Years 7-8 Chinese BL Syllabus
Years 7-8 Syllabus
Years 7-8 Band Level Description
In Years 7 and 8, students may be formalising their learning of Chinese or extending prior knowledge of Chinese language. This will be influenced by the extent of students’ backgrounds and prior experiences of language learning. They use Chinese to describe their personal worlds and interact and collaborate with teachers and peers within and beyond the classroom, including within their family and in their local community, if applicable. Listening, speaking, reading, viewing and writing activities are supported by scaffolding, modelling and feedback, as required. Background-language and first-language learners may work collaboratively to facilitate learning.
Students access authentic and purpose-developed spoken, written and multimodal resources which may include traditional and contemporary stories, conversations, audio and video clips, textbooks, advertisements, blogs and magazines. They may source texts and other resources from their local community to share with peers. They use their English and/or Chinese literacy knowledge of metalanguage to reflect on similarities and differences between Chinese and English language pronunciation, structures and features. They understand differences between using the Roman alphabet in English and Pinyin, and characters in Chinese, including the use of tones and how they affect pronunciation and meaning. They may access resources in simplified and traditional characters, and identify differences between these systems. They recognise that language choices reflect cultural identity, beliefs and values.
Years 7-8 Achievement Standard
By the end of Year 8, students use Chinese language to interact and collaborate with others, and to share information and plan activities in a range of contexts. They respond to others’ contributions, and use culturally-appropriate gestures, questions and instructions in exchanges. They understand relationships between spoken and written forms. They interpret non-verbal, visual and contextual cues and translate and analyse information in texts. They respond in Chinese or English, and demonstrate understanding of context, purpose and audience in texts. They manipulate language and grammatical structures and features to create spoken and written texts. They apply their knowledge of script conventions in written texts.
Students apply tones, pronunciation and intonation authentically. They use Chinese conventions and rules for non-verbal, spoken and written communication. They compare aspects of Chinese and English language structures and features, using metalanguage. They reflect on and explain that the Chinese language is connected with culture and identity, and that this connection is reflected in their own language(s), culture(s) and identity.
Years 7-8 Content Descriptions
Interacting in Chinese
initiate and sustain exchanges related to students’ experiences and perspectives
- initiating and sustaining conversations in a culturally appropriate way to share personal interests such as hobbies and future plans, 你知道我今年冬天要去哪儿吗？去雪山滑雪吧！(BL), or justifying the suitability of a Chinese television series, for example, 我认为这个电视节目很适合中学生，因为 ... (L1)
- clarifying or paraphrasing the teacher’s instructions when needed, and responding to the teacher’s questions with actions or answers, for example, 老师， 请您再说一遍好吗？我明白了。(BL) 老师，您的意思是 ...? 我现在懂了， 您的意思是 ...(L1)
- expressing preferences, stating reasons and making sure that other participants are included in an interaction, for example, 我开始对原住民的艺术感兴趣了，因为...，我去过法国，你呢?
- engaging in class discussion by responding to questions and expressing agreement and/or disagreement in a culturally appropriate way, for example, 虽然你说的不错，但是... (BL) 你讲得似乎有些道理，但是我想说的是... (L1)
- exchanging emails, using appropriate format and modelled language if required, highlighting school, home or social activities, for example, 亲爱的老师， 我很高兴能够参加今天的澳大利亚清洁日活动，因为 ... (BL), or outlining opinions on local issues, for example, 我还从中学到了 ...，所以这是一次非常有意义的活动。(L1)
- responding to invitations to participate in personal celebrations, including accepting and declining in appropriate ways, for example, 谢谢你告诉我， 我一定会去 。(BL) 谢谢你的邀请，但是我不能参加你的 生日聚会。(L1) 祝你生日快乐! (BL&L1)
- sharing information with peers in Chinese-speaking communities, in face-to-face and secure online conversations, about their life experiences, for example, 我现在在一个羽毛球俱乐部打球,认识了不少朋友， 挺开心的。(BL) or 在中国上小学时，我参加了汉字知识大赛，提高了我的汉字认知能力，还丰富了我的中国文化知识。(L1)
- maintaining contact with friends or peers and recording events in everyday life by keeping a daily or weekly secure online journal or blog to document highlights of school or home life and leisure activites, for example, 今天我做了体操，很累。(BL) or comparing and reflecting on daily life in China and Australia 与中国相比，澳大利亚的生活似乎更悠闲，但是有时也会让人感到无聊。(L1)
- exchanging information about special events or special community celebrations, for example, 今年春节我去了中国，爷爷给了我一个大红包。
engage in activities that involve planning, transacting and negotiating with peers, using a range of phrases, sentences and structures and features
- planning a Chinese cultural day to support cultural diversity within the school or local community, deciding on ways to promote the event, such as creating a video to share the main details of the event (BL) and explaining the reasons for the event (L1)
- collaborating to create displays, presentations or performances for family, friends, peers or the school community to showcase Chinese learning, such as singing a song in Chinese (BL) or reciting a poem and explaining the content and context (L1)
- producing bilingual versions of promotional materials to assist the Chinese community to engage with school activities such as a school fete, principal’s tour, sister-school visit or school-sustainability project
- making real or simulated transactions, such as purchasing goods or requesting services, bargaining on price or planning an itinerary, for example, 请问去中国上海旅行的费用可以打折吗？(BL) 如果有更优惠的价格， 我可以考虑 ...。(L1)
- negotiating with peers about the potential purchase 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 ...
