AP中文口语考试说明

口试总共分为两个部分：

会话部分说明

简报部分说明

会话部分题目

需要做连续性的一问一答以达到双向沟通

 

简报部分题目

临场准备的单向简报

作者：

美国亚利桑那州现代中文学校校长 安然

The post AP Chinese Speaking Exam – Features and Preparation Suggestions for Heritage Language Candidates appeared first on Mandarin Matrix.

The Legend Behind the Festival

The Dragon Boat Festival has its roots in ancient Chinese history. According to legend, the festival commemorates the death of the famous poet and minister Qu Yuan, who lived during the Warring States period (475–221 BC). Qu Yuan was a loyal and patriotic official who was banished by the Emperor for his opposition to a corrupt government. While in exile, Qu Yuan wrote many beautiful poems that expressed his love for his country and his people.

In 278 BC, Qu Yuan learned that his country had been invaded by a neighbouring state. Overcome with grief and despair, he drowned himself in the Miluo River. The local people who admired Qu Yuan’s patriotism and literary talent rushed to the river to try to save him. They paddled their boats up and down the river, beating drums and splashing the water with their oars to scare away the fish and water dragons that might harm Qu Yuan’s body. They also threw sticky rice dumplings into the river as a sacrifice to the river gods, hoping to prevent Qu Yuan’s body from being eaten by the fish.

Read More: Popular Chinese Festivals – An Exploration of Chinese Culture and Tradition 

Sha Tin Dragon Boat Race

Located all along the Shing Mun River, there is plenty of space to get a spot to watch the races. The area boasts a great cycling track all the way up to Tai Mei Tuk with a few places to rent bikes. After watching the races, cycle up and down the riverside for an action-packed day.

When: 8:00am to 1:00pm

Where: Shing Mun River

How: If you’re going from Central, take Bus 182 from Central Market and get off at City One. Another option is to take the East Rail Line on the MTR up to Fo Tan and walk to the riverside.

Sun Life Stanley International Dragon Boat Championships

A very popular destination for Dragon Boat Racing with locals and tourists heading down to Stanley for a day of sun, sand and sea. Make the most of your time there by watching the competition followed by a delicious meal at one of the seaside restaurants nearby. 

When: 8:00am to 5:00pm

Where: Stanley Main Beach

How: Going from Central to Stanley is the easiest way to get there. Take the 6 / 6A / 6X or 260 from Exchange Square. If you’re going from Tsim Sha Tsui catch the 973 from Mody Road which will take you directly there. Most of these buses stop near the Main Beach, but some will stop at the Stanley Village Bus Terminus. From there it is a 5 minute walk to the beach.

Tai O Dragon Boat Water Parade

As one of the last remaining fishing villages in Hong Kong, the Dragon Boat Water Parade at Tai O is an important religious event that has been celebrated by the village for several generations. Witness the ‘Deities Parade’ as it passes through the numerous stilt houses, sample the fresh seafood from the array of restaurants available and celebrate an intricate part of Hong Kong’s cultural heritage. 

When: 8:00am to 2:00pm 

Where: Tai O Pier (Parade) and Tai O Promenade (Dragon Boat Races)

How: Catch the Mui Wo Ferry from Central Pier 6, then take Bus 1 to Tai O OR Take the MTR to Tung Chung Station, then get on Bus 11 from Tung Chung Town Centre to Tai O

Tai Po Dragon Boat Race

Located at the Tai Po Waterfront Park, the Tai Po Dragon Boat Races offer crowds a scenic spot to cheer on the races. Walk around the park and take in the wonderful nature or head over to the kite-flying area (one of several different facilities at this park) and watch the different colourful kites being flown.

When: 8:30am to 1:00 pm 

Where: Tai Po Waterfront Park

How: There are several buses that can take you up there including 71K, 71S, 73X, 271 and 275R with many different points around the city to hop on or off of. If you fancy a more scenic commute, take the MTR to Tai Po Market (Exit B) followed by a 30-minute walk to the park.

 

The Chinese Dragon Boat Festival is an important cultural event that celebrates Chinese history, culture, and traditions. The festival is a time for people to come together to honour their ancestors, show their patriotism, and enjoy time with their families. Whether you choose to watch dragon boat races, eat Zongzi, or hang calamus and mugwort leaves, the Dragon Boat Festival is a wonderful way to experience Chinese culture and tradition.

 

Name *

First

Last

Email *

Are you a ... *teacher / educator parentChinese learner

School / Company

Country / Region

Submit

The post The Best Places to Watch Dragon Boat Racing in Hong Kong. appeared first on Mandarin Matrix.

