Chinese: Second Language Learner F–10 Sequence / Levels 3 and 4 / Understanding / Systems of language
Content description
Recognise the tone-syllable nature of spoken language, and compare Chinese and English sounds
Elaborations
explaining the use of Pinyin as a learning tool to reflect the sound of Chinese spoken language, and recognising sounds associated with individual letters and syllables, differentiating, for example, qī , piě, rán and qù from English sounds for such letters and syllables
listening to and viewing simple conversational exchanges, recognising tone-syllables and experiencing the differences between Chinese and English intonation
recognising when and why some tones are not expressed in some contexts, for example, repetition of syllables in ‘Mama’, neutral tone on second syllable
listening to and reading out loud a nursery rhyme with strong Chinese prosodic features such as 《小老鼠，上灯台》
engaging in activities to raise tonal awareness, such as competing with classmates to read a tongue twister (妈妈骂马) and using hand gestures to help pronounce different tones
