Michelle and Holly
Many thanks for these very encouraging emails re AS and A level and
congratulations on such good results.
Some of these students will I think want to carry on with their Chinese at
University -what is your experience with these students ?
Do they apply for Chinese at University and are there courses that can cater
to the needs of these students ?
Anne
----- Original Message -----
From: "MTATE" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Tuesday, September 23, 2008 9:25 PM
Subject: Re: help re post GCSE
> Hi Anne (and anyone else interested!)
>
> I had three non-native students who took AS level Chinese last year
> (results A,B,C) after studying, like yours, for 6 years. This summer
> they took A2 - yes, very brave and I didn't know how they would do, but
> knew that they were a high calibre group! Results A, A, B!! It isn't
> impossible for them to get these high grades if they are highly
> motivated and have a great deal of support from us teachers.
>
> I used the newly published Hodder 'Edexcel Chinese for AS' book as
> part of the course, while it was still in the writing! The students
> really appreciated the depth of the topics covered in the book and were
> pretty good at honing the vocabulary to those words they thought most
> applicable to actually go away and learn. There are too many new words
> for them to be asked to learn, so I just helped them focus on high
> frequency words and very topic specific ones.
>
> For the A2 preparation, I gave the students the topics set each year
> for the Research Based Essay right at the beginning of the year and
> asked them to go away and have a look at those they thought they might
> be interested in studying in depth. They then studied these
> independently, mainly in English. After coming up with a draft essay
> in English, I asked them to start translating it into Chinese. Of
> course, I and some native Chinese teachers helped them a lot, as the
> themes were pretty technical. After drafting them in Chinese, we then
> simplified the essays together, so that the students understood and
> could remember exactly what they were writing. They then went away and
> learnt the essays.
>
> At the Edexcel guidance and feedback session on A level Chinese last
> autumn, the chief examiner Man Ling said that this method was totally
> acceptable, and that one of the main aims of the research based essay
> was for students to study an aspect of China in depth and become a
> little expert on it.
>
> If you are worried that A2 might be too difficult, then definately
> encourage your students to take AS level over two years. My students
> had 8 hours of Chinese a fortnight throughout the sixth form, as a
> guide!
>
> Hope this helps to encourage you and other teachers out there who may
> be worried about entering their non-Chinese students for exams at this
> level.
>
> Michelle
>
> ----Original Message----
> From: [log in to unmask]
> Date: Sep 23, 2008 21:05
> To:
> Subj: help re post GCSE
>
>
>
>
>
> I have a group of 11 students taking GCSE next year
> and am looking at how to continue with them in the Sixth Form. They
> will have had five years on timetable classes and are pretty good and
> well
> motivated so I expect some good grades. Most of them have also been on
> a home
> stay exchange with a student in Beijing.
> The lessons in the Sixth Form will probably have to
> be off timetable as my school are nervous about putting Chinese on
> curriculum as
> an AS or A level subject. The students want to study for a
> qualification and I am considering trying to get
> them through AS level in two years. Now there is the recently
> published good
> book with lots of resources this seems like it could be possible
> with motivated students and enough lessons. I think that A level may
> just
> be too unattainable.
>
> I would like to ask the forum
> - what experience do others have
> of teaching non native speakers to AS level and what results have
> they
> got -on or off timetable ?
> - some of my students want to study Chinese at
> University - how do the University Chinese depts cope with a student
> like
> this that has 7 years of school Chinese to AS level ?
> Anne Martin
> Trinity School
>
>
>
> ..............................................................................................................................
> Michelle Tate
> Head of Oriental Languages
> Katharine Lady Berkeley's School
> Wotton-under-Edge
> Glos. GL12 8RB
>
> Tel: 01453-842227
> Email: [log in to unmask]
> ..
>
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