The post A New Level of the YCT Stories Series: YCT 4 appeared first on Mandarin Matrix.

1. Mulan 花木兰

Dress up idea # 1: Mulan at home

Difficulty:

You will need:

• A long dress
• A big jacket with long wide sleeves
• A belt
• To tie your hair into a high bun
• To put on make up:
  • Paint your forehead in yellow
  • Draw a tiny red flower in between your eyebrows
  • Draw thick and dark eyebrows
  • Apply blush to your cheeks
  • Put on lipsticks

Dress up idea # 2: Mulan on the way to the war

Difficulty:

You will need:

• Tie up your hair to blend in with the other warriors
• Make an armored suit
  • You can use old paper, cardboard, soft drink cans to make your armor, however, be very careful when you use the scissors!
  • The armored suit has two parts: the head and the body. Cut the materials in small pieces and then glue them together with glue, tape or stapler, according to your body shape.

2. Tang Sanzang 唐三藏

Dress up: Tang Sanzang

Difficulty:

You will need:

• A long yellow gown or cloth
• A red scarf
• A hat – Make the hat by cutting out five pieces of paper of the same shape, and then stick them on a circular paper strip
• A rod – You can borrow mom’s mop rod!

3. Zhu Bajie 猪八戒

Dress up difficulty:

You will need:

• A pair of large pig ears with paper – If you have a headband at home, you can stick the ears to the headband.
• A pig nose made from paper  – Cut out an oval shape from a piece of paper and then draw two circles on it. After you have made the nose, glue it to an elastic string and wear it on your face.
• Pigs are usually chubby, place a cushion or a small pillow under your shirt to make it look like a big belly!

• Dress up difficulty:

You will need:

• Basic clothing – Hou Yi is a person from an ancient period that did not have extravagant fabrics 
• Bow – Fold a paper strip through the middle into an arch, and then tie a string to the two ends.
• Arrow – Use bamboo chopsticks, wooden sticks or straws to make the arrows. Cut some paper triangles to be the arrow head. Cut some small parallelograms, glue three of them to an arrow to be the feathers

Dress up difficulty:

You will need:

• Tie your hair into two buns and wrap red ribbons around them
• Wear a red belly band (you can wrap your body with a red scarf or shawl)
• Make hot wheels with red and orange paper. Cut the paper into fire flame shapes and stick them to the sides of your shoes.

Name *

First

Last

Email *

Are you a ... *teacher / educator parentChinese learner

School / Company

Country / Region

Submit

The post 5 Great Characters from Chinese Literature for World Book Day appeared first on Mandarin Matrix.

Identities

Suggested topics to discuss: health and wellbeing, lifestyle

Human Ingenuity

Suggested topics to discuss: communication and media, innovation and technology

Experiences

Suggested topics to discuss: customs and traditions

Social Organizations

Suggested topics to discuss: social relations, education

Sharing the Planet

Suggested topics to discuss: the environment

Download the Above Note

The above note is simply from a personal opinion and may not be suitable for all schools. However, if you think it’s helpful, you can click the button below to download it (the document is in Chinese): 

Downlaod the note

I hope my tips and notes can help teachers and students. I wish all the educators and learners good luck in the assessments!

Crystal Chan

Ms. Chan is an experienced teacher, she has been teaching in international schools for more than ten years in Hong Kong and Shanghai. She is currently a Chinese teacher at Renaissance College, leading the Chinese curriculum program. She teaches the International Baccalaureate Middle Year Programme (MYP) Chinese course and Diploma Programme (DP) Chinese and Theory of Knowledge (TOK) course.

The post Tips for IB Mandarin Teachers Conducting the Internal Oral Assessment appeared first on Mandarin Matrix.

DLI means to use the target language as the medium of instruction, instead of teaching the language only. Even though acquiring the language is still one of the learning objectives, teachers do not strictly focus on teaching grammar, pronunciation and practising drills. Instead, teachers extensively use Chinese to teach, to conduct activities and to communicate, so that students learn the language unconsciously. Just like how kids learn their first languages. In the US, this kind of instruction method has been categorized as a special teaching program, called the Dual Language Immersion program. This program is well-established, with French, German, Spanish and Portuguese as the first four programs. In around 2006, some school districts have started the Chinese Immersion Program (CIP).

How to use Mandarin Matrix DLI Proficiency Builders in immersion teaching?

