Course format for Mandarin in the high school will be determined by enrollment. Insufficient enrollment means the course will be offered through One Schoolhouse. Students will be notified of format before the school year begins.
Mandarin I (equivalent to Mandarin 1a and 1b in the middle school)
Year-long
Chinese I is designed for students with little or no experience in learning Chinese. Students develop basic language skills in a cultural context by understanding and responding to structured social conversations. Starting with the introduction of the Chinese language system including Pinyin, tones, radicals and characters, this course focuses on students' performance of producing simple sentences and brief paragraphs related to the topics of greeting, sharing personal information and preferences, introducing others, making plans about and discussing school life. The corresponding cultural knowledge is introduced at appropriate intervals to enrich students' understanding of Chinese culture.
Prerequisite: None
Grade level: Open to all students
Credit Earned: 1.0 International Language
Mandarin II
Year-long
Chinese II students continue to improve their Chinese skills by using both structured and created language. Cultural connections are made at appropriate intervals to familiarize students with the Chinese speaking world. Students learn to initiate and participate in daily communication, apply new vocabulary and more complex sentence patterns to fulfill the functions of expressing individual needs, describe circumstances, compare the similarities and differences of phenomenon, and demonstrate culturally contextualized understanding. Students improve character literacy, authentic language production and cultural competency.
Prerequisite: Successful completion of Mandarin I
Grade level: Open to all qualified students
Credit Earned: 1.0 International Language
Mandarin III
Year-long
Chinese III students develop their essential Chinese language skills while gaining a deeper understanding of Chinese culture through engaging with various audio, visual, textual materials and increasing authentic language application experience. The course is designed for students who have had at least two years of Chinese study and takes them into structured communication through comprehensive skill-enhancement with abundant task-based practical grammatical structures and sentence patterns.
Prerequisite: Successful completion of Mandarin II
Grade level: Open to all qualified students
Credit Earned: 1.0 International Language
Mandarin IV
Year-long
This course prepares students to develop increased language competencies, while building proficiency and fluency in applying Mandarin in a variety of real-life situations. The course builds language skills and enriches learning experiences through applying authentic listening and reading texts, engaging essays, projects, presentations, classroom discussions and debate. Moreover, a variety of audio, visual, and textual materials are carefully selected based on the interests and preferences to support students’ learning. Students are prepared for a range of collaborative and individual activities each week, including speaking in real time with each other and the instructor. Students expand their learning on topics related to everyday life such as describing appearances, talking about personalities, introducing school life, facilities, population, customs, history, geography, folk music and art, food, neighborhood, transportation, making travel plans, handling emergency, and discussing social, environmental, and global issues. Students will deepen their understanding of the unique Chinese culture as well.
Prerequisite: Successful completion of Mandarin III
Grade level: Open to all qualified students
Credit Earned: 1.0
Mandarin V: Introduction to Chinese Literature
Year-long
This course prepares students to demonstrate their level of Chinese proficiency across the interpretive, interpersonal, and presentational communicative mode at an advanced level. It focuses on introducing modern Chinese literature to students through the lens of a rich variety of short literary works by famous Chinese writers throughout the twentieth century. Learning materials are arranged in a chronological order with genres including poetry, prose, play, and short stories. Students further develop their language fluency in speaking, listening, communication, and writing. Students also deepen their understanding on broad topics that are reflected in the literature work they explore. Students are expected to achieve an advanced language proficiency, intellectual and intercultural competency to compare, examine, evaluate, and appreciate the literary work throughout their learning experiences.
Prerequisite: Successful completion of Mandarin IV
Grade level: Open to all qualified students
Credit Earned: 1.0 International Language
Mandarin for Business
Year-long
Business Chinese aims to enhance learners’ Chinese language proficiency by introducing the common business expressions and terms, as well as teaching business case studies, both national and international, in Mandarin. In addition, this course discusses both success and lessons learned from international companies doing business in China. The course challenges learners to take previous Chinese knowledge and expand their linguistic skills so that they are competent and confident in applying their skills in the business field both orally and in writing. Students will acquire some basic knowledge of business terminology, core vocabulary, idioms, expressions, and commonly used business writing formats as well. Moreover, this course gives students an opportunity to develop a better understanding of and recognize the importance of cultural competence in doing business in China. Students who are near native speakers or native Mandarin speakers with a strong interest in obtaining a better and deeper understanding of Chinese business situations, and students desiring to become proficient in using Chinese for business purpose are welcome.
Prerequisite: Successful completion of Mandarin IV or native Mandarin speakers
Grade level: Open to all qualified students
Credit earned: 1.0 International Language
