Chinese

Middlesex School offers courses in Chinese, French and Spanish. The study of a foreign language provides the student the opportunity to become a more versatile member of the world community. It also gives the student a unique perception of the student’s culture as distinct from another way of life and thought. All classes are conducted primarily in the language studied. The skills of listening, speaking, reading, and writing are taught simultaneously. Courses use a full range of materials: texts, periodicals, literature, recordings, films, videos, and iPad language laboratory sessions. Throughout their career every student is called upon to demonstrate listening, speaking, reading, and writing competence. A variety of techniques are employed to encourage advanced students to approach the competence of a native speaker of the same age: extensive vocabulary study, thorough grammatical review, readings in modern literature and periodicals, digital recordings, films, and guests. Advanced Placement courses are offered in Chinese, French, and Spanish. The School encourages Middlesex students to participate in foreign travel. Departments offer trips during spring break and summer vacation when there are enough interested students and teachers.

CHINESE

[Head of the Department: Xue Zhenyan Li] Spoken by more than one billion people, Chinese is the most common language in the world. Its primary dialect, Mandarin, alone is the most common native tongue among the global population. When students choose to study the Chinese language at Middlesex, they will be prepared to interact linguistically and culturally in a contemporary Chinese context. The objective of the Chinese Department is to develop listening, speaking, reading, writing and typing skills and to cultivate a level of competency through which students can comfortably communicate in a variety of settings. Classes are led in Mandarin, and English is only used to help in the explanation of grammar. Materials include textbook, workbook, DVDs, periodicals, websites, online programs, and language computer programs, with access to iPads as virtual language lab tools. As students advance in each level of study, they will gain further insight into the Chinese language and culture enabling them to participate more fully in a global community and marketplace.

CHINESE 10 - Chinese

Year. 5 meetings weekly. For students with no previous or limited experience with Chinese. As students embark on their journey in learning Chinese, they will find themselves immersed in the language and its culture. The focus of Chinese 10 is to introduce students to both the Mandarin Chinese language and Chinese culture. It is a highly interactive course designed to help students build a solid foundation in speaking and listening skills while introducing Chinese characters. Students are immediately immersed in the spoken language through the use of short stories, videos and authentic materials. Teachers and students read and also create comprehensible and compelling stories together. Students narrate stories, describe pictures and make Chinese videos. Elements of Chinese culture including Chinese cooking, calligraphy, painting and music, and topics on diversity, equity and inclusion are discussed. During the spring semester, students have opportunities to test their language skills through email exchanges and video conferencing with native Chinese students.

CHINESE 20 - Intermediate Chinese

Year. 5 meetings weekly. Prerequisite: Chinese 10 or its equivalent. This course is a continuation of Chinese 10. It builds on the skills learned in Chinese 10 and continues to use stories and authentic materials to improve students’ ability to narrate, describe and express opinions. Authentic materials are introduced in the form of stories, short news articles, current affairs, movies, and music videos to help students increase their vocabulary and acquire more complex grammatical structures. Topics on the importance of diversity, equity and inclusion and the life of overseas Chinese are discussed. Chinese 20 continues to expose students to elements of Chinese culture such as poetry, proverbs, colloquial expressions, and different cultural artifacts. E-mail exchanges and project collaboration with Chinese schools provide opportunities for students to practice interpersonal communication skills and intercultural exchange.

CHINESE 30 - Advanced Chinese Part I

Year. 5 meetings weekly. Prerequisite: Chinese 20 or its equivalent. A continuation of Chinese 20, Chinese 30 will strengthen students’ ability to communicate in Mandarin and help them transition to an intermediate level of proficiency. This class will be conducted mostly in Mandarin. Students will learn more extensive vocabulary and complex grammatical structures through authentic materials. Students will read Chinese stories, blogs, news and watch movies. The class will continue to expose students to Chinese culture such as Chinese poetry, proverbs, colloquial expressions, cooking, calligraphy, and different cultural artifacts. Students will collaborate with Chinese students in China throughout the year to write about and discuss a variety of topics such as traveling, interviewing for study abroad programs, college application, job hunting, Chinese cuisine, market and architecture, as well as diversity, equity and inclusion.

CHINESE 31 - Advanced Chinese Part I Honors

Year. 5 meetings weekly. Prerequisite: Chinese 20 and Permission of the Department. Intended for students with strong records of accomplishment in listening, speaking, reading, writing and typing in Chinese 20. The course is more rigorous and proceeds at a faster pace. It requests students to comprehend listening and reading materials in time13