- designing an ‘ideal school’ in groups, using research (BL) and their own experiences (L1) to compare aspects of education in Australia and Chinese-speaking regions, for example, Chinese schools usually offer nap time and encourage students to practise eye exercises
- organising a class or school celebration such as the Spring Festival or Mid-Autumn Festival, explaining cultural practices to peers, and comparing with practices in multicultural Australian festivals
- providing feedback, using metalanguage, to support peers, for example, editing each others written or spoken texts and justifying reasons for changes
- creating resources to help others, such as a set of helpful hints for school, for example, getting to school or planning homework (BL) or summarising content from another learning area such as Social Science (L1)
Mediating meaning in and between languages
locate and process information and ideas in a range of spoken, written and multimodal texts, responding in ways appropriate to cultural context, purpose and audience
- listening for key facts in spoken or recorded texts such as phone messages, announcements or discussions and using note-taking strategies in Chinese or English, for example, writing minutes of group discussions (BL) or notes during a debate (L1)
- listening to official broadcasts such as a weather forecasts or traffic advice (BL) or severe weather warnings or evacuation orders (L1), and identifying key points of information
- accessing information related to understanding their own experiences as Chinese students in Australia by searching digital media, using both Chinese and Australian search engines, to develop advice and support for new students arriving at their school
- listening to, reading or viewing First Nations Australian authors’ stories in English and taking notes of the key details in Chinese (BL) or writing a summary or report in Chinese (L1)
- gathering information about aspects of Chinese-speaking regions, such as weather, local industry and daily life, and using the information in new ways, for example, creating a poster or multimodal presentation about an area to promote as a travel destination (BL) or introducing an aspect of unique culture found at a travel destination (L1)
- accessing a range of digital and other texts, such as webpages and short video clips, to collate and present information about aspects of Chinese and Australian lifestyles, for example, researching Chinese teenagers’ fashion (BL) or social media in China and Australia (L1), and preparing notes for a discussion
- evaluating possible print or digital resources before undertaking a research project, and choosing the most suitable sources, asking questions such as 这个网站看上去像正规网站吗？ 这个网站是官网吗?
- viewing extracts of texts from various sources such as social media or traditional literature and expressing personal opinions on aspects of the text, for example, commenting on the style of a music video clip (BL) or discussing the humour used in a comedy sketch, or symbolism in traditional literature (L1)
- reading a range of imaginative texts, keeping a reading journal 读书笔记 to record understanding and their own responses, and participating in class discussions about texts such as 《乌鸦喝水》(BL)《安徒生童话选》(L1)
apply strategies to interpret, translate and convey meaning in familiar and some unfamiliar non-verbal, spoken and written cultural contexts
- using language to reflect formality appropriate to context such as 尊敬的老师 when addressing the audience for a speech (BL), or converting informal spoken language into formal register for example, 我想跟你聊聊。to 我想和您商谈一些事情。(L1)
- discussing cultural connotations of words that express emotion such as 幸福 versus ‘happy’; 怎么回事? versus ‘What’s wrong?’
