Mandarin Competition: Celebrate the Learning Journey

During the past month, our Mandarin department was busy with fun activities to celebrate students’ Mandarin learning through the whole year. This week, they held a Mandarin Competition for all students, both native speakers and non-native speakers.

They spent the first two weeks for preparation and preliminary. The final competitions were held on this Wednesday and Friday. House representatives responded respectively to designated session according to their grade or language levels to get scores for their house during the finals!

At BIS, we respect and embrace different cultures that make up our community. We lay great emphasis on the education of students’ mother tongues as well as their second and third languages. We are proud of our Mandarin education, which is supported by teachers who own years of IB and Chinese teaching experiences.

Mandarin program in Boston International School is dedicated to integrating IB philosophy and framework with high-quality local education resources.

 

Early Years Center

In EY period, young learners are grouped into native speakers and non-native speakers. Play-based learning is the major way of teaching, cultivating students’ language abilities through songs, manual work and games, etc.

Elementary School

In Elementary School, Mandarin class adheres to IB PYP interdisciplinary themes. Students are grouped into Advanced class (mother tongue and near mother tongue), Intermediate class (non-native speaker intermediate level) and Beginner class (non-native speaker beginning level).

In Mandarin classes, students learning ideas and concepts in line with the UOI their homeroom is proceeding, while also refer to local education framework. Selected readings related to UOI theme from local textbooks are used for vocabulary learning, reading comprehension, writing and oral communication.

Secondary School

In MYP period, Mandarin is separated into two subjects, i.e. Chinese Language and literature and Chinese Language Acquisition. Chinese Language and literature students learn literature in different genres, and analysis of language in non-literary works as well (e.g. public speaking and advertisements). The assessment comes from four aspects, analyzing, organizing, creating texts and utilizing the language. Chinese Language Acquisition is for non-native speakers. Students are grouped into 6 categories according to their levels. Thanks to the theme-based learning approach, students connect learning with real life context. Through a more practical approach, students’ abilities in listening, reading, speaking and writing are cultivated.

In DP period, we offer Chinese Language A: Language and Literature, Chinese Language B and Chinese Language ab initio. Both subjects in Boston International School are strictly abided by DP guidance. Students’ needs are considered when teachers are preparing curriculum plans.