nature of the learners

Students maintain their sense of belonging to both their home and their outside culture. They can alter their conduct to fit different contexts within the world of teenage experience.

Chinese language learning and use

Classroom interaction is primarily conducted in Chinese. Students extend their knowledge of language structures and text organisation through reading and viewing authentic material and discussing how to apply new learning to their own communication. They are immersed in Chinese language, exploring issues related to youth culture, environmental conservation, family structure and welfare, and the features of diverse Chinese personal and social environments.

Contexts of interaction

Students use Chinese at school and home, and through increased engagement with members of their local communities. The online environment is used to connect students with other Chinese language users globally.

Texts and resources

Students engage with a variety of text types and modes, including visual and digital media, music, TV series, documentaries, and bilingual versions of classic and contemporary literature and their film adaptations.

Features of Chinese language use

Students extend their writing skills to include more persuasive language and more formal genres, such as articles and reports. They participate in presentations on topics related to the history and geography of Chinese-speaking communities, and initiate discussion through enquiry. Students begin to compare their own pronunciation to modern standard spoken Chinese. They also explore the influence of English on their own communication in Chinese, in pronunciation and linguistic structures, and the role of code-switching in their daily language use. Students develop their skills in analysing characters and recognising word and clause boundaries in extended text.

Level of support

Correct Chinese language use continues to be modelled by the teacher to support students’ oracy and literacy development. Glossaries, vocabulary lists, dictionaries and translation tools are used to support comprehension.

The role of English

English is used when required for comparison or to explore complex ideas related to language, culture and concepts from other learning areas.

Years 7 and 8 Content Descriptions

Communicating

Socialising

Interact and socialise with familiar groups and individuals, exchanging personal information such as sporting achievements, favourite pastimes, and sharing perspectives on aspects of contemporary life such as popular music,

[Key concept: perspective; Key processes: transacting, connecting] (ACLCHC161 - Scootle )

  • Literacy
  • Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Capability
  • Critical and Creative Thinking
  • Personal and Social Capability
  • Intercultural Understanding
  • contributing to class discussions to share opinions on topics such as homework and study habits, parental expectations and generational differences; elaborating on own perspectives, clarifying ideas and opinions (for example, 奥运会 我既为澳大利亚加油 也为中国加油， 因为这两个国家对我来说都很重要), and summarising various perspectives in interaction, for example, 大家的意思是… or 也就是说…
  • initiating conversations to share aspects of personal world such as a recent overseas holiday, future plans, achievements in life, for example, 你知道我今年冬天去了哪儿吗？ 说起来真好玩

  • acknowledging others’ ideas and indicating agreement or disagreement in non-judgemental ways (for example, 我们也没办法，不得不…); using language to persuade or influence others, for example, listing possible consequences (要不然; 如果… … 的话; 那么 …)

  • eliciting others’ opinions; exploring others’ perspectives and the influences on their perspectives; asking questions and inviting elaboration (for example, 你为什么说…?); and responding to others’ opinions by providing a different perspective, for example, 你说你喜欢滑雪， 我也很喜欢滑雪。 因为滑雪不仅有趣， 它也是很好的运动，可以锻炼身体；你还可以和家人一起滑雪，所以它也是很好的家庭活动
  • sharing experiences relating to school (for example, camps, excursions, class activities) and leisure (for example, sporting competitions, television programs, family holidays) with participants of online communities of Chinese speakers, such as educational blogs
  • responding to enquiries from others through correspondence and online communities, and describing lifestyle of Australian young people with attention to what makes Australia unique, for example, 澳大利亚有…，人们生活…
  • engaging with educational social media to document own experiences and achievements by posting a weekly journal or blog for others to read, for example, 本周XX俱乐部足球赛
  • using mobile technologies to maintain contact, share thoughts and experiences, and plan activities with Chinese classmates
Participate in planning joint projects and events that would benefit the local community, justifying choices and making decisions

[Key concepts: community, benefit; Key process: interpreting, negotiating, collaborating] (ACLCHC162 - Scootle )

