Mandarin II Accelerated
Course Name: Mandarin II - Accelerated
Prerequisite: Mandarin I
Course Code #: H5241 Level: Academic Year: 5X Credits: 5 Course Description:
This course is designed for students who have experienced high achievement in their study of
Mandarin I and who are looking to continue to expand their cultural and global understandings through the study of a non-Western language and culture. Students will build upon their previous experience in Mandarin and will continue to develop their interpretive listening and reading skills, as well as their interpersonal speaking, writing and presentational skills. Students are expected to be more creative and spontaneous with the language, while a greater emphasis is placed on accuracy in written and oral expression through a more intensive study of grammatical functions. Thematic units focus on the integration of culture and language and will provide students with opportunities to apply communication skills to real-life situational contexts. Classes are conducted primarily in the target language and students are expected to use the target language for communication within the classroom.
Throughout the course emphasis is placed on using the language communicatively in authentic situations. Mandarin will be used at a target of 90% of the time by the instructor as he/she leads the class through student-centered activities actively that engage the learners in producing Mandarin in meaningful contexts. Students at the accelerated level are also expected to produce Mandarin at a target of 90% of the time during instruction.
Course Proficiencies: Students who successfully complete this course will have developed the ability to communicate at the novice-high proficiency level in three modes of communication:
● Interpretive - the ability to understand spoken and written communication within appropriate cultural contexts;
● Interpersonal - the ability to engage in direct oral and/or written communication with others; and
● Presentational - the ability to present, orally and/or in writing, information, concepts and ideas to an audience of listeners or readers with whom there is no immediate interaction.
In addition, students will have developed Intercultural Communication skills at the Novice proficiency level. The American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages has defined this these novice skills in terms of “Can-Do” statements. In this course students will target the following “Can-Do” statements for Intercultural Communication:
● In my own and other cultures, I can identify products and practices to help me understand perspectives.
● I can interact at a survival level in some familiar everyday contexts.
Lastly, students will acquire language skills in the five areas outlined in the National Standards for Learning Languages: Communication, Cultures, Connections, Comparisons, and Communities, also known as The Five C’s of world language education.
Alignment to New Jersey Student Learning Standards:
The New Jersey Student Learning Standards include Preschool Teaching and Learning Standards, as well as nine K-12 standards for the following content areas. These areas include: 21st Century Life and Careers, Comprehensive Health and Physical Education, English Language Arts, Mathematics, Science, Social Studies, Technology, Visual and Performing Arts and World Languages. The standard for language learning in New Jersey reinforces the reading, writing, speaking and listening skills that are targeted across the standards for each content area.
The 2014 New Jersey Student Learning Standard for World Languages is as follows:
7.1 All students will be able to use a world language in addition to English to engage in meaningful conversation, to understand and interpret spoken and written language, and to present information, concepts, and ideas, while also gaining an understanding of the perspectives of other cultures. Through language study, they will make connections with other content areas, compare the language and culture studied with their own, and participate in home and global communities.
This standard is further divided into proficiency levels and three strands, one for each mode of communication. The proficiency levels are in line with the national performance descriptors as released by the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign languages. These guidelines indicate six different levels of proficiency that can be expected at the K-12 level of language learning. Throughout the course, students will be working to demonstrate proficiency at the Novice High level in all three modes of communication including: interpretive communication, interpersonal communication and presentational communication. The specific standards for this course are outlined below within in each mode of communication.
