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• VCZHU028

  Use nouns, adjectives and simple sentences to record observations

  Elaborations

  • exploring basic sentence structure in Chinese, consisting of subject–verb–object, and learning to analyse sentences in both Chinese and English, for example, ‘What’s the subject in the sentence “My mum drives a car”? How about in the Chinese sentence 我看书? Do sentences work the same way in Chinese and English?’
  • recognising grammatical features and how their use differs in Chinese and English, for example, the lack of articles in Chinese; that adjectives can be used as verbs; limited use of the verb ‘to be’ (是)
  • following patterns of word order and sentence structure and using negation when creating sentences to express own meanings, for example, replacing the subject pronoun in 我喜欢绿色 to create the sentence 我妈妈不喜欢绿色

  VCZHU028 | Languages | Chinese | Second Language Learner | F–10 Sequence | Levels 3 and 4 | Understanding | Systems of language

• VCZHU012

  Understand that Chinese sentences have a particular word order

  Elaborations

  • replacing words in modelled sentences to express a personal meaning, for example, replacing 弟弟 in 我有弟弟 with 妹妹 to say 我有妹妹
  • stating the subject of a sentence, for example, 我爱妈妈 is about ‘I’, and 妈妈爱我 is about ‘Mum’
  • recognising that simple statements in Chinese tend to follow English word order, but that questions do not, for example, ‘Do you have a cat?’ versus 你有猫吗？
  • recognising that sometimes the verb ‘to be’ is left out in Chinese sentences, for example, 我五岁 rather than 我是五岁

  VCZHU012 | Languages | Chinese | Second Language Learner | F–10 Sequence | Foundation to Level 2 | Understanding | Systems of language

• VCZHU188

  Understand and apply complex grammatical structures and features to achieve particular effects, and explore grammatical features of classical Chinese

  Elaborations

  • comparing how ideas are ordered and substantiated across genres and languages, for example, in Chinese essay-writing the author’s position is generally stated at the end, whereas in Australian academic writing it is stated at the beginning
  • describing the purpose and features of genres that are uniquely important in Chinese literature, and exploring their origin in classic literature, such as 小品文，散文

  VCZHU188 | Languages | Chinese | Background Language Learner | F–10 Sequence | Levels 9 and 10 | Understanding | Systems of language

• VCZHU218

  Compare features of speech of speakers from diverse regions to standard Chinese including pronunciation and prosody (for example, intonation and stress)

  Elaborations

  • developing tone discrimination and identifying subtle differences in pronunciation, including variations in regional accents, for example, distinguishing between ‘qing’ and ‘qin’, ‘lou’ and ‘rou’, ‘liang’ and ‘lang’, ‘shi’ and ‘si’, and ‘lan’ and ‘nan’ when listening to interactions between speakers in diverse contexts
  • comparing their pronunciation and word choices when speaking in Chinese to peers and other Chinese speakers
  • experimenting with rhythm, pace, tone, stress and other paralinguistic cues, and developing strategies to address aspects of their own spoken Chinese that may impede effective communication with others

  VCZHU218 | Languages | Chinese | Background Language Learner | 7–10 Sequence | Levels 9 and 10 | Understanding | Systems of language

• VCZHU048

  Explore the ways in which everyday language use reflects culture-specific ideas, such as the influence of age, gender and social position on language choices

  Elaborations

  • exploring cultural values conveyed in expressions relating to celebrations, for example, by asking: ‘In the colloquial phrase 合家团圆, what is 团圆? Why wish people 团圆？ Does this have the same meaning in Australian culture? What’s the relationship between the language use and the Chinese values in this phrase?’
  • applying appropriate choices of pronouns and labels when referring to others in interactions, for example 您/你； 小张/张晓琴

  VCZHU048 | Languages | Chinese | Second Language Learner | F–10 Sequence | Levels 5 and 6 | Understanding | The role of language and culture

• VCZHU159

  Explore the impact of English on everyday communication in Chinese and the impact of Chinese on English

