Chinese Studies

Program Philosophy

“Language and communication are at the heart of the human experience.” As members of an international school and community, we endorse this statement by the American Council on Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL). The learning of languages encourages students to respect and to understand other cultures, and heightens the awareness of one’s own culture. It also enhances divergent thinking and self-motivated learning.

Language-learning equips students to participate more actively in the global community and to be more adaptable in an increasingly interconnected world.

Literacy is built upon a foundation of spoken language competence; therefore we believe that oral communicative language should rest at the heart of language instruction. Reading is gradually introduced followed by writing.

The central goal of language-learning is the communication and exchange of ideas, perceptions and needs. These skills will enable learners to meet social and informational needs in the Chinese-speaking world.

The HKIS Chinese Studies program fully embraces the differentiated needs of our learners. Since the acquisition of an additional language depends on a variety of factors, HKIS's language program delivers reading/writing and listening/speaking lessons that are based on the needs of the learner.

General Information

All Upper Primary students participate in Chinese language instruction as a part of their daily program. Class activities are varied and include games, songs, rhymes, dances, arts/crafts, oral dialogues and excursions – all designed to immerse the students into the use of Mandarin. Additionally, homework is given to students to strengthen and practice learned skills of oral proficiency as well as the skills of reading, writing and listening. We encourage parents to actively participate and support their children's learning of this language by taking interest in the activities and projects.

Proficiency-based

As a proficiency-based program, Upper Primary students in the Chinese Studies are grouped based on their entry-level of Chinese language proficiency, and the curriculum will be targeting the next higher level of language proficiency with various themes and topics. The exit benchmarks for each proficiency group are based on benchmarks mapped out in the Chinese Studies R1-12 curriculum and the natural progression of language development.

	Novice 1	Novice 2A	Novice 2B	Novice 3A/3B
Interpretive	Follow basic classroom instructions. Identify pinyin symbols and attempt to read short texts with pinyin. Identify a few very common words and phrases in familiar contexts.	Follow basic classroom instructions. Identify pinyin symbols and read short texts with pinyin. Identify the topic and a few information on short texts or conversations. Identify a few common phrases in characters in familiar contexts.	Identify learned or common words, phrases, and read sentences formed by learned words in familiar contexts. Identify some information in short and familiar texts.	Read short texts with pinyin support fluently. Follow common classroom routines and instructions. Identify the main idea and key information on familiar topics. (3B) Solidify skills needed for N4 with expanded new topics.
Interpersonal	Use visual and verbal cues to understand and convey the meaning of familiar material. Respond to spoken language, using gestures, single words and phrases. Ask simple topic-related questions.	Respond to spoken language, using words, phrases or simple sentences. Ask and answer simple topic-related questions using words, and phrases, and practiced/ formulated simple sentences.	Ask and answer a variety of simple questions. Communicate familiar topics such as self, routine daily life, and activities using a variety of practiced and memorized words and phrases and some sentences. Communicate basic information about oneself and people one knows.	Ask and answer a variety of questions. Communicate familiar topics using a variety of words, phrases, and sentences.
Presentational	Copy characters. Use characters, pinyin, and/or drawing to convey meaning. Present simple information using words and memorized expressions.	Write about learned topics using lists, phrases, and memorized expressions with pinyin and learned characters. Give presentations on familiar topics. Present simple information using words,phrases, and some memorized sentences.	Write about learned or very familiar topics using lists, phrases, memorized expressions, and some practiced simple sentences with pinyin and learned characters. Present simple information about something learned using words, phrases, and practiced sentences.	Write short messages using lists, phrases, memorized expressions and simple sentences with pinyin and learned characters. Write information using some phrases and practiced sentences. Present information about everyday and other familiar topics using a series of sentences.

Novice 1

Novice 2A

Novice 2B

Novice 3A/3B

Interpretive

Follow basic classroom instructions.

Identify pinyin symbols and attempt to read short texts with pinyin.

Identify a few very common words and phrases in familiar contexts.

Follow basic classroom instructions.

Identify pinyin symbols and read short texts with pinyin.

Identify the topic and a few information on short texts or conversations.

Identify a few common phrases in characters in familiar contexts.

Identify learned or common words, phrases, and read sentences formed by learned words in familiar contexts.

Identify some information in short and familiar texts.

Read short texts with pinyin support fluently.

Follow common classroom routines and instructions.

Identify the main idea and key information on familiar topics.

(3B) Solidify skills needed for N4 with expanded new topics.

Interpersonal

Use visual and verbal cues to understand and convey the meaning of familiar material.

