The language to be studied and assessed is the modern standard/official version of Chinese. For the purpose of this study, Modern Standard Chinese is taken to be Putonghua in the spoken form, and simplified character text in the written form. Throughout the Chinese-speaking communities, Modern Standard Chinese may also be known as Mandarin, Guoyu, Huayu, Hanyu, Zhongwen and Zhongguohua.
VCE Chinese Second Language focuses on student participation in interpersonal communication, interpreting the language of other speakers, and presenting information and ideas in Chinese on a range of themes and topics. Students develop and extend skills in listening, speaking, reading, writing and viewing in Chinese in a range of contexts and develop cultural understanding in interpreting and creating language. Students develop their understanding of the relationships between language and culture in new contexts and consider how these relationships shape communities. Throughout the study students are given opportunities to make connections and comparisons based on personal reflections about the role of language and culture in communication and in personal identity.
Note for those with some Chinese background
Native speakers are assessed separately at VCE level from non-native speakers, with native speakers being expected to produce work that is much longer and at a much more complex level. They are expected to do Chinese as First Language or Chinese as Second Language Advanced.
Prescribed themes and topics:
personal identity
relationships
education and aspirations
history and culture
arts and entertainment
living in a Chinese speaking community
global and contemporary society
communication and media
the influence of science and technology
All the themes and topics are to be studied over the course of Units 1–4. It is not expected that all topics will require the same amount of study time and some may be more suited to Units 1 and 2 or to Units 3 and 4, depending on the learning program.
The themes, topics and subtopics are the vehicle through which the students will demonstrate achievement of the outcomes. Each outcome will correspond to an area of study, namely Interpersonal communication, Interpretive communication and Presentational communication.
Unit 1 Outcomes:
To be able to exchange meaning in a spoken interaction in Chinese.
To be able to interpret information from two texts on the same subtopic presented in Chinese and respond in writing in Chinese and in English.
To be able to present information, concepts and ideas in writing in Chinese on the selected subtopic and for a specific audience and purpose.
Unit 2 Outcomes:
To be able to respond in writing in Chinese to spoken, written or visual texts presented in Chinese.
To be able to analyse and use information from written, spoken or visual texts to produce an extended written response in Chinese.
To be able to explain information, ideas and concepts orally in Chinese to a specific audience about an aspect of culture within communities where Chinese is spoken.
The award of satisfactory completion for a unit is based on a decision that the student has demonstrated achievement of the set outcomes specified for the unit. This decision will be based on the teacher’s assessment of the student’s overall performance on assessment tasks designated for the unit, to be completed in class under supervision.
Students will be assessed in a variety of ways which include a combination of the following:
Role-plays, interviews, conversations or asking and answering questions
Written presentations supported by media such as Short story or PowerPoint
Articles, emails, reviews, brochures, reports
Letters (formal or informal), short stories
In addition, a native speaker interacts with individual students. The aim of this is to improve the students’ listening and conversation skills.
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