- acting as interpreter for Chinese-speaking or English-speaking visitors, applying strategies such as clarifying, rephrasing and explaining, when mediating cultural concepts
- applying strategies to translate idioms, fables or stories that cannot be translated directly without cultural context from Chinese or English, for example, Cinderella or《守株待兔》
- reading bilingual childrens stories and identifying expressions in both Chinese and English that illustrate words or phrases that cannot be translated directly
- producing their own bilingual texts, for example, interpreting concepts learnt in other learning areas to help Chinese-speaking peers understand course content (BL), or discussing content from a school textbook in Chinese and comparing it with Chinese school textbook, to consolidate their learning (L1)
- using a range of resources such as English to Chinese dictionaries, Chinese grammar books or apps 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
- interpreting the main theme of Chinese poems or songs, with teacher support if required (BL), or explaining the key messages and detail with reference to their historical background, for example, 《静夜思》(L1)
- identifying features of communication in Chinese that are interpreted differently when applied to communication in English, such as deflecting a compliment instead of saying thank you, for example, 哪里，哪里
- applying translation strategies and rewriting lyrics into Chinese, for example, translating English songs (BL), or story lines for children’s plays (L1)
Creating text in Chinese
create spoken, written and multimodal informative and imaginative texts, using vocabulary, expressions, sentence structures, textual conventions and appropriate characters and/or Pinyin, to suit purpose and audience
- creating digital presentations adding sound, voice and music, for example, a story about local action such as cleaning up a beach (BL) and explaining how cleaning up a beach will benefit the ocean (L1)
- producing a poster or a digital brochure using graphics, photographs and illustrations for a cultural event in China or Australia such as the Lantern Festival or Harmony Day (BL), or describing the area where they lived in China or Chinese-speaking country, including detail such as pros and cons of living there (L1)
- creating texts depicting the experiences of Chinese-speaking people in Australia, for example, a short interview conducted with an older member of the local Chinese community (BL), or writing a short narrative reflecting a Chinese person’s adjustment to life in Australia (L1)
- writing a journal entry, or contributing to a school newsletter in Chinese reflecting on the impact of a school excursion to a significant cultural location on a First Nations Country/Place, and, with permission, referring to cultural knowledge of the site
- developing material to explain a procedure or practice, such as a recipe or a tutorial on the rules of a sport or game (BL), and making lanterns or tai chi moves (L1)
- creating subtitles to match short video clips or descriptions, for presentations of intercultural experiences such as going on an overseas holiday, giving or accepting a gift or for informing peers and school or local community about a cultural event
- composing songs, jingles or video clips to promote real or imagined Australian products for a Chinese market, or vice versa
- writing and performing role-plays using alternative versions of cultural stories, incorporating voice, rhythm and gesture to animate characters, or using support materials such as drawings or story maps to create visual contexts, for example, 《嫦娥奔月》 or 《后羿射日》
- creating an original story based on modelled, common expressions and phrases (BL) or from idioms or quotations from traditional literature such as狐假虎威，or 三人行，必有我师焉 from《论语·述而》(L1)
Digital literacy
Understanding systems of language
use tone-syllables and apply intonation, stress and phrasing to enhance fluency, and respond to and create texts in a range of contexts
- exploring key features of Chinese phonology, examining the range of sounds and recognising how spoken syllables and tones are represented, for example, the tone of "不" and "一" can vary based on context.
- recognising the value of Pinyin romanisation to assist in distinguishing differences in spoken Chinese, to generate digital texts and develop understanding of sound-symbol correspondences in characters, for example, using Pinyin input to type Chinese characters for spoken scripts
- recognising and discriminating between homophones in Chinese, for example, 是 and 室, and enhancing fluency by practising tongue twisters (BL) or stand-up comedy (L1) in Chinese
- identifying subtle differences in pronunciation in their own and others spoken Chinese, such as regional accents (BL)
- comparing their own speech to the pronunciation and speech patterns in examples of Modern Standard Chinese, such as in news broadcasts (L1)
- performing Chinese poems such as 五言绝句 (BL) or 唐诗宋词 (L1), and experimenting with rhythm, voice, emotion and gesture to convey the intended sentiment
- using dictionaries or digital tools to check the correct pronunciation of unknown characters to enhance fluency
- preparing a mock lesson for beginner Chinese students about Chinese phonology
- preparing a speech in Chinese and practising with Chinese-speaking family members or peers (BL) or performing for a specific audience such as the local Chinese-speaking community (L1)
use components and/or characters, sentence structures, syntax and writing system features to infer meaning and to compose and respond to familiar and some unfamiliar texts and contexts
