What is Chinese (Mandarin) about?
In conversation with
Michelle Lodge
Wendy Chen
Will Flavel
Transcript below:
I really love the languages' whakatauki: Your voice and my voice are expressions of identity. May our descendants live on and our hopes be fulfilled. I like it because it strongly links with the idea that language, culture and identity are connected. What do you guys think?
Yeah, we felt that was one of our big ideas. So you'll see that coming through in the learning matrix. I think it fits very well in our language classrooms. Because this is the message to acknowledge all the students' cultural background and their identity as well.
I feel that we spend a lot of time with whanaungatanga. We build those relationships with the kids. We get to know them, we encourage them to talk about themselves and their experiences there.
Yeah and I guess, we can't actually separate language and culture. They actually come together really well, and then to add identity further adds that dimension about the holistic view of seeing the world.
That's right, yes and how you see the world through your cultural lens. And being in the language classroom, the language teacher opens up another lens of culture to some students.
That's right, we've got a lovely quote up in our classroom, which says: "Be curious not judgmental", and that's what we're encouraging the kids to do.
That's right. It's really important, because now, we're living in a really a multi-ethnic country Aotearoa New Zealand and what that involves is understanding, how other people think, how other people do things. I think language learning will provide an authentic way of learning that.
I totally agree, the big ideas and the significant learning that are shown in the learning matrix, that's a key part of it, and these are 21st century skills as well. That relationship building, knowing where you come from.
You both are in the classroom at the moment. I understand that this will perhaps help reduce the workload for teachers, what do you guys think?
Definitely. The number of tasks that have been assessed has dramatically dropped. We've obviously gone from five Standards down to four, so there's that impact there.
How about you Wendy? What do you feel? I think, that is my first impression of the new achievement Standards. So the workload is being reduced, so we can focus more on teaching and our students can focus more on their learning.
What I've really enjoyed over the last few days and including our Zoom meetings is the robust discussions, because what that shows is that there's so much passion from teachers. That we're all Asian language based teachers, but we actually think very differently. You can see that there are differences between for example the Japanese teachers, the Korean teachers, the Chinese (Mandarin) teachers. So I think that's really good and robust discussion is really healthy.
I agree, it's given us an opportunity to really think through why we are feeling the way we feel about changes that we're suggesting. I like to use Confucius quote, it says: [speaking Chinese]. What it means: Three of us working together, one of us must be my teacher. But I think it's a very good quote to use, because through our debating we had a lot of debate and discussion. So we actually see the same assessment and we see different teachers from different backgrounds and how they approach to this assessment, and it reflects what they do in their classroom. So for me as a classroom teacher, it's a very good learning opportunity as well.
No doubt there'll be challenges, we've got to accept that. We're asking teachers to change a little bit of what they're used to be doing for a long time. I think change is good. Change is... It's challenging, and it's about supporting each other throughout New Zealand on this journey, this change that's happening here.
Subject-specific terms can be found in the glossary.
This subject is about developing the ability to communicate in Chinese (Mandarin) with others.
Students will acquire the capacity to convey their ideas in new and dynamic ways and discover the rich history, customs, and cultures of the communities in which Chinese (Mandarin) is spoken.
Through this subject, students will also understand that each language has its own ways of expressing meaning, and that each has intrinsic value and special significance and mana for its users.
Languages are inextricably linked to the social and cultural contexts in which they are used. Languages and cultures play a key role in developing national, group, and personal identities. As students acquire the skills of communicative competence, they reflect simultaneously on their own personal identity and explore their own culture from a new perspective.
Big Ideas and Significant Learning
This section outlines the meaning of, and connection between, the Big Ideas and Significant Learning, which together form the Learning Matrix. It then explains each Big Idea for Chinese (Mandarin).
The Learning Languages Learning Area curriculum, including its Whakataukī, inform this subject's Significant Learning – learning that is critical for students to know, understand, and do in a subject by the end of each Curriculum Level. This covers knowledge, skills, competencies, and attitudes. It also includes level-appropriate contexts students should encounter in their education. The Learning Area's Whakataukī is:
Ko tōu reo, ko tōku reo, te tuakiri tangata. Tīhei uriuri, tīhei nakonako.
