World Languages: HS Chinese

 Department Philosophy Statement

The World Languages department’s philosophy reflects the core values of the school’s mission and vision. The program serves the learning needs of students from a variety of linguistic and cultural backgrounds. We strive to educate and inspire all students to become effective communicators and global citizens in the 21st century.

From EY- Grade 12, the program values

• the acquisition of an additional language while maintaining a home language and cultural heritage
• instruction that is aligned to standards
• individualized learning opportunities for addressing diverse learning needs
• multi-literacy skills for communication, study, work and leisure pursuits in a variety of authentic contexts
• contributions to local and global communities
• lifelong interest in and enjoyment of language learning and literature

We believe that students learn a language best when they

• are provided with opportunities to integrate their learning with other subject areas
• engage in a broad range of experiences to learn from the historical, social and cultural perspectives
• utilize 21st century skills as they develop their linguistic and cultural competencies
• apply language skills to authentic tasks
• connect and engage meaningfully with the local and global communities through their own lenses

To serve the needs of our diverse student population, the Chinese department offers a three-pathway program which consists of the Chinese as an Additional Language Pathway, the Advanced Chinese Pathway and the Chinese Language and Literature Pathway. Students are placed in the pathway appropriate to their language backgrounds, abilities and learning needs. Below is a description of the learner’s linguistic profile for each pathway:

The Chinese as an Additional Language Pathway (K-12 CAL)

The Chinese as an Additional Language Pathway (K-12 CAL) caters to students learning Chinese as a second or additional language, who have no prior or little exposure to Chinese language and culture, and who has just begun to use Chinese in their immediate surroundings. The goal of this pathway is to enable students to reach an intermediate level language proficiency, so they will be able to communicate on familiar topics related to daily life and social needs. Students will have the opportunities to expand their understanding of Chinese culture and deepen their connection with Chinese-speaking worlds.

The Advanced Chinese Pathway (K-12 AC)

The Advanced Chinese Pathway (K-12 AC)  caters to students who have exposure to Chinese language and culture; who may engage in active but predominantly receptive use of Chinese at home; who may have some formal Chinese learning experience in the past; whose mother tongue language is linguistically close to Mandarin (Cantonese, Korean, Japanese, etc.); who may be a fluent speaker in daily interactions but still need to develop literacy skills.  The goal of this pathway is to enable students to reach an advanced level language proficiency, so they will be able to communicate effectively and culturally appropriately on topics of community, general or global issues.

The Chinese Language and Literature Pathway (K-12 CLL)

The Chinese Language and Literature Pathway (K-12 CLL) caters to students who have had their primary socialization as well as initial literacy development or primary schooling in Chinese; who use Chinese at home ; who is a fluent speaker and has  foundation in reading and writing; who would like to have opportunities to study Chinese literature, both classic and modern works.  The goal of this pathway enables students to discuss abstract topics with structured arguments, and to develop their understanding of the elements of language and literature, the relationship between texts, readers and writers and the functions of the texts. Students will be able to reach a superior level proficiency in their social, aesthetic, and cultural literacy through IB Chinese A or Special Topics in Chinese courses of study in Grade 11 and 12.