Welcome
We believe that learning and practising a foreign language is not only very satisfying in itself, but once you have it, linguistic power opens up a whole world of opportunities and experiences for you. Travel really does expand your mind and if you can visit the country and communicate with people in their own language, you'll not only encounter more friendliness and courtesy, but you also end up with a far greater understanding of other countries. Ultimately, we aim for you not only to become functional, successful linguists, but to relish a real interest and enthusiasm for other cultures. We want no Colyton student to discover that their world is limited by their language.
Acquiring a language is not only an intellectual exercise: it's also practical and we try to ensure that almost all lessons have some practical activity. We’re always trying out games and communicative exercises so that you get the skills and confidence as well as the knowledge to make you a successful, functioning linguist. We try to strike the right balance between listening, reading, speaking and writing over a sequence of lessons and we love to use lots of different technology.
What we do
Learning Mandarin or any other language enhances your employment and mobility prospects in a variety of career choices, whether you want to work in business, tourism, the media, fashion or world-class football. If working abroad or traveling for work is one of your career goals, learning how to speak Mandarin fluently will help you get there. In an increasingly global market, being bilingual will help you speak with international clients, negotiate business deals abroad, and collaborate with experts across the globe.
It will also enable you to travel to China, developing your cultural knowledge and understanding and fostering transferable skills such as confidence, communication, problem solving and creativity.
In Mandarin, you will continue to learn characters and further your knowledge and understanding of Chinese culture
Learning Mandarin or any other language enhances your employment and mobility prospects in a variety of career choices, whether you want to work in business, tourism, the media, fashion or world-class football. If working abroad or traveling for work is one of your career goals, learning how to speak Mandarin fluently will help you get there. In an increasingly global market, being bilingual will help you speak with international clients, negotiate business deals abroad, and collaborate with experts across the globe.
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Year 7 |
Year 8 |
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Autumn Term
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Numbers
Age
Greetings
Strokes and Tones
Family
Pets
Birthday
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Holidays
Weather
Trip
Me, Myself
Physical descriptions
Clothes and colours
Daily Routine
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Spring Term
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Hobbies
Opinions
Sports
My Week
School subjects
School day
Telling the time
Nationality
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Town and Region
Weekend plans
House
Jobs
Future Career
Shopping
Supermarket
Online
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Summer Term
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Food and drinks
Likes and dislikes
Daily Routine
Chinese Food and festival
Ordering food
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Seasons
Directions
Visit to China
Tourist information
Souvenirs
Chinese Festivals
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The three broad themes studied are at GCSE:
· Identity and culture
· Local, national, international and global areas of interest
· Current and future study and employment
Course Aims
By developing students' receptive, presentation and interactive communication skills, the course enables students to acquire the necessary language skills and multicultural understanding so that they can communicate successfully in a Chinese environment. The curriculum is designed to develop students' language skills as well as their cross-cultural comprehension and international outlook.
Syllabus Content
Key topic areas include:
- Identities – E.g.: lifestyles, subcultures, beliefs and values
- Experiences – E.g. life stories, customs and tradition, migration
- Human Ingenuity – E.g. media, art, science and technology
- Social Organisation – E.g. social relationships, education and work
- Sharing the Planet – E.g. globalisation, the environment
Assessment
External assessment – paper 1 Writing and Paper 2 Listening Comprehension and Reading Comprehension
The writing assessment tests your ability in using a variety of text types, appropriate language, register and format.
For the listening comprehension, you will be presented with three audio passages, and for the reading comprehension with three written passages. Both assessments cover topics drawn from the five themes listed above.
Internal Assessment – Individual oral assessment (conducted by the Mandarin teacher at Colyton)
The oral assessment is internally set and assessed but externally moderated. It assesses your interactive skills in Mandarin with appropriate language, structures and register. You will carry out a conversation with your teacher, based on a visual stimulus, followed by discussion based on an additional theme.
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External assessment (3 hours) - 75%
Paper 1 – writing (1 hour 15 minutes) - 25%
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Paper 2 – listening and speaking (1 hour 45 minutes) - 50%
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Internal assessment – oral skills - 25%
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Suitability
The IB DP Mandarin Standard Course are for those who are not only interested in the Chinese language but also wish to be aware of events in all Chinese speaking societies around the world. The five themes for the IB course are contemporary and will allow students to explore the varied cultures, tradition, current affairs in those countries. In addition, the IB mission will also provide an opportunity for the students to prepare for a global future involving the Chinese diaspora.
