k10outline - 1-2 Content Descriptions - Understanding language and culture

recognise and use sound patterns and tones of Chinese

listening to and performing nursery rhymes and stories with rhythms, tones and sound patterns, or tongue twisters such as 《猴子穿新衣》,《四和十》
participating in tone-guessing activities such as listening to the teacher or a peer saying 妈/马 and guessing the correct tone, or listening to and identifying the 4 tones and the neutral tone, and responding with appropriate actions
writing a complete Pinyin with a correct tone mark and demonstrating understanding that tones can change meaning, for example, 睡觉和水饺
recording their pronunciation of different tones and playing a game with peers, such as 猜猜是谁说的, to identify the differences in their own spoken language
singing a Pinyin alphabet song, demonstrating understanding that Pinyin is the romanisation of the sounds of Chinese
playing pair-matching card games, for example, matching tones, initial to final
identifying syllables that make up Chinese words, for example, 小老鼠, and demonstrating understanding that words such as 熊猫 have 2 syllables, with each syllable having a meaning
developing fluency of sentences in Chinese, using gesture to help demonstrate tone and stress, for example, reciting classic Chinese poems such as 李白《静夜思》

recognise that Chinese components and/or characters and features of language are used to construct meaning

making and copying components, characters and/or words, using playdough, strings, found objects, blocks and chalk
copying and tracing words and phrases with attention to stroke order, using air gestures, chalk, writing in sand and mini whiteboards, or using a different colour for each stroke to create rainbow writing
making connections among characters sharing the same radicals such as water 氵 in 河, 池, 海, and discussing the importance of water in daily life
learning that Chinese words are made up of 2 or more characters, with each character contributing meaning to the word, for example, 大人, literally ‘big person’ which means ‘adult’
noticing similarities and differences between punctuation conventions in Chinese and English such as full stops, exclamation marks and question marks
understanding that there are basic rules of word order in Chinese subject+verb+object, as in English
using common adjectives such as 高, 矮, 小, 大, 新, 旧 to describe people, animals and objects in modelled sentences
recognising common prepositions relating to location, for example, 里面, 外面, 上面, 下面, 中间, for example, responding to meaning of prepositions in a treasure hunt
using some question words in familiar contexts, for example, 吗, 谁,什么,哪里,多少,什么时候,几点
using basic measure words in modelled sentences between numbers and subject to describe quantity 个, 只 such as 两个苹果, 三只羊

recognise that Chinese has features that may be similar to or different from English

noticing that simple statements in Chinese tend to follow the same word order as in English; subject+verb+object
discussing the placement of words in Chinese, for example, ‘happy’ in English ‘Happy Birthday’ and ‘Happy New Year’ versus 生日快乐, 新年快乐
comparing the vowel sounds of English with the main vowel sounds of Chinese, such as a, e, i, o and u, to develop awareness
developing number knowledge and identifying the similarities and differences between using cardinal and ordinal numbers in Chinese and English, for example, comparing 十一 with 11, and comparing 第一 with first
comparing bilingual texts (picture books, multimedia texts, songs, cartoons, etc.), noticing similarities and differences, such as features of punctuation and text organisation across languages, for example, Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star 《小星星》
recognising that languages use words borrowed from other languages, and that many English and French words are used in Chinese such as 汉堡包, 咖啡, 可乐, 巴士
learning metalanguage for word types, for example, exploring what are considered verbs in English and adjectival verbs in Chinese 天天打篮球的哥哥长高了。

notice that people use language in ways that reflect cultural practices

comparing and contrasting their classroom interactions with those in Chinese-speaking communities to identify similarities and differences
using gestures, words and phrases that reflect aspects of Chinese culture, for example, using both hands to offer something, and saying 请, 请用 to show respect
identifying countries and regions in the world where Chinese is used as a language of communication such as Singapore, Malaysia, and Indonesia
exploring symbols and language used by First Nations Australians and in Chinese-speaking communities in a range of contexts, for example, identifying the colours of flags in Chinese, and discussing what they represent in English
discussing the role of Chinese language and culture in their own lives such as participation in cultural events, food preferences, or overseas travel
exploring cultural symbols and practices through stories, songs, dances, games and crafts, for example, Chinese knots 中国结
sharing information about their family, such as country of origin, languages spoken and current locations of extended family, for example, 我爸爸是从中国来的。他会说普通话和上海话。