Chinese 4
World Languages Department
(Mr. Fairfield)
Classroom 105, x257
Course Syllabus
v This form should be placed in the front of the student’s binder for reference throughout the year.
Overview
The study of the Chinese Language will provide students with the knowledge, skills and attitudes essential to becoming an effective participant in an increasingly diverse society.
This course is the transition course from elementary Chinese to intermediate Chinese. It aims to prepare students to have more confidence in their skill in listening, speaking, reading and writing Chinese. The student will be able to understand longer narratives and sustain comprehension through inferences in short communications with native speakers. (S)he will improve his or her ability to write paragraphs describing situations in pictures, usning intermediate vocabulary and more complicated structures.
Course Materials
Text: Learn Chinese with Me, Student Book 3, People’s Education Press
*At no point will students be allowed to write in the textbook, as they are in limited supply and must be used by next year’s students! You must come up with the answers yourselves, so allow others the privilege of doing the same.
Recommended but optional:
Dictionary:
Oxford Chinese Dictionary. Manser, Martin H. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2004.
ABC Chinese-English Comprehensive Dictionary. DeFrancis, John, ed. Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press, 2003.
Commonly-used Chinese Proverbs:
ABC Dictionary of Chinese Proverbs. Rohsenow, John D. Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press, 2002.
Web Resources:
NCIKU: www.nciku.com
MDBG: www.mdbg.net
Zhongwen: www.zhongwen.com
Skritter: www.skritter.com
Growing up with Chinese: http://cctv.cntv.cn/lm/learningchinese/program/index.shtml
Course Content
In the fourth year Chinese, students continue to learn to communicate orally through selected functions and topics. The students learn to communicate through the three modes of communication: Interpersonal, Interpretive, and Presentational modes. Students learn to apply grammatical principles of the language to form new sentences in meaningful exchanges and real world situations. Students will also begin using cognitive-academic language. In Chinese, ability to distinguish between the modern vernacular and classical literary language (which often appears in poetry) should also be developed. Cultural information about China is integrated through various language-based activities focusing on the perspective, practices, and products of the Chinese language.
Specific Content Skills
Communicate orally on selected topics related to self, family, school, friends, leisure, and food
Distinguish between the vowel and consonant sounds and symbols of English and those of the foreign language—and the use of the character system
Listen to the target language using the interpretive mode of communication
Interpret text and conversation while responding orally with proper pronunciation in the FL to: teacher or recorded questions based on text, curriculum topics, themes, authentic materials, interactions initiated in the classroom relating to everyday situations in the foreign culture
Read with understanding materials in selected text, dialogues, magazines, selected poems and poetry, reading selections, as well as those reading s created by the teachers using familiar vocabulary and grammar
Recognize the meaning of some new words in reading passages through context as found in beginning level magazines, poems, and selected reading passages
Write sentences from oral practice, dictation, selected real-life scenarios using correct spelling, including accent marks
Write several sentences giving information about oneself or a friend
Describe a friend and basic objects that are selected by the teacher
Demonstrate knowledge of the basic structure of the foreign language, such as characters, components, and radicals
Discuss in English or the FL similarities and differences between American and the foreign culture with respect to customs, holidays, foods, education, etc
Use discussion and authentic materials to help students refine their perspective on the target culture and to interpret meaning of current events, historical moments, cultural practices and products
To write in-class letters in Chinese without the help of a dictionary
To sustain coherent structures in relatively familiar communicative situations
To employ time words or particles for future and past references in conversations
To comprehend more complicated sentence structures and high frequency connectors forming complex sentences
To express present, future and past ideas with greater ease
To describe in detail somewhat increasingly complicated expressions regarding feelings, opinions, temporal relationships, and spatial and consequential relationships.
General Academic Skills:
Reinforce study habits regarding vocabulary maintenance and acquisition, adoption of the review process as an effective study tool
Focus on precision in word choice
Reinforce use of library and multi-media resources for research assignments
Critical Thinking Skills:
Can identify criteria to organize information
Can paraphrase in the target language accurately
Can distinguish between possible and probable consequences
Can check consistency
Can distinguish between fact and opinion
Can make informed judgments
Grading
The foreign language grading policy for the Charles H. Flowers High School is as follows:
100-90 A
89-80 B
79-70 C
69-60 D
59-below E
Breakdown of Final Grade
Grading in this class will be broken down into three sections: Assessment (45%), Class Work (35%) and Homework (20%). Warm-ups will fall under the Class Work section.
The final exam at the end of the year is 100 points, but entered twice into School Max, so it will have double the impact on a student’s grade. This is a mandate for all World Language courses.
The World Languages Department asks its teachers to use what we call the 5 C’s when creating or grading any assignment. While these categories do not affect a student’s grades directly, it is important to understand what is looked for by the instructor.
Communication
The Communication portion encompasses any activity having solely to do with speaking the language. For example: oral presentations, discussions, conversations, etc.
Cultures
The Cultures portion encompasses any activity whose primary concern is with the target country’s food, music, celebrations, art, etc.
Connection
The Connection portion encompasses current events, geography, mathematics, biographies, history, etc.
Comparisons
The Comparisons portion encompasses any and all comparisons made between our own culture and China’s culture, including foods, vocabulary, holidays, etc.
Communities
The Communities portion encompasses surveys, videos, simulated community activities, etc.
Quarterly Topics:
By the end of quarter one, students will:
· Demonstrate competency in objectives presented during Chinese Level Three.
· Describe different customs and environments using 喜欢，xĭhuan, 摆bǎi.
· Describe holiday activities using 猜cāi (guess), 寄 jì (post), 贴tiē (paste up)
· Discuss different foods using 开kāi, 过guo, 尝cháng, 使用shĭyong
· Discuss plans and giving using 打算dasuan, 送song, 想 xiang
· Demonstrate understanding and employ proper use of grammar constructs (doubled verbs, continuous action, desire and past) in context
By the end of quarter two, students will:
· Give and take instructions, including 戒 (jie, to give up)
· Express emotions, including 吃惊
· Discuss health and medicine
· Express how to do things with 怎么, 怎样
· Use idioms and expressions to express contradiction: 矛盾，南辕北辙
· Describe results using 结果
By the end of quarter three, students will:
· Use “把” and “先…, 然后…, 再…” to analyze a recipe
· Demonstrate an ability to remind others not to forget something
· Use “到” and “就” to express themselves in a manner that suggests they consider something is not so right
· Retell an argument which happened between others
· Use “又” to express themselves in a manner that suggests they are in a fed up with something
· Interpret a sarcastic article, understanding the linguistic undertones
By the end of quarter four, students will:
· Be able to give suggestions about how to improve something
· Use the preposition “对” to express a feeling of being unsatisfied
· Be able to give somebody a warning
· Formally inquire about a price, reserve an airline ticket
· Use “离” when discussing traveling
· Demonstrate a comprehension of the characteristics guiding Chinese periodicals
· Show an understanding of what was learned during the prior three quarters
Special Days
If the class continues on schedule, there will be special days incorporated to enhance the course curriculum. These may include, but are not limited to: course-related films, picture slides and film clips, guest speakers, mini-lessons on Chinese painting and/or calligraphy, an exploration of Chinese music and musical instruments, the celebration of Chinese holidays, and a day for Chinese snacks and games.