Your voice and my voice are expressions of identity. May our descendants live on and our hopes be fulfilled.
The subject's Big Ideas and Significant Learning are collated into a Learning Matrix for Curriculum Level 6, 7, and 8. Teachers can use the Learning Matrix as a tool to construct learning programmes that cover all the ‘not to be missed’ learning in a subject.
There is no prescribed order to the Learning Matrix within each level. A programme of learning might begin with a context that is relevant to the local area of the school or an idea that students are particularly interested in. This context or topic must relate to at least one Big Idea and may also link to other Big Ideas.
There are five Big Ideas in Chinese (Mandarin). The nature of this subject as a discipline means aspects of Significant Learning often cross over multiple Big Ideas, and vice versa.
Learning an additional language allows students to engage in effective communication within and across cultures. They expand their own world and open up new possibilities for personal development and learning and employment pathways.
The ability to communicate in an additional language is a rewarding experience. It makes it possible for students to establish relationships and make connections with people from other cultures within and outside of Aotearoa New Zealand. It enables them to read, understand, and produce Chinese (Mandarin) in order to participate in, and reflect on, other societies, and to travel, study, and work in language communities here and in other countries.
Proficiency in communication to meet a range of needs is the main goal of all language learning. While this draws from knowledge of the linguistic building blocks of a language, the primary focus is on communication, rather than on linguistic accuracy.
Ultimately, communication in an additional language is the future-focused prerequisite for intercultural understanding and global citizenship.
Languages create and represent meaning by employing unique systems of linguistic building blocks – be they oral features, vocabulary, grammar or syntax – that give rise to endless possibilities for expression and exchange. They are also repositories of the historical and cultural aspects of the language.
Students who learn Chinese (Mandarin) get to explore its unique linguistic workings by comparing and contrasting it with their own language. They learn how speakers adjust their language when negotiating meaning in different contexts and for different purposes, and how different types of text are organised. This helps them, over time, to communicate with greater clarity, creativity, and confidence.
Chinese (Mandarin) belongs to a different language family than English or te reo Māori and has developed in different historical and social contexts. The resulting linguistic differences will give students the opportunity to reflect back on their first language(s) and to develop an awareness that languages can make meaning in a variety of ways not encountered in European or Pacific languages. Most obviously, this includes script and tones in Chinese (Mandarin), and the importance of registers of language to express respect or recognise social status. There are, however, similarities, as well. Examples include vocabulary around family relationships in Chinese (Mandarin) and te reo Māori. These similarities provide another opportunity to include te reo Māori as the first language reference point in additional language learning. By exploring both the similarities and differences, students will build an increasing understanding of how linguistic elements work together as they develop their linguistic proficiency in Chinese (Mandarin).
Language and culture continuously evolve together, influencing one another in the process. Language encodes culture and provides the means through which culture is shared and passed from one generation to the next – contributing to a sense of personal, community, and national identity.
Learning an additional language gives students the richest possible access to another culture because it enables them to communicate with the people that live it and allows them to explore the authentic spoken and written expressions of it. In that way, they gain an understanding of that culture which provides a strong foundation for intercultural respect and acceptance as well as an appreciation for the diversity that all cultures encompass.
Equally, students gain an insight into how their own 'cultural lens' shapes their perceptions and ways of doing things. This helps to deconstruct cultural stereotypes. It moves language learners away from automatically defaulting to a particular culture toward honouring tangata whenua and the multicultural nature of modern Aotearoa New Zealand. It allows them to appreciate the rich knowledge each individual brings to the learning environment.
"Another language opens up a whole new window on the world. It might be small and difficult to see through at first, but it gives you a different perspective, and it might make you realise that your first window could do with a bit of polishing and even enlarging."
(Hone Tuwhare, Die deutsche Sprache und ich, NZCTE, Goethe-Institut, circa 1997)
As the quote above indicates, language and thought are intricately intertwined and impact one another. Our language(s) can direct our thoughts and influence our perspectives without us always being aware of it. Therefore, engaging with another language gives us new metacognitive tools to think about languages as systems.
Learning an additional language allows students to compare and contrast their own language(s) and thinking with those of other cultures, gaining a deeper insight into how languages convey ideas. This equips them with the tools necessary to navigate between them.
