Why learn young? Primary School Chinese and beyond ©The Chinese Staffroom 2010

Why learn young?

Primary School Chinese and

beyond

©The Chinese Staffroom 2010

This presentation will cover…

• Why Primary School/K-12 Chinese?

• How is Chinese different?

• Chinese Primary Pedagogies?

• Available resources?

• Best practice at Primary?

• Connecting to secondary/high school?


Why Primary School- K12 Chinese?

Opportunities • Children enjoy it

• Easily embedded into whole curriculum

• Pronunciation

• How languages work

• Cultural intelligence

Challenges• Finding time in the day

• Finding good teachers

• Continuation into secondary/high school and beyond

• Motivational balance of progress versus intrigue


How is Chinese different?

• Sounds, Tones and Pronunciation

• Writing System

• ‘Grammar’

• Inter-cultural Understanding


Chinese Primary Pedagogies

• Natural Learning’Children learn what they want/need to say’

• Chinese and China as different not difficult‘Integration with culture, oral progress, sentence pattern progress, comparative linguistics, adaptable literacy

• Preferred Progress ’Notable progress expected including in literacy –emphasis on language’

• Works for immersion schools and very young. Problem when not immersion, misses opportunity around comparative linguistics, problems creating own meaning? Can initially be motivational? Less emphasis on culture.

• Aimed at being motivational, helping those not continuing and continuing!

• More suitable for secondary/high school e.g. when learning characters by rote? But then why rote learning of sounds in KS2 SoW…


Available ResourcesUK based KS2 SoW - Learning Outcomes

(versus Spanish and French where +more -less or equal=)

• Oracy (O)

• Literacy (L)

• Inter-cultural Understanding (IU)

• Language Learning Strategies (LLS)

• Knowledge about Language (KAL)

• Speaking and Listening (=)

• Writing and Reading (-)

• Note ‘inter’ and ‘understanding’ (+)

• Pulls on learning to read and write in English (=)

• Chinese as different not difficult (+)


The Principles of the SoW

• Free (crown copyright)

• Emphasis on– Pronunciation– Cultural Intelligence– Mandarin Chinese as different not difficult

• Adaptable to – HanBan teachers– Primary class teachers– Experienced secondary teachers– ITT / new teachers



KS2 Scheme of WorkFor each year there are 6 units, in each unit there is an overview and 6 sessions…..

…. so 6 units per year, a unit per term (if you have 6 term per year if not a unit per half term)…


For each year there are 6 units, in each unit there is an overview and 6 sessions

6 units, a unit per term or half term……6 sessions per term

Worth it?• Comprehensive (24*6=144 pieces of work!)• Adaptable• Uses academic research and best practice thinking• Blends intercultural understanding and language learning



The Schemes of Work are already established part of the MFL community………

i ie iao ian in ing u i ie iao

b bi bie biao bian bin bing bu b bi bie biao

p pi pie piao pian pin Ping pu p pi pie piao

m mi mie miao mian min ming mu m mi mie miao

f fu f

Pronunciation grid (later unit)


Pronunciation grid – making it work

• Show how the tongue moves differently.

• Vary the exercise by……

• Create podcasts and/or videos of the grid…..©The Chinese Staffroom 2010

http://www.bbc.co.uk/learningzone/clips/greetings-and-introduction-to-china/1320.html (for above clip)

http://www.primarylanguages.org.uk/home.aspx (CILT primary website)

http://www.mandarama.com/guest-tour/free+game+demonstration (popular free tones game)

http://www.thechinesestaffroom.com/ (much more will be added)


For other free resources relevant to the Scheme see


Downloadable from www.thechinesestaffroom.com

Other ways in…?

• Move beyond just the somewhat stereotypical Chinese New Year

• Celebrate other Chinese festivals from the perspective of a child using cross-curricula material

• Can be done without native speaker and using podcasted sounds of key words


Best practice at Primary School/ K-12

• Working with the class teacher in partnership e.g. leaving material for follow-up in the week

• Integrating into whole school with cross curricula thinking and inter-cultural understanding

• Having a local support network and meetings

• Using ICT especially free resources especially podcasts and videos


Trials of the SoW by CILT and the TDA showed best practice involved……

Connections to Secondary/High School

• Pronunciation good but needs continual attention

• Literacywork hard and harder

• Cultural Intelligencegrows up with the child

• Work on getting it right when not concentrating just on sounds, but when creating own meaning and adding natural expression

• Needs working on if working towards qualification. No easy answers.

• Needs continual work despite exam orientation. Can be created through cross curricula e.g. history, geography, business studies, general studies, citizenship


For more FREE resources please visit www.thechinesestaffroom.com


Documents

Why learn young? Primary School Chinese and beyond ©The Chinese Staffroom 2010