Interpretive Mode
Students will develop the ability to:
1. Recognize familiar spoken or written words and phrases, understand the main idea, and infer the meaning of some highly contextualized, unfamiliar spoken or written words contained in culturally authentic materials using electronic information sources (i.e. podcasts, videocasts, audio clips and websites) related to targeted themes, such as school life, home, weather and travel, shopping, and holidays and celebrations. (7.1.NH.A.1)
2. Demonstrate comprehension of a series of oral and written directions, commands, and requests through appropriate physical response. (7.1NH.A.2)
3. Recognize a few common gestures and cultural practices associated with the Chinese culture in relation to social etiquette and customs, family values, and celebrations. (7.1.NH.A.3)
4. Identify people, places, objects, and activities in daily life related to school, home, shopping and holidays and celebrations, based on simple oral and/or written descriptions. (7.1.NH.A.4)
5. Demonstrate comprehension of short conversations and brief written messages using age-and level-appropriate, culturally authentic materials on familiar topics such as wellness, feelings and emotions, school life, home life, shopping, celebrations, or science-related topics such as weather, climate and seasons. (7.1.NH.A.5)
6. Identify the main idea and other significant ideas in readings from age- and level-appropriate, culturally authentic materials related to school calendar and schedules, homes, travel itineraries, weather reports, and holidays and celebrations. (7.1.NH.A.6)
Interpersonal Mode
Students will develop the ability to:
1. Use digital tools, such as SKYPE, email, text messaging, or online collaborative discussion threads, to exchange basic information by recombining memorized words, phrases, and sentences on topics related to self and the targeted themes of school life, home life, weather and travel, shopping, holidays and celebrations. (7.1.NH.B.1)
2. Give and follow a series of oral and written directions, commands, and requests for participating in age-appropriate classroom and cultural activities related to school life, home life, weather and travel, shopping, and holidays and celebrations. (7.1.NH.B.2)
3. Imitate appropriate gestures, intonation, and common idiomatic expressions of the Chinese culture and/or language during daily interactions about topics such as cultural celebrations, school life, or weather and travel. (7.1.NH.B.3)
4. Ask and respond to questions, make requests, and express preferences in various social situations using learned expressions and simple sentences as related to school life, home life, weather and travel, shopping, and holidays and celebrations. (7.1.NH.B.4)
5. Converse on a variety of familiar topics and/or topics studied in other content areas. (7.1.NH.B.5)
Presentational Mode
Students will develop the ability to:
1. Recombine basic information at the word and sentence level to create a multimedia-rich presentation on targeted themes such as school life and schedules, home, to be shared virtually with a Chinese language audience. (7.1.NH.C.1)
2. Create and present brief messages, poems, rhymes, songs, short plays, or role-plays related to targeted themes such as school life, home, weather and seasons, vacation and travel, using familiar vocabulary orally or in writing. (7.1.NH.C.2)
3. Describe in writing people and things from the home and school environment. (7.1.NH.C.3)
4. Tell or retell stories from age- and level-appropriate, culturally authentic materials orally or in writing. (7.1.NH.C.4)
5. Tell or write about cultural products and simulate common cultural practices from the Chinese culture as they relate to holidays and cultural celebrations. (7.1.NH.C.5)
Educational Technology (NSLS 8):
8.1.12.D.1 Demonstrate appropriate application of copyright, fair use and/or Creative Commons to an original work.
8.1.12.D.2 Evaluate consequences of unauthorized electronic access (e.g., hacking) and disclosure, and on dissemination of personal information.
8.1.12.A.2 Produce and edit a multi-page digital document for a commercial or professional audience and present it to peers and/or professionals in that related area for review.
8.1.12.A.3 Collaborate in online courses, learning communities, social networks or virtual worlds to discuss a resolution to a problem or issue.
8.1.12.F.1 Evaluate the strengths and limitations of emerging technologies and their impact on educational, career, personal and or social needs.
21st Century Life and Careers (NJSLS 9):
9.2.12.C.5 Research career opportunities in the United States and abroad that require knowledge of world languages and diverse cultures.
NJ Career Readiness Practices:
CRP1. Act as a responsible and contributing citizen and employee. CRP2. Apply appropriate academic and technical skills.
CRP4. Communicate clearly and effectively and with reason. CRP6. Demonstrate creativity and innovation.
CRP8. Utilize critical thinking to make sense of problems and persevere in solving them. CRP11. Use technology to enhance productivity.
CRP12. Work productively in teams while using cultural global competence.
Evaluative Criteria: Teachers utilize student observation checklists, formative assessments, daily participation, tests, quizzes, homework, interpretive, interpersonal and presentational tasks and assessments, projects, integrated performance assessments, student self-assessments and peer assessments to evaluate the progress and/or achievement of the above stated proficiencies.