Furthermore, the ability to critically examine diverse cultural and personal points of view, which is facilitated by developing proficiency in another language, is an invaluable skill in our increasingly diverse and globally connected world.
Acquiring an additional language is a process that requires regular commitment, practice, and repetition. It fosters perseverance and allows students to take ownership of their own learning.
Language learning also builds resilience because students continually negotiate situations with emerging communicative competence and take the risk of being misunderstood. This encourages them to reframe 'mistakes' as rich opportunities for learning and development. It will give them the confidence to seek out opportunities to use Chinese (Mandarin) outside of the classroom where language learning truly flourishes.
Students are made aware of the processes of language acquisition and gain some insight into the most helpful strategies for progression. This can include pattern recognition, trial and error, techniques to memorise vocabulary, and effective use of tools like dictionaries, verb conjugators, and digital translators. Students are encouraged to find modes of learning that work best for them and to begin thinking like a linguist.
Key Competencies in Chinese (Mandarin)
Learning an additional language is inherently about developing and fine-tuning linguistic skills and extending the ability to relate to and interact appropriately with others in more than one cultural setting. The language learning process itself requires students to manage self, participate, and contribute. The new ways of thinking about the world they will be exposed to will encourage them to think about their place in it and how they can use those skills to participate in and contribute to their communities and the wider world around them.
Thinking
Students of Chinese (Mandarin) will:
- deduce rules, recognise patterns, and use their problem-solving abilities to make meaning with an imperfect set of linguistic skills
- evaluate and choose from a range of vocabulary, structures, and communicative strategies to engage with different audiences, sometimes having to think on their feet to improvise and adapt for different contexts and purposes
- explore and reflect on the many ways language, culture, and thinking influence each other
- compare their own language(s), culture(s), and ways of thinking to those of Chinese (Mandarin) language and culture and critically reflect on their assumptions and identities in a way that fosters intercultural understanding and global citizenship.
Using Language, Symbols, and Texts
This competency being at the core of language learning, students of Chinese (Mandarin) will:
- develop increased proficiency in using language, symbols, and texts effectively to communicate information, opinions and ideas, not just in the additional language they are learning, but also in their own language(s)
- recognise how choices of language, symbols, or text work together and affect people’s understanding of and responses to communications and how they work together differently in different languages
- think about the type of language which is appropriate to use in a range of different contexts and formats and for different purposes and audiences
- expand their ability to express themselves in increasingly independent and imaginative ways and improvise and adapt in a range of communicative situations.
Relating to Others
As communication and understanding are prerequisites of relating to others and the very essence of what language learning is about, students of Chinese (Mandarin) will:
- hone their listening skills, recognise different points of view, negotiate, and share ideas
- explore how language, culture, and identity are interrelated and thereby develop the ability to relate to people, both from other cultures but also from their own, with more empathy and insight
- develop an appreciation of diverse backgrounds, experiences, and perspectives in the wider world and in a multicultural Aotearoa New Zealand
- experience how a curious, open-minded, and respectful engagement with the values and identities of others can lead to valuable insights into their own identity and offer opportunities for self-development.
Managing Self
Because learning an additional language requires ongoing and regular commitment, students of Chinese (Mandarin) will:
- be encouraged to take ownership of their own learning process and find ways of learning and practising that work for them
- use their understanding of how language acquisition works, for example, lots of input, lots of output practice, making mistakes as part of the process, and so on, to actively engage in the practice necessary to make steady progress
- build on their own strengths and address their own identified learning needs, setting and meeting their own learning goals
- be involved in reporting processes
- participate actively and responsibly in group activities.
Participating and Contributing
Students of Chinese (Mandarin) will:
- be encouraged to take risks, learn from mistakes, and take responsibility for initiating and maintaining communication; through this they will gain confidence to participate and contribute in and outside of the classroom with the skills they have
- mature as local and global citizens by getting to know the world views and needs of other people
- recognise the interconnected nature of societies and communities in the world and Aotearoa New Zealand and be encouraged to think of their place in and responsibility to it.
This section of The New Zealand Curriculum Online offers specific guidance to school leaders and teachers on integrating the Key Competencies into the daily activities of the school and its Teaching and Learning Programmes.