The Mandarin Matrix’ DLI Proficiency Builders series  is a complete curriculum that was co-developed with school districts and professional teachers. It is specially designed for Dual Language Immersion programs. The materials is available in print and on the Mandarin Matrix Online Classroom, levels ranging from foundation (0 starter) to intermediate 4 level (Pre-AP). Here are some highlights:

Highlight 1: Making learning interesting through storytelling

The DLI Proficiency Builders come in story format and was designed based on concepts of TPRS. In the lower levels, each unit has 3 stories with the same set of key words repeatedly used in different combination/vocab across the stories. The background of the 3 stories are based on students’ family, school and playtime. Students are able to get a sense of the language naturally through reading about context in different settings.

The pedagogy of teaching through the form of story aligns with the concept of immersion teaching using Chinese as the medium, rather than the teaching purpose. It also allows children to establish the foundation of Language Art Skills from an early age. For example, each of our stories starts with a beginning, it then gradually builds up, with a climax or a problem to solve, eventually a small surprise at the end. By applying the typical concept of “Story Mountain” in our content, we are bringing students from our Foundation level (= 0 beginners) to not only immerse with the language, but also immerse with language arts.

Below is a live demo of a Chinese immersion class in the second grade of elementary school. The teacher used Mandarin Matrix’ DLI Proficiency Builders.

Thanks to Teacher Yang for his wonderful demonstration!

The most important thing is that children should learn the language with fun. A story is worth a thousand words. Watching them enjoying learning and reading is also the joy of a Chinese teachers.

Highlight 2: An Unique Spiral Pedagogy

The DLI Proficiency Builders are designed with the “spiral pedagogy”, which means key words are highly repeated or reused, and are also expanded to wider and higher ranges. In this pedagogy, we follow the “I+1 principle” or “Comprehensible input” in order to make sure that students can fulfill all the requirements before going to the next steps.

Under the design of highly repetitive words, students can gradually improve their Chinese proficiency. Think about this, traditional textbooks introduce more than a dozen new words in each lesson, but how many percentage can students memorise? The Mandarin Matrix DLI  Proficiency Builders focus on very few new words in each unit at the lower levels. Even more, we use three stories to introduce the same keywords in each unit. We really make sure students acquire 100% or even 120% at the novice levels, then we bring students up to higher levels.

At 14’20 in the below video, you can see that once students got their new books, they simply just can’t wait to see if they can read them.

At the intermediate and higher levels, students expand their knowledge really fast because Chinese itself is a language of compound words. Also, our materials have changed from “character-based” to “word-based” learning at these levels. Moreover, the materials are expanding in non-fiction style. In Intermediate 3 and 4 levels, there are multiple authentic short texts in addition to a story. These short texts include different text types such as emails, blog posts, posters, etc., The stories and short texts both focus on the same set of keywords, again, aiming to increase the frequency.

Intermediate 3 and 4 also highly align to the six themes of AP: contemporary life, personal and public identity, family and community, global challenges, science and technology, beauty and aesthetics.

Highlight 3: Teacher reads, We read, Student reads

At Foundation level, each unit has three stories, which are called “Teacher Read”; “We Read” – for everyone to read together in class; “Student Reads” – the last one in the unit that students should be able to read completely by themselves. There are other communication vocabulary in “Teacher Reads” and “We Read” books, but key words students should learn are presented in red fonts.

“Big Books” is also available i this level. They are in larger size, allowing teachers to make different seating arrangements in class and to read to students.

At Intermediate 3 and 4 levels, as mentioned above, we not only have stories but also introduced many different text types. We have also expanded and covered AP themes and SDGs. Great for middle school+ students to conduct higher level discussions and develop more advanced languages.

Highlight 4: Informational teacher’s manual and well-illustrated worksheets

Each and every unit in this Proficiency Builder series includes detailed teacher’s guide, highlighting teaching points, key grammar concepts, oral focus, teaching objectives, effective evaluation suggestions and related readings, which help teachers to formulate each reading lesson’s plan.

Each unit also has worksheets that can be easily printed. Some of these worksheets are created by senior teachers of the American Star Talk Program, and some are created by AP teachers. They can save a lot of time for teachers. Print them immediately for students to practise basic stroke writing, reading comprehension, etc. . In the elementary worksheets, all the exercises are matched with interesting and easy-to-understand pictures, allowing students to practice and strengthen skills while making direct associations with pictures.

Highlight 5: A perfect online + offline solution

The curriculum isn’t only available in printed version, but also on the online learning platform of Mandarin Matrix! As long as a student or teacher subscribe to the platform, s/he can browse purchased books anytime, anywhere within the subscription period. This account can be purchased by school at one go, or by individuals. Both Simplified Chinese and Traditional Chinese are available.

