Chinese: Background Language Learner 7–10 Sequence / Levels 7 and 8 / Communicating / Translating
Content description
Translate short texts and identify words and phrases in Chinese that do not readily translate into English
Elaborations
reading bilingual texts such as advertisements and signs, and exploring the effectiveness of and reasons for particular translations
reading children’s stories in bilingual form and identifying which ideas in Chinese and English may or may not translate directly
observing interactions between speakers of Chinese and describing the interaction in English, including features of prosody as well as language
observing an interaction between a teacher and students in China and contrasting the patterns of interaction displayed with their own experience in Australia
explaining culture-specific concepts such as humility (谦虚) to people from different cultural backgrounds, providing examples of when and how 谦虚 should be shown and how it is understood by participants in an interaction, for example, when accepting/denying praise
identifying times when it is useful to employ words or phrases not normally used in English, for example, applying Chinese speech patterns when speaking about family members in English to a Chinese person, such as saying ‘my brother’s son’ instead of ‘my nephew’
identifying cultural differences in how meanings are conveyed by comparing texts in Chinese and English, for example, public announcements, TV advertisements, information brochures, public notices and signs