  • Literacy
  • Numeracy
  • Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Capability
  • Critical and Creative Thinking
  • Personal and Social Capability
  • Intercultural Understanding
  • Asia and Australia’s Engagement with Asia
  • collaborating with others to organise a community event, taking initiative in negotiating roles
  • participating in projects to benefit other learners and speakers of Chinese, for example, developing readers or multimedia learning tools for young Chinese children in the community; establishing a peer mentoring program to support learners of Chinese in local primary schools
  • making purchasing decisions by comparing prices of items from a range of suppliers, as well as features such as country of origin, quality, reliability, warranty and safety
  • requesting financial advice as part of responsible decision making when purchasing goods and services, for example, 我们可以花多少钱？这个一下就占了一大半，还是买便宜一些的那个吧
  • creating posters to promote activities among young people in Chinese communities within and beyond the school, for example, a language and culture club, sporting team
  • using social media to access a wider audience and promote intercultural understanding and awareness of the lifestyles and achievements of young Chinese Australians
  • promoting healthy living among Chinese peers by creating posters educating youth on the benefits of healthy eating and exercise, as well as the importance of success at school

Informing

Collate and analyse information from a range of sources to develop a position on an issue

[Key concepts: bias, perspective; Key processes: collating, analysing] (ACLCHC163 - Scootle )

  • Literacy
  • Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Capability
  • Critical and Creative Thinking
  • Personal and Social Capability
  • Intercultural Understanding
  • accessing information from a range of sources, such as familiar adults, TV advertisements or documentaries, to inform self and others on topical issues
  • comparing information presented in various sources (for example assessing information about China in tourism videos from China and Australia), and sharing information about the differences of focus and possible reasons for these differences
  • preparing and organising a learning activity such as 小老师课堂 to engage peers, and contributing to discussions to share information drawn from a range of sources, such as documentaries and personal sources, for example, 昨天让大家采访一下家人，来帮助我们谈谈中国的方言。你们都采访了谁？
  • accessing a range of sources, such as online debates in public forums, and identifying factors that potentially create bias, for example, generational differences, cultural factors, individual personalities (有人认为愚公很傻， 尤其是生活在现代的人)
Plan and convey key points of information and opinions based on information drawn from a range of sources

[Key concept: multiculturalism; Key processes: collaborating, comparing, evaluating] (ACLCHC164 - Scootle )

  • Literacy
  • Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Capability
  • Critical and Creative Thinking
  • Personal and Social Capability
  • Intercultural Understanding
  • engaging with different representations of ideas, comparing perspectives and developing an informed position on issues relevant to their life, for example, 在中国有人说移民澳洲好，因为生活轻松； 也有人说移民澳洲不好，因为没有熟悉的家人朋友。我觉得… 因为…
  • discussing perspectives and comparing experiences and opinions relating to issues such as 独生子女政策, noting how some people focus on positive effects on society while others focus on their own personal experiences of being a 独生子女
  • collaborating to produce multimedia displays to share with readers overseas to provide a local insight into issues such as international students in Australia
  • collating information from personal research and writing reports on issues relevant to young people across cultures, for example, pressure to follow fashions and trends, bullying in schools, and inspirational people

Creating

Express opinions about how popular imaginative texts, including poems and 故事, reveal important cultural values

[Key concepts: values, beliefs, attitudes; Key processes: comparing, contrasting] (ACLCHC165 - Scootle )

  • Literacy
  • Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Capability
  • Critical and Creative Thinking
  • Personal and Social Capability
  • Intercultural Understanding
  • describing how emotions, attitudes or intentions of a performer, author or character are conveyed through language, and analysing how emotions (for example, happiness, sadness, homesickness) are expressed in popular songs or TV programs
  • viewing popular TV programs designed for Chinese youth, sharing individual responses or reactions to forms of Chinese entertainment, and comparing features of performance across cultures
  • understanding how music, imagery and stereotypical representations of people, places and practices are used in contemporary youth media to influence audience responses
  • exploring regional and generational influences on popular culture of the Sinophone world (such as 港台流行歌曲； 港片), and identifying different concepts of ‘beauty’ in different eras, for example, 60年代流行…, 70年代流行…
  • comparing features of performance in different media (such as radio, television and online videos), and discussing how entertainment is changing with technology
  • producing creative texts in response to literary texts such as 《某某后传》, reflecting the literary styles and methods identified in such texts
  • reading a range of imaginative texts from other cultures, keeping a reading journal (读书笔记) to record understanding and own responses, and participating in class discussions about texts such as 《小王子》 and 《安徒生童话选》
  • discussing themes and meanings of traditional texts, including classical poems (for example,《静夜思》，《春晓》，《咏鹅》) and stories, fables and legends ( for example, 《孔融让梨》、《井底之蛙》、 《铁杵磨针》
Create narratives that express the everyday experiences of young people, experimenting with dialogue

[Key concepts: imagination, attitude, beliefs; Key processes: analysing, creating] (ACLCHC166 - Scootle )