The Mandarin Matrix Online Classroom not only has books on it, but also plenty of online exercises including listening, speaking, reading, and writing. There is no need to stack a pile of books and print out notes anymore! Everything is on the Mandarin Matrix Online Classroom!

Interested in checking out the materials and online platform? Just

Fill out the form and claim a free trial account!

The post Dual Language Immersion Chinese Teaching Materials Recommendation appeared first on Mandarin Matrix.

Sale!

Chinese Festivals Bundle

$88.00 $62.00

Enrich your children’s Chinese culture with our new Chinese Festivals Collection, specially made to introduce Chinese festivals and specific words in simplified Chinese.

Chinese Festivals Bundle quantity

Add to cart

Categories: Printed, Supplementary, Bundles Tags: Bundle, Chinese Festival Bundle, Festivals

• Description
• Additional information
• Reviews (0)

Description

Enrich your children’s Chinese culture with our new Chinese Festivals Collection

Specially made to introduce Chinese festivals and specific words in simplified Chinese, this festival bundle is suitable for intermediate level learners

Includes 11 books + 1 activity book:

• 中国的节日 – China’s Festivals: Teach your kids the different Chinese festivals that are celebrated during the year!
• 庆祝节日 – Celebrating Festivals: Learn what are the customs that people usually do during the celebrations.
• 过春节 – Spring Festival: Read how Chinese New Year is celebrated.
• “年”的传说 – The Legend of Nian: Learn about Nian and what people used to do to keep him away.
• 食在春节 – Chinese New Year Food: Discover with your kids what foods are popular during Chinese New Year. 
• 今年春节我们跳舞 – Chinese New Year Dance: Read how kids prepare for the Chinese New Year Dance.
• 我要做什么？ – Making a Choice: Find out how Duodou participates in the Chinese New Year celebrations.
• 晚会开始了 – The Party Starts: Read how kids celebrate Chinese New Year at school.
• 清明节 – Qing Ming Festival: Learn how this interesting festival started.
• 端午节 – Dragon Boat Festival: Read about Qu’s legend and how the Dragon Boat Festival became popular.
• 过中秋 – Celebrating the Mid-Autumn Festival: Learn what kids usually do during the Mid-Autumn Festival. 
• 1 activity book with several activities to train writing and comprehension skills.

*Delivery fee will be calculated during checkout

Additional information

Weight	1.3 kg

Reviews

There are no reviews yet.

Be the first to review “Chinese Festivals Bundle” Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Your rating * Rate… Perfect Good Average Not that bad Very poor

Your review *

Name *

Email *

Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment.

Related products

• 

  Senior – Ultimate Bundle

  Rated 0 out of 5
  $900.00 Add to cart
• 

  Junior – Premium Starter Bundle

  Rated 0 out of 5
  $500.00 Add to cart
• 

  Junior – Basic Starter Bundle

  Rated 0 out of 5
  $200.00 Add to cart
• 

  Senior – Premium Bundle

  Rated 0 out of 5
  $500.00 Add to cart

The post 10 Ways To Wish Friends a Happy New Year in The Year of The Rabbit appeared first on Mandarin Matrix.

• Focused vocabulary and grammar backward designed from AP, IB, and HSK exams
• Authentic and informational materials using real-world languages in real-world scenarios
• Topics covering AP & IB themes, and many of the 17 SDGs

We are excited to announce that we will be launching an additional  30 new books to this series focusing on beginners’ level. Hence, learners can start reading the real-world materials even from absolute beginners!

Here is the  new book list:

Chinese Connections Foundation New Books

Mandarin Matrix now offers books introducing characters & radicals

The new Chinese Connections books include six books about the Chinese character system, Pinyin system, and Chinese Radicals. These books are designed to help learners build foundations of the language, understand basic characters and radicals, as well as how the language works.

For example, Chinese Connections Foundation B.1 is about Chinese characters in the ancient and modern forms.

Chinese Connections Foundation B.3 is about the Pinyin system, focusing on the tricky ones.

Fun real-world materials for beginners

Who says beginners can’t enjoy fun and authentic materials? Mandarin Matrix new books are tailor designed for beginners, using real-world languages and real-world scenarios. The language is simple enough for beginners to understand, and the scenarios are age appropriate for ages 15 and above. The new books include real-world texts such as shopping list, lunch menu, lost and found poster etc.

