Mandarin

“Sagacity and eager, never be afraid to ask.” – Confucian Analects

China, with its Chinese civilisation as its source and Chinese culture as its foundation, is one of the countries with the longest history in the world. China is a multi-ethnic country with the Han Chinese as the main ethnic group, and the Chinese language and characters are commonly used. Since the founding of the People’s Republic of China, China has become one of the world’s most promising economic powers through planned and large-scale construction. The students are able to gain a deeper understanding of China through their Chinese language studies. Also, under the leadership of the Mandarin Excellence Project, students will have the opportunity to have a valuable trip to China. As students graduate from Magnus, there are more opportunities to explore the outside world.

In Key Stage 3, pupils are taught how to recognise Pinyin and strokes. The most important tones in Chinese are also highlighted. Students will be introduced to numbers as a first step and then learn to say their age. After the ages, they will learn basic greetings and then be able to introduce their family members.

In addition, they will then be taught more about Chinese food culture, subjects and so on. Students learning Mandarin have the opportunity to go on visits outside-of-school and experience Chinese culture once a year. In Key Stage 3, students’ listening and speaking skills will be emphasised, especially with regard to tones.

Students will be able to translate some basic Chinese sentences and read them correctly.