  • Literacy
  • Critical and Creative Thinking
  • Personal and Social Capability
  • Intercultural Understanding
  • collaborating to prepare and present short dramatic or humorous performances that reflect situations or experiences drawn from their own Chinese cultural environment, such as generational and cultural differences encountered at home
  • creating songs or jingles to promote products, services or events in imaginative ways
  • creating written and multimodal narrative accounts of the life experiences of major historical figures or characters from literature, for example, 诸葛亮，孔子和他的学生
  • developing skills in drafting and editing own writing, collaborating with others to enhance stylistic and creative features of own written expression

Translating

Translate short texts for different audiences, identifying what is lost in translation and considering alternative ways to explain key points

[Key concepts: concept, public, personal; Key processes: comparing, translating] (ACLCHC167 - Scootle )

  • Literacy
  • Critical and Creative Thinking
  • Intercultural Understanding
  • identifying the challenges of translating some concepts (for example, 龙的传人: ‘descendant of dragon’), and developing strategies to overcome these; asking, for example: What is lost in translation? Why can’t we just translate word for word? Why does context matter?
  • translating short phrases or texts, noting culture-specific words and phrases, and discussing alternatives, equivalence or non-equivalence
  • discussing reasons for creating different translations for different audiences
  • comparing alternative ways of translating to identify ‘normality’ in one’s linguistic and cultural context, for example, using the term 软饮料 instead of 无酒精饮料 assumes the reader/audience has a degree of connection to English to understand meaning of 软
  • considering ways to convey culture-specific terms (for example, 中药和食疗, 上火，大补) in English
Create bilingual texts relating to other learning areas and topics of interest, considering the influence of different roles, relationships, settings and situations when interpreting both Chinese and English

[Key concepts: audience, context, bilingualism; Key processes: identifying, translating, interpreting] (ACLCHC168 - Scootle )

  • Literacy
  • Critical and Creative Thinking
  • Personal and Social Capability
  • Intercultural Understanding
  • observing others involved in interpreting meaning in bilingual contexts and identifying challenges and potential issues in mediation
  • using Chinese dictionaries to enhance understanding of subtle differences in how and when words are used, and applying this knowledge to interpreting meanings in texts and interactions

Reflecting

Reflect on own intercultural experiences, and contrast ways in which people of different generations, genders and linguistic backgrounds use language and respond to different experiences

[Key concepts: change, continuity; Key processes: reflecting, shaping] (ACLCHC169 - Scootle )

  • Literacy
  • Critical and Creative Thinking
  • Personal and Social Capability
  • Intercultural Understanding
  • recognising own tendency to generalise or stereotype during interactions (for example, 地域歧视), being sensitive to the possibility of causing offence to others in interaction, and considering questions to ask about the other person’s cultural background, for example, 你父母是大陆人吗？, 你父母的老家在中国甚么地方？
  • participating in cultural events, and reflecting on cultural similarities and differences, and 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。母亲节那天我们全家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, including code-switching, for example, 我妈妈不喜欢我说汉语时夹着英语，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，我就会想想全部用汉语该怎么说

Understanding

Systems of language

Identify changes in tone that occur when words or tones are combined, recognise atonality in rapid connected speech, and use this knowledge to aid in interpreting meaning (ACLCHU170 - Scootle )
  • Literacy
  • Critical and Creative Thinking
  • comparing ways they pronounce and use spoken Chinese with peers and other Chinese speakers, and determining the influences on their own language use, such as TV, parents, dialects spoken
  • developing tone discrimination and identifying subtle differences in pronunciation, including variations in regional accents, for example, distinguishing between ‘qing’ and ‘qin’, ‘lou’ and ‘rou’, ‘liang’ and ‘lang’, ‘shi’ and ‘si’, and ‘lan’ and ‘nan’ when listening to interactions between speakers in diverse contexts
Use character and component knowledge to infer sound and meaning of new characters encountered in texts, and examine component form and function to associate the correct sound and meaning with individual characters (ACLCHU171 - Scootle )
  • Literacy
  • Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Capability
  • Critical and Creative Thinking
  • Intercultural Understanding
  • using knowledge of components to select a character from options when inputting Chinese in a digital text
  • categorising words containing a common morpheme to better understand the relationship between morphemes and specific word meanings, for example, using Chinese dictionaries to explore the range of words created from common character morphemes such as 情 (情感、情趣、情形) and 性（性能、性别、性格）
  • discriminating between the functions of morphemes with related meanings, for example, 餐，饭; 做，作
  • exploring influences on word formation, for example, the school subject ‘Language’ is called 语文 in China not 汉语 or 中文
Recognise ways of organising and expressing ideas in Chinese (ACLCHU172 - Scootle )
  • Literacy
  • Critical and Creative Thinking
  • using connectives (连接词) and sequencing expressions (for example, 首先。。。其次。。。) to enhance flow and clarity of ideas
  • organising information in different ways, discussing the logical flow of the information and whether it suits the audience’s needs, 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
Identify structure and organisation of different texts, including expositions, procedural texts and recounts, and use these in their own speech and writing (ACLCHU173 - Scootle )
  • Literacy
  • Critical and Creative Thinking
  • analysing and explaining the organisation and development of ideas or an argument in a range of genres, including textual features such as paragraphing
  • comparing the ways in which similar ideas and concepts are presented in different genres, discussing the impact of genre choice on text structure and language use (for example, in imaginative and evaluative texts), and determining how language choices achieve the desired effect
  • exploring the traditional structure of persuasive texts in Chinese, such as 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 the language use compares to their own everyday speech