  Elaborations

  • exploring language ‘borrowing’, such as English words ‘borrowed’ from Chinese (for example, ‘yum cha’ and ‘kung fu’) and the impact of English on Chinese language use today, for example, 考拉、汉堡包
  • analysing the impact of languages on one another such as 他写着作业 （他在写作业。） and 白了 which sounds like ‘bye’
  • exploring the impact of English on Chinese language use, such as recognising transliteration in Chinese, for example, 可口可乐

  VCZHU159 | Languages | Chinese | Background Language Learner | F–10 Sequence | Levels 5 and 6 | Understanding | Language variation and change

• VCZHU096

  Discuss how language choices reflect cultural practices, including clarifying roles and relationships between participants in interactions

  Elaborations

  • discussing cultural values reflected in language use (for example, in relation to celebrations) and how they influence interactions, for example, by asking: In the colloquial phrase 合家团圆, what is 团圆？ Why wish people 团圆？ Does this have the same meaning in Australian culture? What’s the relationship between the language use and the Chinese values in this phrase?
  • identifying aspects taken for granted in communication (for example, a shared understanding of gesture, body movement and word meanings), and comparing ways people interact across cultures, asking, for example: How do Chinese people use gesture? Which non-verbal cues are shared with English speakers? Do they mean the same thing in both cultures? How does not understanding these differences impact on how we perceive each other?
  • exploring the nature of the concept of ‘family’ in Chinese culture and how this influences relationships between individuals, for example, addressing adults as 叔叔 or 阿姨
  • experimenting with multiple ways of expressing similar meanings in Chinese (for example, 你叫什么？ 你叫什么名字？ 你几岁？你多大？) and discussing the differences in the context of use
  • discussing how different roles and relationships are reflected in or impacted by word choices, for example, whether/when it is appropriate to ask someone’s age, when to say 你几岁？ or 你多大了？or when to use 你属什么?
  • considering the different ways of addressing people in authority (李老师；王校长) and how this reflects the importance of respect and hierarchy in Chinese culture

  VCZHU096 | Languages | Chinese | Second Language Learner | 7–10 Sequence | Levels 7 and 8 | Understanding | The role of language and culture

• VCZHU224

  Explain how languages shape the communicative practices of individuals and groups and identify ways to enhance understanding across cultures

  Elaborations

  • considering ways in which being a bilingual speaker of Chinese and English could impact on and enhance their future life and career
  • examining how language is used to marginalise groups in society, such as how labels are used to simplify identification of groups and influence how such groups are perceived by others, for example, 蚁族、80后/90后
  • considering their own perceptions of the Chinese-speaking world and identifying the influences on their perceptions, for example, trips to China when younger; stories from grandparents
  • exploring how concepts such as modesty, individual responsibility and respect for authority influence communication styles, and how they may be interpreted by English speakers as lack of confidence, engagement or initiative
  • exploring what assumptions are inherent in one language and how the same cultural assumptions may not exist in another language, for example, analysing how the terms for ‘getting married’ differ for women (嫁出去) and men (娶妻) and the gender-neutral 结婚

  VCZHU224 | Languages | Chinese | Background Language Learner | 7–10 Sequence | Levels 9 and 10 | Understanding | Role of language and culture

• VCZHU106

  Discern differences in patterns of sound and tone in extended Chinese speech when listening to speakers of different age, gender, and regional background

  Elaborations

  • listening to interactions between unfamiliar voices at different speeds or levels of clarity to develop auditory and comprehension skills, and discriminating between sounds heard in oral discourse, including the range of vowel and consonant combinations, for example, ‘qin’ versus ‘qing’ and ‘chi’ versus ‘qi’
  • examining the diverse meanings of words that share similar sounds, for example, the many meanings of the sound ‘shi’ and how to differentiate between 同音词 and 近音词 in different contexts (同意 and 统一)
  • comparing examples of regional variation in pronunciation (for example, the Beijing use of 儿 and the southern pronunciation of ‘shi’ and ‘si’), and noticing and describing differences in accent and tone when listening to Chinese speakers from diverse regions

  VCZHU106 | Languages | Chinese | Second Language Learner | 7–10 Sequence | Levels 9 and 10 | Understanding | Systems of language

• VCZHU029

  Identify similarities and differences in the organisation of simple familiar texts