Introduction to Sample Course Outlines
Sample Course Outlines are being produced to help teachers and schools understand the new NCEA Learning Matrix and Achievement Standards. An example of how a year-long Chinese (Mandarin) course could be constructed using the new Learning Matrix and Achievement Standards is provided here. This is indicative only and does not mandate any particular context or approach.
More detailed sample Teaching and Learning Programmes will be developed during piloting.
Assessment Matrix
Conditions of Assessment for internally assessed standards
This section provides guidelines for assessment against internally assessed Standards. Guidance is provided on:
- appropriate ways of, and conditions for, gathering evidence
- ensuring that evidence is authentic
- any other relevant advice specific to an Achievement Standard.
NB: Information on additional generic guidance on assessment practice in schools is published on the NZQA website. It would be useful to read in conjunction with these Conditions of Assessment.
The school's Assessment Policy and Conditions of Assessment must be consistent with the Assessment Rules for Schools With Consent to Assess. These rules will be updated during the NCEA review. This link includes guidance for managing internal moderation and the collection of evidence.
For all Achievement Standards
Internal assessment provides considerable flexibility in the collection of evidence. Evidence can be collected in different ways to suit a range of teaching and learning styles, and a range of contexts. Care needs to be taken to offer students opportunities to present their best evidence against the Standard(s) that are free from unnecessary constraints.
It is recommended that the design of assessment reflects and reinforces the ways students have been learning. Collection of evidence for the internally assessed Standards could include, but is not restricted to, an extended task, an investigation, digital evidence (such as recorded interviews, blogs, photographs or film), or a portfolio of evidence.
It is also recommended that the collection of evidence for internally assessed Standards should not use the same method that is used for any external Standards in a course, particularly if that method is using a time-bound written examination. This could unfairly disadvantage students who do not perform well under these conditions.
A separate assessment event is not needed for each Standard. Often assessment can be integrated into one activity that collects evidence towards two or three different Standards from a programme of learning. Evidence can also be collected over time from a range of linked activities (for example, in a portfolio). This approach can also ease the assessment workload for both students and teachers.
Effective assessment should suit the nature of the learning being assessed, provide opportunities to meet the diverse needs of all students, and be valid and fair.
Authenticity of student evidence needs to be assured regardless of the method of collecting evidence. This needs to be in line with school policy. For example: an investigation carried out over several sessions could include teacher observations or the use of milestones such as a meeting with the student, a journal, or photographic entries recording progress etc.
The evidence for this Achievement Standard will be a minimum of two student generated video recordings of spoken interactions. The overall individual contribution of each student to the interactions should be 2–3 minutes.
Any spoken language submitted as evidence must be video recorded. The student must be easily identifiable and clearly audible in the video recording.
Students may not:
- script or rehearse the assessment interactions
- use any notes, resources, or dictionaries during their interactions
- discuss the same topic more than once across their evidence.
Assessment Activities which allow the presentation of entirely rote-learned exchanges or scripted role plays would not meet the requirements of this standard.
If working in a group of more than two people, it is essential that each learner ensures they contribute enough appropriate language to meet the standard.
Teachers should ensure the outcome is appropriate for Level 6 of the New Zealand Curriculum.
The evidence for this Achievement Standard will be one student-generated piece on an everyday topic which may be presented in spoken or written Chinese (Mandarin), or a mixture of the two. The total amount of evidence should be about:
- 150 characters, OR
- approximately 1.5 minutes of spoken evidence OR
- an equivalent combination of both.
Students should:
- produce work that is their own
- record their evidence for authenticity purposes.
In the preparation of the assessment activity, students may use:
- reference materials such as class notes
- textbooks
- dictionaries.
Students should not:
- copy whole sentences or passages from any source without significant modification
- use online or digital translators of any kind
- have anyone else point out errors, edit, or correct their work before handing it in for assessment
- be assessed on the technical quality of their presentation or design, only the quality of the language will be assessed.
Students may submit evidence which involves one or more other people, but students are assessed individually.
Evidence may be presented by the student in a range of forms, for example:
- a game or quiz
- an infographic or slideshow (with or without voiceover)
- a digital or paper-based scrapbook
- a video recording.
Teachers should ensure the outcome is appropriate for Level 6 of the New Zealand Curriculum.