Respond to spoken language, using gestures, single words and phrases.

Ask simple topic-related questions.

Respond to spoken language, using words, phrases or simple sentences.

Ask and answer simple topic-related questions using words, and phrases, and practiced/ formulated simple sentences.

Ask and answer a variety of simple questions.

Communicate familiar topics such as self, routine daily life, and activities using a variety of practiced and memorized words and phrases and some sentences.

Communicate basic information about oneself and people one knows.

Ask and answer a variety of questions.

Communicate familiar topics using a variety of words, phrases, and sentences.

Presentational

Copy characters.

Use characters, pinyin, and/or drawing to convey meaning.

Present simple information using words and memorized expressions.

Write about learned topics using lists, phrases, and memorized expressions with pinyin and learned characters.

Give presentations on familiar topics.

Present simple information using words,phrases, and some memorized sentences.

Write about learned or very familiar topics using lists, phrases,

memorized expressions, and some practiced simple sentences with pinyin and learned characters.

Present simple information about something learned using words, phrases, and practiced sentences.

Write short messages using lists, phrases, memorized expressions and simple sentences with pinyin and learned characters.

Write information using some phrases and practiced sentences.

Present information about everyday and other familiar topics using a series of sentences.

	Novice 4	Intermediate 1	Intermediate 1	Intermediate 3
Interpretive	Confirm understanding of a text read aloud or information presented orally or through other media by asking and answering questions about key details and requesting clarification if something is not understood. With prompting and support, ask and answer questions about key details and unknown words in a text. With prompting and support, retell familiar texts with a logical sequence, including key details, and demonstrate understanding. With prompting and support, describe characters, settings, and major events in a story.	Ask and answer questions about a text read aloud, information presented orally, or through other media to gather information. With prompting and support recount stories and information in a logical sequence, including key details, and demonstrate understanding. With prompting and support describe characters, settings, and major events in a story, using key details. With prompting and support, use information gained from the illustrations and words in a print or digital text to demonstrate understanding.	With guidance and support, recount or describe key ideas or details from a text read aloud or information presented orally or through other media. Ask and answer questions about what a speaker says in order to gather additional information or clarify something that is not understood. Recount stories, including fables and folktales from diverse cultures, identify key ideas or details and determine their central message, lesson, or moral. Describe how characters in a story respond to major events and challenges. Use information gained from the illustrations, and words in a print or digital text to demonstrate understanding.	Identify key details in a text by asking and answering questions. Recount stories, including fables and folktales from diverse cultures, identify key ideas or details and determine their central message, lesson, or moral. Describe how characters in a story respond to major events and challenges. Use information gained from the illustrations and words in a print or digital text to demonstrate understanding. Compare and contrast the settings, experiences, or characters in stories. Retell a story or recount an experience with appropriate facts and relevant, descriptive details toward paragraph structure.
Interpersonal	Continue a conversation through multiple exchanges. Ask and answer questions in order to seek help, get information, or clarify something.	Participate in collaborative conversations with diverse partners about course topics and texts with peers and adults in small and larger groups. With guidance and support, build on others’ talk in conversations by responding to the comments of others through multiple exchanges.	Ask and answer questions about key details in a text or conversation. Participate in collaborative conversations with diverse partners about course appropriate topics and texts with peers and adults in small and larger groups. With guidance and support, build on others’ talk in conversations by linking their comments to the remarks of others.	Build on others’ talk in conversations by linking their comments to the remarks of others. Ask and answer questions about what a speaker says in order to gather additional information or clarify something that is not understood. Participate in collaborative conversations with diverse partners about course appropriate topics and texts with peers and adults in small and larger groups.
Presentational	Describe familiar people, places, things, events and, with prompting and support, provide additional detail. With support, express thoughts, feelings, and ideas. With guidance and support, write narratives that recount a single event or several loosely linked events in logical sequence. With guidance and support, write informative/explanatory texts on familiar topics, giving some facts about the topics, and provide some sense of closure.	Describe familiar or fictional people, places, things, events and, with prompting and support, provide additional detail. Produce series of complete sentences when appropriate to tasks and situations. Ask and answer questions about key details in a text. With guidance and support, write narratives of a single event or several loosely linked events, tell about the events in the order in which they occurred with some details, and provide a reaction to what happened. With guidance and support, write information/explanatory texts on familiar topics, giving some facts and some details about the topics, and provide some sense of closure.	Produce series of sentences with a few common connectors when appropriate to tasks and situations. With guidance and support write narratives that recount appropriately sequenced events, including some details regarding what happened, use temporal words to signal event order, and provide some sense of closure. With guidance and support, write information/explanatory texts on familiar topics, giving some facts about the topics with some descriptive details, and provide some sense of closure.	Produce paragraph-like presentation orally or in writing with connected sentences. Write narratives that recount appropriately sequenced events, including some details regarding what happened, use temporal words to signal event order, and provide some sense of closure. With guidance and support, write opinion pieces that introduce the topic being written about, state an opinion, supply reasons that support the opinion, use linking words to connect opinions and reasons, and provide a concluding statement.