  Elaborations

  • reading familiar text types in both Chinese and English (for example, menus, calendars, songs and TV cartoons), and explaining how the content and features of the text suit its purpose, for example, the menu has pictures of dishes to help the customer understand what kind of food it is
  • recognising Chinese texts (for example, Chinese film posters and newspapers), and discussing how the textual features are organised, including the headings, images and fonts, and the cultural significance of such texts
  • applying knowledge of text features to help locate key information, such as identifying details relating to name, age and nationality across diverse examples of social media profiles and print information forms
  • discussing a range of predictable texts with teachers and peers to perceive common components (radicals) in complex characters such as ‘woman’ (女) and ‘water’ (氵)

  VCZHU029 | Languages | Chinese | Second Language Learner | F–10 Sequence | Levels 3 and 4 | Understanding | Systems of language

• VCZHU155

  Recognise the contextual meanings of individual syllables or characters to assist comprehension and vocabulary development, and explain the form and function of components in individual characters, for example, 心,想,情,闷

  Elaborations

  • inferring the meaning of unfamiliar characters by identifying familiar semantic and phonetic components of compound characters, and using contextual clues to map the form of characters to sound and meaning
  • using digital tools to write a specific character, and finding out its pronunciation by using online dictionaries
  • writing characters with correct structure and proportion when writing with and without 田字格, and discussing issues with remembering and reproducing individual components in characters, for example, discriminating between characters such as 冒、昌…
  • exploring a range of fonts in digital form and personal styles of writing, and appreciating the aesthetic value of calligraphy, including 硬笔书法

  VCZHU155 | Languages | Chinese | Background Language Learner | F–10 Sequence | Levels 5 and 6 | Understanding | Systems of language

• VCZHU091

  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

  VCZHU091 | Languages | Chinese | Second Language Learner | 7–10 Sequence | Levels 7 and 8 | Understanding | Systems of language

• VCZHU254

  Compare features of prosody across languages and explore how they contribute to expression of meaning

  Elaborations

  • comparing how prosody is used to enhance the aesthetic features/uses of language in different texts such as poems and essays when read aloud
  • evaluating the effectiveness of prosody in diverse contexts, for example, analysing the relationship between use of voice and character types in movies and television dramas, such as how the matriarch or patriarch of the family in Chinese dramas often has a stern and intimidating voice
  • using prosody with effect when communicating with others, such as in formal presentations and debates, and in imaginative or dramatic performances, for example, 众所周知／显而易见／总而言之

  VCZHU254 | Languages | Chinese | First Language Learner | 7–10 Sequence | Levels 9 and 10 | Understanding | Systems of language

• VCZHU237

  Apply understanding of word morphology and vocabulary choices to interpret and convey meaning

  Elaborations

  • examining the relationship between characters in a word, identifying subtle differences in meaning to enhance their own communication, and determining the appropriate context for related words such as 帮助 and 帮忙
  • differentiating 形近词 based on the meanings of each morpheme (for example, in 走进 and 走近) and applying in own writing
  • analysing how words containing a common morpheme are related, for example, how 乘 is used in 乘车 (‘take a ride’), 乘机 (‘take a chance’) and 乘法 (‘multiplication’)

  VCZHU237 | Languages | Chinese | First Language Learner | 7–10 Sequence | Levels 7 and 8 | Understanding | Systems of language

• VCZHU076

  Analyse and examine how effective authors control sentence structure and use language to engage their audience

  Elaborations

  • comparing the use of words that rely on interpretation of context to convey the intended meaning (such as 让、给), for example, listening to and reading several extracts from texts which use the same word in a different way
  • expressing conditions (for example, 如果…就); expressing cause and effect (for example, 为了…); and expressing the condition, quality or result of an action, for example, 坐得下、 说得对、 做完、买到
  • justifying opinions and building logical arguments by expressing additional information and providing reasons (for example, using 不但…而且…；除了…以外；另外), and introducing contrasting views to others using elements such as cohesive devices, for example, 不是…而是…；不过；虽然…但是…
  • exploring the ways in which language can be manipulated to make ideas more objective, for example, removal of personal pronouns and opinions
  • examining the use of noun phrases in Chinese and experimenting with omitting nouns (zero subjects) in their own communication
  • experimenting with the use of 成语 and famous sayings to substantiate ideas in Chinese
  • experimenting with 的 as a subject modifier to express ideas that would contain relative clauses in English, for example, 我昨天买的书不太贵

