Mandarin

Mandarin Events Archive

Monday, 13 June 2011 01:48 Updated by Administrator

The Mandarin Department at International School Brunei offers a Foreign Language Mandarin programme for Years 7 - 13. At Year 13 level, an additional course, Mandarin for beginners, caters to the needs and interests of its international students.

We endeavour to develop our students' language skills and support them to become critical and independent learners, equipping them for the growing Chinese-speaking modern world. We encourage our students to use the Mandarin language actively in their everyday life, and in practical and role-play situations. Language learning extends, diversifies and enriches our students' ways of thinking about the world they live in.

Recent Events

ISB Mandarin students visit Shikai restaurant

A group of Year 12 students from International School Brunei (ISB) recently went on an educational visit to Shikai, a popular local halal restaurant. The students are undertaking the pre-university International Baccalaureate (IB) programme and have been learning Mandarin for nine months. The purpose of the trip was to enable students to use the language for practical purposes and interact with native speakers.

Prior to the visit, students learned a range of language and vocabulary associated with the unit on food and drink. The aim of the unit is to introduce students to the customs and culture of Chinese people, including using chopsticks, ordering various specialty dishes, engaging in polite conversation, and developing an awareness of meal etiquette.

“The IB Mandarin Ab Initio beginner’s course is very intensive and expects students to be proficient in using a wide range of Chinese characters. With increased globalisation and China’s market growth, it is beneficial for students to be familiar with the language, customs and culture. Active learning must take place both inside and outside the classroom,” said Ms Ayu Mee, ISB teacher.

One of the students, Jonash Goh said, “I am fluent in English and studied Malay at school; this is the first time I am learning Mandarin formally. It is demanding due to different intonations and it is a challenge to write various Chinese characters accurately. However, this subject is crucial for my future. After completing my IB diploma, I intend to study Marketing at the University of Melbourne and help my father expand his new business venture in China.”

The Mandarin students will be completing worksheets and writing diary entries to reflect on this experience whilst preparing for their upcoming Year 12 CAS (Community, Action and Service) trip to Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, from 17^th to 23^th June 2011, where they will be climbing Mount Kinabalu, carrying out community work at a small village, diving, white-water rafting and mountain biking.

Curriculum

Primary

Students in Year 3 to 6 study Mandarin where the emphasis is to develop their listening, speaking, reading and writing skills through a variety of units/topics taught. Students are introduced to reading and writing the basic Chinese characters in addition to learning the language. Students are beginning to use a dictionary and develop independent learning skills, as well as gain exposure to formal language, and Chinese culture and traditions.

Lower Secondary

The Mandarin as a Foreign Language Programme is taught through specific content themes and teaching approaches adapted to best cater for the needs and interests of our students. The emphasis is on the development of the four communication skills of speaking, listening, reading and writing in formal Mandarin, and the generation of a depth to students' cultural understandings and knowledge about Mandarin speaking peoples in particular.

Languages Curriculum Map 2007-2008

Year 7

Term 1 Year 7 Mandarin
Term 2 Year 7 Mandarin
Term 3 Year 7 Mandarin

Year 8

Term 1 Year 8 Mandarin
Term 2 Year 8 Mandarin
Term 3 Year 8 Mandarin

Year 9

Term 1 Year 9 Mandarin
Term 2 Year 9 Mandarin
Term 3 Year 9 Mandarin

IGCSE

Over Years 10 and 11 students will embark on the two-year IGCSE Mandarin as a Foreign Language course, which leads to non-coursework final examinations, consisting of three exams: a reading and writing paper, an oral paper and an extended writing paper. Students will be examined in various skills including reading comprehension, skimming and scanning skills, extended writing and oral skills.

As the emphasis is on developing their communicative skills, students will study a range of media and other language resources including posters, advertisements, related vocabulary and terminology, write formal and informal letters, complete reading comprehension tasks and develop extended writing skills. They will also learn how to compose and present a topic talk, conduct interviews with their peers and perform role- plays.

Grammar (prefix, suffix, classifiers, etc) and dictionary skills will be taught incidentally. It is important for parents to encourage their children to use the target language actively at home and in social situations to develop their confidence and communicative skills, as well as review their completed notebooks

Year 10 Foreign Language Mandarin

Term 1 Curriculum Overview
Term 2 Curriculum Overview
Term 3 Curriculum Overview

Year 11 IGCSE Mandarin

Term 1 Curriculum Overview
Term 2 Curriculum Overview
Term 3 Curriculum Overview

MANDARIN CHINESE - FOREIGN LANGUAGE

Course Summary
The main aim is to develop the ability to use Mandarin Chinese language effectively for purposes of practical communication. Students focus on four subskills:

Reading
Writing
Listening
Speaking

There is no coursework. All students study the extended curriculum in order to achieve the highest possible grade in this exam-based course.

Assessment Summary
IGCSE Foreign Language Mandarin Chinese is assessed by final exams.

Paper 2 - Reading and directed writing; counts for 35% of final grade
Paper 3 - Speaking; counts for 30% of final grade
Paper 4 - Continuous writing; counts for 35% of final grade

International Baccalaureate (IB)

Mandarin Ab Initio
Students who are beginners or new to the Mandarin language take the IB Mandarin Ab Initio course where the focus in on developing their communicative skills. The course is taught through specific content themes and teaching approaches adapted to best cater for the needs and interests of our students.

The emphasis is on the development of the four communication skills of speaking, listening, reading and writing in formal Mandarin, and the generation of a depth to students' cultural understandings and knowledge about Mandarin speaking peoples in particular.
Students are assessed on their ability to communicate effectively in the target language through oral and writing tasks. There is internal assessment comprising oral examinations and a written examination comprising two papers.

Year 12	Year 13
Term 1 Curriculum Overview	Term 1 Curriculum Overview
Term 2 Curriculum Overview	Term 2 Curriculum Overview
Term 3 Curriculum Overview	Term 3 Curriculum Overview

Mandarin Language B
Students who are competent in Mandarin will select to study IB Mandarin Language B, which is focussed on developing students' proficiency towards native speaker level. The course is taught through specific content themes and teaching approaches adapted to best cater for the needs and interests of our students.

The emphasis is on extending the four communicative skills of speaking, listening, reading and writing in formal Mandarin, and the generation of a depth to students' cultural understandings and knowledge about Mandarin speaking peoples in particular. Students are assessed on their ability to communicative effectively on various topics of interest, current affairs and real world issues, as they develop the skills to formulate arguments to support their opinions and viewpoints. There is an internal assessment comprising oral examinations and a written examination comprising two papers.

Assessment Information

In the IGCSE Mandarin as a Foreign Language Programme and IB Programme, assessment of the skills taught through the various topics/units will be in the form of role-play tasks, topic talk presentations, reading comprehension exercises, various short and long writing tasks, as well as creative project work.

Previous Events

2011 Chinese New Year Assembly

ISB ushered in the Lunar Year of the Rabbit on 27 January 2011 with a warm welcome by IB student hosts, Then May Yi and Darragh Murphy.
The emcees used a PowerPoint presentation to outline the various customs and cultural practices of Chinese people around the world, including the significance of mandarin oranges, the colour red and the importance of fostering community ties through 'open houses'.
The audience also enjoyed various performances by ISB students including a highly entertaining lion dance, and a colourful, traditional
Chinese fan dance. The joyous assembly ended with the hosts wishing everyone 'Gong Xi Fa Cai.'