Let’s take a look at an example, Chinese Connections Foundation U1.2 is about playing Bingo. Under this topic, we can introduce vocabulary of numbers, as well as the grammar point of 有 or 没有 , and even the usage of 也 and 只.

Another example, Chinese Connections Foundation U4.2 introduces a shopping list. This can be included into a shopping, food, or cooking unit.

From these examples, we can see that the language used is simple, but the topics are fun and authentic. This is the DNA of the Chinese Connections series.

MORE Social Media and Technology Topics

For teenagers and young adults, more than half of their “real-world” life is online! That’s why our Chinese Connections series has included so many books related to social media, technology, and online life. For example, the book of “介绍自己 Self-introduction” is set on social media profiles, because that’s where  learners will introduce themselves most!

Chinese Connections 1 U3.1 介绍自己 Self-introduction is set on social media.

We also have  another book about social media, which is “做头像 Making An Avatar.” We use the topic of creating an online avatar to introduce the vocab of body parts, adjectives to describe someone, as well as  the grammar of double adjectives like “大大的”, “高高的”

Aside from technology, Mandarin Matrix has also been focusing on the pedagogies such as CLIL (Content and Language Integrated Learning) and immersion learning. We are also  focusing on developing content for learners to learn about other concepts and subjects in Chinese. For example, the new book in the Foundation level “U5.2 吃肉？吃素？Meat-eater? Vegetarian? ”. It  not only introduces the language, but also integrates the concept of the food chain with language learning. It can be used for fun reading, or it can be used as cross-subject extended reading material.

To check out our new books and the online classroom, don’t hesitate to simply sign up  using the form here for TWO WEEK FREE TRIAL or below: 

The post 30 New Books Launched in the Chinese Connections series! appeared first on Mandarin Matrix.

With its 8th edition of the International Conference on Immersion and Dual Language Education being held March 2-5, 2022 in Salt Lake City Utah we sit down with Robert (Bob) Davis, CEO Mandarin Matrix to talk about learning a world language, improving proficiency and the resources available to schools.

Tell us about yourself and Mandarin Matrix?

Ninmen hao! My name is Robert Davis and I am the Global CEO of Mandarin Matrix.

Mandarin Matrix is a customizable, online learning platform designed to support learners of Mandarin as a world language from kindergarten through to middle school. The Mandarin Matrix Online Classroom and supporting print materials offer a complete learning solution with an integrated range of learning tools designed to be user-friendly and easily accessible. Students follow individual learning journeys toward developing a rich knowledge of the language and improving proficiency in reading, writing, speaking and listening. Through the Mandarin Matrix Online Classroom, students can access thousands of books, games, activities and assessments safely and quickly, anytime and anywhere.

What kind of resources does Mandarin Matrix provide and how does it improve proficiency?

We find that Teachers have a limited amount of time to improve Chinese literacy while also teaching content.  Our DLI Proficiency Builders feature everyday tales, reflecting real-life settings of school, family and community, providing core curriculum and teaching resources such as writing worksheets and guides. Our content focuses on contemporary topics which are relevant and engaging to learners. Our curriculum and content is designed by master in service teachers and can be mapped to any K12 curriculum and localized for cultural sensitivity and navigation.

The 2022 conference theme “Embracing Languages and Cultures for A Better World” represents its mission and key tenets: diversity of languages, collaboration and inclusivity, and equity.  How does that theme apply to you?

I love this theme and feel it is very timely. So often we think of a language in the context of one place from where it originates from. But the reality is much more nuanced than that, and what we are teaching are world languages. Language learners should be able to use languages in a variety of environments and communities, not just on a trip abroad. And as a second language learner myself, I know how powerful language is in bridging gaps, building new communities and connecting beyond my own heritage.

What kind of resources will Mandarin Matrix be showcasing at the event?

We have been working very hard over the last year or so to collect teacher and student input, and to modify and improve our products so they are optimal for use. We will be focusing on our digital platform and showing guests our 2.0 content which includes new Math and Science DLI materials as well as an entirely new Middle-Early College product called Chinese Connections. We cannot wait for everyone to check them out! And of course, we are always happy to provide free trials to teachers who want to dig in a little deeper and explore our materials with their students.

To learn more about Mandarin Matrix’s language immersion program and avail a two-week free trial please contact sales@mandarinmatrix.com.

The post Q&A with Bob Davis CEO, Mandarin Matrix on Immersion and Dual Language Education appeared first on Mandarin Matrix.

The post Chinese Connections Readers appeared first on Mandarin Matrix.