Chinese: Second Language Learner 7–10 Sequence / Levels 7 and 8 / Understanding / Systems of language
Content description
Identify how character structure, position and component sequences relate the form of a character to its particular sound and meaning
Elaborations
learning the number, nature and sequence of strokes; exploring the range of stroke types used in characters; learning to write with a focus on stroke direction and order, and on balance and proportion within the square
comparing writing across languages, recognising differences in stroke sequences and word formation (letter strings versus character squares), word spacing, punctuation and text direction
learning the origins and features of components encountered in characters, and analysing the formation of characters, including recognising the frequency and positioning of common components (for example, 人、女、日、月) and their function or relationship to a compound character, for example, 人 in 他、认、从
decoding characters by analysing their structure and the number of components, and recognising familiar components
applying their knowledge of characters to learn to read and write new characters, and developing strategies for learning, for example, making connections between characters with a common component (你、他、们)
identifying contextual meanings of key morphemes in diverse contexts, for example, 天，日，二/两，你好 versus 好玩
identifying the relationships between the meaning of individual morphemes in words and exploring how these morphemes apply in a wider range of word contexts
explaining the use of common suffixes (子、里、面) and key morphemes (电、家、物、机)
understanding how new concepts are interpreted in Chinese by analysing the nature of technology-related terms expressed in Chinese, for example, 电脑、短信、博客
