Chinese

Resources

Curriculum area resources support teachers to implement the curriculum. Resources are organised by 'Planning resources', 'Teaching resources' and 'Assessment resources'.

Overview

China's official language is Modern Standard Chinese, or Putonghua (the common or shared language) in Chinese. The language is also referred to as Hanyu, the spoken language of the Han people, or Zhongwen, the written language of China. In Taiwan, it is more usually called Huayu (Hwayu), the spoken language of people of Chinese ethnicity. This term is also used in Singapore.

A number of dialects remain in active use. In addition, the character system has undergone significant evolution, standardisation and simplification over time. In recent times, the need to create Chinese language texts in digital format has resulted in an international effort to standardise character forms and attribute a Unicode to each form so that computer operating systems internationally can generate and reproduce Chinese texts in both simplified and traditional/full-form characters. It is not common for new characters to be created. In contemporary overseas Chinese media, texts are commonly in either simplified or traditional/full-form characters, reflecting the diverse histories and preferences of these communities. Please refer to Learning in Chinese for further information.

The Chinese curriculum takes account of different entry points into language learning across F–10, which reflects current practice in language teaching.

There are two possible learning sequences:

• F–10 sequence for students who begin to learn the language in primary school and continue to Year 10.
• 7–10 sequence for students who begin to learn the language in Year 7.

Understanding the diverse language backgrounds and competencies of students, as language learners, is the starting point for developing their language learning. The changing pattern of migration to Australia is extending the range of languages students bring with them to school. In Chinese, this is catered for by the three pathways offered.

The types of learner are:

• Chinese Second Language Learner
  These students are introduced to learning Chinese at school as an additional, new language. The first language used before they start school and/or the language they use at home is not Chinese.

• Chinese Background Language Learner
  These students may use Chinese at home, not necessarily exclusively, and have varying degrees of knowledge of and proficiency in the Chinese language. These students have a base for literacy development in the language.

• Chinese First Language Learner (7–10 sequence only)
  These students are users of the Chinese language who have undertaken at least primary schooling in Chinese. They have had their primary socialisation as well as initial literacy development in the Chinese language and use it at home.

Schools will make decisions about which pathway best serves their students' needs, and teachers will use the pathways to cater to students by making any appropriate adjustments to differentiate their learning experiences.

The Languages curriculum  can be viewed on the Victorian Curriculum F–10 website

Please refer to the general frequently asked questions for Languages.

A PowerPoint presentation outlining the key components of the Victorian Curriculum F–10 Languages is available: Introducing Languages

Contact

Kylie Witt
Manager - Languages Unit
tel: + 61 3 9059 5120
email: Kylie.Witt@education.vic.gov.au 

Professional associations

Chinese Language Teachers' Association of Victoria

The Modern Language Teachers' Association of Victoria (MLTAV) The MLTAV is a professional association for language teachers and is the umbrella organisation for Single Language Associations (SLAs) in Victoria.