Course Syllabus

Text   Mandarin 12

Faculty

Lucy Li

Course Description

Building upon the foundation laid in Mandarin 11 Regular or equivalent, Mandarin 12 continues to offer a comprehensive approach to further build students’ confidence in the four aspects of language skills and improve the proficiency. Students will be able to discuss issues related to daily life and present well-organized information orally and in writing on theme-based topics covered in the course content. Students are expected to communicate with more complex sentence structures and a variety of vocabulary on familiar topics. Students will deepen their understanding of Chinese culture through a wide range of on-line resources. Easy Steps to Chinese Book 3 and workbook is the main text for this course, varieties of other course related materials are introduced to enrich the learning experience.

Instructional Aims

Based on the B.C. Ministry of Education curriculum, students will learn through the following experiences:

• Apply knowledge of phonetic systems and radicals in Chinese characters in relation to pronunciation and definition
• Recognize and write content-related Chinese characters; comprehend upon hearing
• Derive meaning from a variety of texts as well as conversations
• Sustain understanding over a longer stretch of connected discourse on a number of familiar topics
• Narrate short stories orally and in writing
• Read independently authentic written material on subjects within a familiar context
• Describe in paragraphs in length of at least 120- 150 Chinese characters or more on familiar topics
• Recognize regional and ethnic diversity of language and culture in China
  and in Chinese communities throughout the world
• Engage in experiences with Mandarin-speaking people and Chinese communities on a variety of topics of interest, orally and in writing with growing fluency
• Identify and explore educational and personal/professional opportunities requiring proficiency in Mandarin
• Analyze personal, others’, and shared experiences, perspectives, and worldviews through a cultural lens
• Recognize First Peoples perspectives and knowledge; other ways of knowing, and local cultural knowledge to gain understanding of Chinese culture

Learning Outcomes

Based on the B.C. Ministry of Education curriculum, students will learn and be evaluated on the following knowledge and skills:

Language Thinking 

• Use knowledge of parts and radicals in Chinese characters to predict pronunciation and meaning
• Derive and negotiate meaning in a wide variety of contexts
• Locate and explore a variety of authentic texts in Mandarin Chinese
• Explore and interpret a wide variety of texts
• Recognize different purposes, degrees of formality, and cultural points of view in a variety of texts
• Analyze and compare elements of creative works from diverse communities

Communication 

• Narrate stories orally and in writing
• Respond personally to a variety of texts, including oral, written, and visual forms
• Engage in meaningful conversations on a variety of topics of interest, orally and in writing
• Express themselves with growing fluency, orally and in writing:
• Express doubts, wishes, possibilities, and hypotheticals
• Express and explain needs and emotions
• Express, support, and defend opinions on a variety of topics of interest
• Synthesize, evaluate, and respond to the opinions of others

Personal and Social Awareness 

• Identify and explain biases in texts
• Recognize and explain connections between language and culture
• Engage in experiences with Chinese-speaking people and communities
• Identify and explore career opportunities requiring proficiency in Mandarin Chinese
• Express and reflect on a variety of experiences, perspectives, and worldviews through place

Recognize First peoples perspectives and knowledge, other ways of knowing, and local cultural knowledge to gain understanding of Chinese culture

Assessment and Evaluation

A student's final mark will be determined by evaluation of their ability to demonstrate proficiency in these skills and learning these concepts.

Mandarin 10 follows the St. George’s School Assessment Policy.  Assessment will be linear, considering the “most recent and relevant” performances of understanding.  This also includes a focus on learning outcomes (versus type of assignment), a year-long cumulative grade (versus term by term), and a focus on mastery (versus averages). Mastery of a language encompasses the four core language skills: speaking (both dialogue and presentational), listening, reading and writing and these four skills are weighted equally each term.

The primary sources of evaluation in the course will include:

• Projects/presentations at the end of themes
• Grammar, vocabulary, listening and reading comprehension quizzes and assessments
• Short written responses
• Student dialogues

The school year grade is equivalent to 75% of their final grade and is made up of the following categories:

• Speaking comprehension: 25%.
• Reading comprehension: 25%.
• Listening comprehension: 25%.
• Writing comprehension: 25%.

We anticipate adjustments may be made throughout the year due to the extenuating circumstances we are facing. Any adjustments will be posted here and discussed as a class.

Both the school’s assessment expectations and supports that teachers provide can be found online. Academic dishonesty to any degree is not acceptable.

There are a variety of academic supports available at St. George’s for students. Students are encouraged to take advantage of the range of supports available to them which include:

• Faculty support
• 5th Block
• Head of Grade
• Student Success Centre
• Personal Counselling

Course Expectations

St. George’s School expects all students at the Senior School to be interested and motivated in achieving their personal best while at the School. We expect students will be engaged in their endeavours, responsible to their studies, classmates and teachers, and demonstrate integrity in their pursuit of learning.

Students in this course are expected to complete work assignments on the date assigned and to submit their work on Canvas.

If circumstances prevent the student from completing a work assignment on the assigned due date, the student must inform the teacher prior to the due date for the work assignment. The teacher will provide a second due date through 5th block system. 

First Peoples Principles

We would like to acknowledge that the land on which we gather is the unceded territory of the Coast Salish Peoples, including the territories of the xʷməθkwəy̓əm (Musqueam), Skwxwú7mesh (Squamish), and Səl̓ílwətaʔ/Selilwitulh (Tsleil-Waututh) Nations. We are honoured to live, work, and play on this land together.

As part of contribution to reconciliation, this course makes First Peoples Principles visible in class by studying First Peoples perspectives and knowledge, comparing its principles with those of in Chinese culture.

Literacy/Numeracy

This course makes literacy/numeracy visible by using the following comprehension tasks and strategies:

• Analyze and make meaning from diverse texts in Chinese and to communicate and express oneself in a variety of modes and for a variety of purposes in relevant context through gaining proficiency in speaking, listening, reading, and writing

Learning Resources

Resources that will be used as part of this course include:

• Textbook and workbook: Easy Steps to Chinese Book 3
• This course syllabus, all current unit and major assessments for the current term, and a plethora of helpful learning resources can be found on my Canvas page

Contacting Me

As the teacher for this course, I can be contacted in the following ways:

• Name: Lucy Li
• Office: 101B
• Email: lli@stgeorges.bc.ca
• Phone: 604-221-3670