- identifying the nature of components, and their arrangement and function in a range of characters, for example, fire 火/ 灬 and heart 心/ 忄components (BL), and comparing the components against their traditional counterparts such as 饣and 飠(L1)
- inferring characters and meanings in phrases representing auspicious meanings such as 年年有鱼－年年有余; 年糕－年年高升; 枣栗子－早立子; 8－发 (L1)
- applying rules of stroke direction and stroke order when writing characters, paying attention to details such as length of a stroke (BL), and exploring running-writing styles such as 行书，草书, where variation of stroke order may occur (L1)
- using digital tools to write unknown characters and to assist with stroke order (BL), and identifying examples of the language on the internet, to use in their own language, for example, 囧，槑，烎 (L1)
- identifying the possible placement of specific radicals and components in compound characters such as找，提，挑，打, for example, the placement of 扌 on the left-hand side, through digital or board games (BL), or exploring replacement using traditional character components (L1) such as 金字旁，錢，鎖
- examining the relationship between characters in a word, identifying subtle differences in meaning to enhance their own communication, and determining the appropriate context for related words such as 帮忙 and 帮倒忙
- recognising differences between characters of similar appearance, for example, spot the difference between巳 and 已, or spot the 错别字, and explore their meanings
- analysing how words containing a common morpheme are related, for example, how 乘 is used in 乘车， 乘机 and 乘法
- using punctuation conventions such as full stops, exclamations marks and question marks to express different meanings, for example, adding punctuation marks to 小猴子找不着爸爸妈妈很着急 (BL) or identifying and explaining the difference between 小猴子找不着爸爸，妈妈很着急。 and 小猴子找不着爸爸妈妈， 很着急。 (L1)
- joining, contrasting and sequencing, using a range of cohesive devices and exploring ways of extending, sequencing and elaborating ideas through the use of connectives, conjunctions and subject pronouns, for example, 首先，... 其次, ... 再次, ... 最后, ...
- constructing a range of sentences in affirmative, negative, interrogative and imperative forms for different purposes, for example, 太好了！快点！为什么这么慢？天很冷！(BL), or restating affirmative, negative and interrogative structures, for example, 你不会是想回家吧？versus 先别回家。(L1)
- differentiating 同音词 based on the meanings of each morpheme, for example, in 走进 and 走近, and applying in their own writing
- comparing known simplified characters with traditional characters and discussing differences
compare and explain similarities and differences between Chinese and English language structures and features, using familiar metalanguage
- discussing aspects of grammar, using metalanguage in Chinese or English, including terms such as 名词 (noun)，动词 (verb), 形容词 (adjective), 主语 (subject) and 谓语 (predicate), for example, discussing 汉语名词的复数形式是什么？
- comparing different ways of sequencing ideas for different audiences and purposes, for example, a blog compared with an email (BL), or an argument in a speech or essay in Chinese or English, for example, 总起-分述-总结 (L1)
- reading texts and choosing expressions, phrases or sentences that appeal to the reader and explaining their choices
- reading samples of formal texts such as informative reports or short news articles (BL) or official letters (L1), and identifying how language use compares with their own everyday speech or informal texts
- comparing the expression of ideas in diverse traditional and contemporary literary texts, such as the different ways in which the story of 孙悟空 is told in a cartoon (BL), film or television show (L1)
Understanding the interrelationship of language and culture
reflect on and explain how their own and others’ identity is shaped by language(s), culture(s), attitudes, beliefs and values
- discussing identity and cultural values reflected in language use, and how they influence interactions with others, for example, adding a persons job title after their surname to show respect, such as 李医生，何老师，王校长
- comparing key differences between a range of Chinese-speaking regions, such as cultural traditions and beliefs, and considering how this diversity might impact the perspectives and values of Chinese speakers from these regions
- explaining communicative practices that might be perceived differently in different cultures, for example, when accepting a compliment in Chinese, saying 谢谢 might make one look 自大
- examining, in Chinese or English, how First Nations Australians’ languages have strong connections to Country/Place and how these can be compared with language variation across Chinese-speaking communities
- identifying ways in which their Chinese identity is reflected in their own values, beliefs and language
- exploring how known languages influence their way of communicating, such as differences in the use and frequency of "Thank you"
- identifying elements of their own community and identity, including involvement in cultural practices and choices of language, for example, using 回国 for returning to the home country
- reading jokes or cartoons in Chinese and discussing how humour is conveyed through non-verbal and spoken expressions, and comparing how humour is interpreted in different cultural settings
- discussing past or possible experiences of living in a Chinese-speaking country and how they feel about the lifestyle and practices compared with their lifestyle in Australia