Middle School Mandarin Chinese Courses

Contact Us

  • 2465 Gillespie St.
    Fayetteville, NC 28306
    Phone: 910-678-2407
    Fax: 910-678-2666

    Carmen Villalobos
    Curriculum Specialist 
    910-678-7015
    carmenvillalobos@ccs.k12.nc.us

  • EXPLORING MIDDLE SCHOOL WORLD LANGUAGE AND CULTURE (9-Week Course)
    (Arabic, Mandarin Chinese, French, Latin, and Spanish – These courses may vary by school):
     

    This introductory course is for students who do not wish to start the high school sequence, but would like to begin learning world languages and cultures in middle school. It is not a prerequisite for any other World Language course and does not allow a student to earn a high school credit. This course should be taken only once during middle school. The course allows students to perform basic functions of the language being studied using increasingly complex structures as the student becomes familiar with some detailed elements of the culture. The emphasis is placed on the ongoing progressive development of listening, speaking, reading, writing, and viewing skills within a given context extending outside of the classroom setting. The context focuses on adolescents’ lives, needs, and experiences but also expands to other aspects of life and exposes students to a variety of customs and lifestyles. Grammar is integrated throughout the course and is based on thematic units. 


    LANGUAGE AND CULTURE (Semester or Year-Long):
    Students continue their introduction to Chinese with fundamental building blocks in key areas of foreign language study: listening comprehension, speaking, reading, writing, and viewing. Students will continue mastering common vocabulary terms and phrases; comprehend a wide range of grammar patterns; initiate and continue simple conversations and respond appropriately to basic conversational prompts; and generate language incorporating basic vocabulary and a limited range of grammar patterns. Thematic units include an understanding of the art, literature, and history of a society, but also less tangible aspects such as attitudes, prejudices, folklore, and so forth. The course will provide multimedia cultural presentations covering major Chinese-speaking countries.


    MANDARIN CHINESE I, PART I :
    Mandarin Chinese I, Part I is offered as the first of a two-part series to enable motivated students to begin their foreign language studies at the 7th grade level. Students will begin receiving instruction in all aspects of the language (oral, listening, reading, writing, and viewing). Class time will primarily be devoted to acquiring basic oral and listening skills. Once students are more familiar with structural conventions, they will be challenged with reading and writing materials that include some unknown characters in order for them to develop their skills under more authentic circumstances. In addition to gaining communicative and linguistic competence, students will be exposed to the Chinese culture in order to better understand the cultural context in which their language skills will be used. The course will provide students with the ability to communicate interpersonally in daily life. Topics will include greetings, basic introductions, making appointments, location, countries, languages, descriptions, shopping, and food. After successful completion of Mandarin Chinese I, Part I, the student is expected to continue with Mandarin Chinese I, Part II as an eighth-grader. A proficiency exam will be given at the end of the course.   

    MANDARIN CHINESE I, PART II  (Prerequisite: Mandarin Chinese I, Part I):
    This course is a continuation of Mandarin Chinese I, Part I and is designed for students who have successfully completed Mandarin Chinese I, Part I. Students will continue to receive instruction in all aspects of the language (oral, listening, reading, writing, and viewing) during the early stages of their Chinese studies. Class time will be primarily devoted to acquiring basic oral and listening skills. Once students are more familiar with structural conventions, they will be challenged with reading and writing materials that include some unknown characters in order for them to develop their skills under more authentic circumstances. In addition to gaining communicative and linguistic competence, students will be exposed to the Chinese culture in order to better understand the cultural context in which their language skills will be used. The course will provide students with the ability to communicate interpersonally in daily life. Topics to include greetings, basic introductions, making appointments, identifying locations, countries, languages, providing descriptions, shopping, and selecting food. Students who successfully complete Mandarin Chinese I, Parts I and II are awarded high school credit and may have the opportunity to continue their Chinese studies in high school. A proficiency exam will be given at the end of the course.

    MANDARIN CHINESE I (HS CREDIT):
    Mandarin Chinese I is an introductory course to Mandarin Chinese. Though students will receive instruction in all four aspects of the language (oral, listening, reading, and writing), during the early stages of their Chinese studies, class time will be primarily devoted to acquiring basic oral and listening skills. Once students are more familiar with structural conventions, they will be challenged with reading and writing materials that include some unknown characters in order for them to develop their skills under more authentic circumstances. In addition to gaining communicative and linguistic competence, students will be exposed to the Chinese culture in order to better understand the cultural context in which their language skills will be used. The course will provide students with the ability to communicate interpersonally in daily life. Topics will include greetings, basic introductions, describing or identifying locations, making appointments, countries, languages, shopping, and selecting food. The course must consist of 135 instructional hours on a block schedule or 150 hours within a traditional schedule. A proficiency exam will be given at the end of the course.