Novice 4

Intermediate 1

Intermediate 3

Interpretive

Confirm understanding of a text read aloud or information presented orally or through other media by asking and answering questions about key details and requesting clarification if something is not understood.

With prompting and support, ask and answer questions about key details and unknown words in a text.

With prompting and support, retell familiar texts with a logical sequence, including key details, and demonstrate understanding.

With prompting and support, describe characters, settings, and major events in a story.

Ask and answer questions about a text read aloud, information presented orally, or through other media to gather information.

With prompting and support recount stories and information in a logical sequence, including key details, and demonstrate understanding.

With prompting and support describe characters, settings, and major events in a story, using key details.

With prompting and support, use information gained from the illustrations and words in a print or digital text to demonstrate understanding.

With guidance and support, recount or describe key ideas or details from a text read aloud or information presented orally or through other media.

Ask and answer questions about what a speaker says in order to gather additional information or clarify something that is not understood.

Recount stories, including fables and folktales from diverse cultures, identify key ideas or details and determine their central message, lesson, or moral.

Describe how characters in a story respond to major events and challenges.

Use information gained from the illustrations, and words in a print or digital text to demonstrate understanding.

Identify key details in a text by asking and answering questions.

Recount stories, including fables and folktales from diverse cultures, identify key ideas or details and determine their central message, lesson, or moral.

Describe how characters in a story respond to major events and challenges.

Use information gained from the illustrations and words in a print or digital text to demonstrate understanding.

Compare and contrast the settings, experiences, or characters in stories.

Retell a story or recount an experience with appropriate facts and relevant, descriptive details toward paragraph structure.

Interpersonal

Continue a conversation through multiple exchanges.

Ask and answer questions in order to seek help, get information, or clarify something.

Participate in collaborative conversations with diverse partners about course topics and texts with peers and adults in small and larger groups.

With guidance and support, build on others’ talk in conversations by responding to the comments of others through multiple exchanges.

Ask and answer questions about key details in a text or conversation.

Participate in collaborative conversations with diverse partners about course appropriate topics and texts with peers and adults in small and larger groups.

With guidance and support, build on others’ talk in conversations by linking their comments to the remarks of others.

Build on others’ talk in conversations by linking their comments to the remarks of others.

Ask and answer questions about what a speaker says in order to gather additional information or clarify something that is not understood.

Participate in collaborative conversations with diverse partners about course appropriate topics and texts with peers and adults in small and larger groups.

Presentational

Describe familiar people, places, things, events and, with prompting and support, provide additional detail.

With support, express thoughts, feelings, and ideas.

With guidance and support, write narratives that recount a single event or several loosely linked events in logical sequence.

With guidance and support, write informative/explanatory texts on familiar topics, giving some facts about the topics, and provide some sense of closure.

Describe familiar or fictional people, places, things, events and, with prompting and support, provide additional detail.

Produce series of complete sentences when appropriate to tasks and situations.

Ask and answer questions about key details in a text.

With guidance and support, write narratives of a single event or several loosely linked events, tell about the events in the order in which they occurred with some details, and provide a reaction to what happened.

With guidance and support, write information/explanatory texts on familiar topics, giving some facts and some details about the topics, and provide some sense of closure.

Produce series of sentences with a few common connectors when appropriate to tasks and situations.

With guidance and support write narratives that recount appropriately sequenced events, including some details regarding what happened, use temporal words to signal event order, and provide some sense of closure.

With guidance and support, write information/explanatory texts on familiar topics, giving some facts about the topics with some descriptive details, and provide some sense of closure.

Produce paragraph-like presentation orally or in writing with connected sentences.

Write narratives that recount appropriately sequenced events, including some details regarding what happened, use temporal words to signal event order, and provide some sense of closure.

With guidance and support, write opinion pieces that introduce the topic being written about, state an opinion, supply reasons that support the opinion, use linking words to connect opinions and reasons, and provide a concluding statement.