Language variation and change

Understand how language is used to reflect different roles, relationships, settings and values and modify language use in diverse contexts (ACLCHU174 - Scootle )
  • Literacy
  • Critical and Creative Thinking
  • Intercultural Understanding
  • observing interactions and identifying examples of how language is adapted as the roles and positions of participants are established, for example, moving to more formal language once a participant is identified as a person of authority
  • reading texts such as 《人民日报》, and identifying words and phrases used to establish authority, objectivity and the purpose of interaction
  • noticing and describing differences in accent and dialect when listening to Chinese speakers from diverse regions
  • exploring the use of l as a lingua franca in Chinese-speaking communities, and identifying terms used in different regions to express a similar idea, for example, 普通话 versus l versus 高手
  • interpreting the relationships of participants in a spoken interaction by observing word choices and gestures, for example examining what titles are used for individuals in Chinese (for example, 老张 / 张校长/张小明)
  • comparing 褒义词，贬义词 and 中性词 and the contexts they are used in, for example, the differences between 聪明 and 滑头
Explore the significance of tradition in 名人名言 and 经典, and contemporary influences on language use (ACLCHU175 - Scootle )
  • Literacy
  • Critical and Creative Thinking
  • Intercultural Understanding
  • reading traditional-form texts on familiar topics and inferring meanings of key characters
  • comprehending texts in traditional characters encountered in everyday contexts by drawing a connection with the character’s simplified version, for example, 匾 used at a tourist site

Role of language and culture

Explain how communicative practices are influenced by engagement with different languages and cultures (ACLCHU176 - Scootle )
  • Literacy
  • Critical and Creative Thinking
  • Intercultural Understanding
  • exploring uses and meanings of word categories (such as colours, celebrations, animals) across languages and cultures, for example, the assumption in Australia that a cake with candles must be a birthday cake; the use of colours to reflect mood
  • analyse culture-specific values in Chinese (such as face, harmony, group identity), and explore how these are applied in own language use, for example expressing modesty and respect through the expression 多多指教
  • identifying words used with specific assumptions, for example, gender (英俊 is used to describe males), significance (会见 versus 见面), formality (光临 versus 来到)

Years 7 and 8 Achievement Standards

Achievement Standard

By the end of Year 8, students use spoken and written Chinese to maintain exchanges, to analyse and evaluate information, and to share opinions (for example, 电视节目，纪录片，教育片，微电影, 报纸，杂志， 网站，博客， 少年百科) and experiences, for example, 我们为什么要保护熊猫？中国和澳大利亚的一些差异, 我最喜欢的假期. They select and discern tone patterns and atonality. Students respond to and create a range of texts (for example, 流行歌曲演唱；电视剧配音), for different audiences and purposes. They create sentences that contain two or more ideas connected by cohesive devices (for example, 不但…而且…) and use a range of time phrases (for example, 先…然后； 以前；吃了饭，就）to sequence events and ideas. Students make comparisons (for example, 比;跟…一样), and elaborate on and explain their opinions or actions using conjunctions, for example, 所以、要不然. They use stylistic devices (including 比喻，排比，反问), and use 成语 to influence and persuade others. They move between English and Chinese to interpret and translate for different audiences.

Students explain how changes in tone and tone combination impact on meaning. They describe culturally specific gestures and actions. They identify diversity within the Chinese spoken and written language and explain the differences in writing systems across languages. Students connect the distinctive features of Chinese grammar with the development of complex ideas, and explain how the structure of texts influences audience response. They explain how features of Chinese culture impact on communication practices and influence their own interactions with others across languages.