  VCZHU076 | Languages | Chinese | Second Language Learner | F–10 Sequence | Levels 9 and 10 | Understanding | Systems of language

• VCZHU170

  Identify changes in tone that occur when words or tones are combined, recognise atonality in rapid connected speech, and use this knowledge to aid in interpreting meaning

  Elaborations

  • comparing ways they pronounce and use spoken Chinese with peers and other Chinese speakers, and determining the influences on their own language use, such as TV, parents, dialects spoken
  • developing tone discrimination and identifying subtle differences in pronunciation, including variations in regional accents, for example, distinguishing between ‘qing’ and ‘qin’, ‘lou’ and ‘rou’, ‘liang’ and ‘lang’, ‘shi’ and ‘si’, and ‘lan’ and ‘nan’ when listening to interactions between speakers in diverse contexts

  VCZHU170 | Languages | Chinese | Background Language Learner | F–10 Sequence | Levels 7 and 8 | Understanding | Systems of language

• VCZHU125

  Recognise features of various familiar text types in Chinese

  Elaborations

  • developing awareness of bilingual texts (for example, picture books, multimedia texts, song and dance DVDs) through immersion in text-rich environments, and noticing features of punctuation and text organisation across languages (for example, spacing between words)
  • comparing familiar texts in Chinese and English and discussing features in common, for example, storybook covers normally consist of book title, image, author’s name and illustrator’s name

  VCZHU125 | Languages | Chinese | Background Language Learner | F–10 Sequence | Foundation to Level 2 | Understanding | Systems of language

• VCZHU127

  Recognise Chinese as a major community language in Australia and around the world, and understand that language use varies according to cultural background

  Elaborations

  • understanding that Chinese is used beyond their immediate and extended family
  • identifying countries and regions in the world where Chinese is used as a major language
  • recognising diversity within Chinese language, including significant regional languages spoken by family or others, such as Cantonese or Shanghainese

  VCZHU127 | Languages | Chinese | Background Language Learner | F–10 Sequence | Foundation to Level 2 | Understanding | Language variation and change

• VCZHU143

  Explore diversity in dialects and in contexts in which Chinese is used in Australian communities

  Elaborations

  • identifying locations of major dialect groups in China, discussing environmental and historical reasons for the existence of dialects, and appreciating the value of a common language
  • making personal connections with particular dialects of Chinese, asking peers which dialects are spoken in their families, and inviting others to say a few words in their own dialect, for example, 我爷爷说广东话
  • investigating diversity in spoken Chinese and identifying differences in phonology across dialects, for example, exploring greetings in dialects such as Cantonese, Hakka and Shanghainese, and comparing the pronunciation of words
  • accessing local Chinese media such as radio stations, satellite TV stations, and newspapers, and viewing Chinese programs in mainstream media (such as Chinese news programs or websites) to enhance their appreciation of Chinese language use in local media and explore the extent of their comprehension of Chinese used in diverse contexts
  • discussing reasons why Chinese is used in communities within Australia, and making personal connections to these reasons, for example, 我父母是丛香港来的，他们说广东话

  VCZHU143 | Languages | Chinese | Background Language Learner | F–10 Sequence | Levels 3 and 4 | Understanding | Language variation and change

• VCZHU235

  Discuss features of Chinese phonology and compare their own pronunciation with that of other speakers of Chinese

  Elaborations

  • comparing the features of spoken English and the features of Chinese phonology
  • identifying features of spoken Chinese by comparing their own speech to the pronunciation and speech patterns displayed in examples of Modern Standard Chinese, such as in news broadcasts
  • explaining the use of the neutral tone and non-tonal suffixes such as 儿
  • preparing a mock lesson for non-Chinese-speaking friends about Chinese phonology

  VCZHU235 | Languages | Chinese | First Language Learner | 7–10 Sequence | Levels 7 and 8 | Understanding | Systems of language