Mandarin

The A-level course

The significance of China and Chinese-speaking peoples in today's world is arguably greater than ever before. The study of Mandarin is, therefore, an excellent complement for pupils who can see themselves one day working in a global context, as the language can be of great benefit in such areas as business, politics, finance and the law.

The decision to take Mandarin at A Level should, however, be equally rooted in a love of languages and a desire to better understand China's vibrant culture and people. While the course is challenging, suitably committed pupils who have gained an A* at GCSE will be well placed to take on the rigours of the A Level.

Lower 6^th (Year 12)

We follow the Edexcel course, which is assessed through three units, two at AS and one at A2. The AS covers the following general topic areas: food, diet and health; transport, travel and tourism; education and employment; and leisure, youth interests and Chinese Festivals.

• Unit 1: Pupils speak in Chinese for 5-6 minutes in response to a short English-language stimulus. They refer to a series of questions received shortly before the examination.
• Unit 2: This unit requires candidates to demonstrate their listening skills; respond to a range of written task types; and to write 180-200 characters of continuous Chinese in the form of a letter, report or article.

Upper 6^th (Year 13)

The A2 topic areas are the same as those for AS, with the addition of the environment.

• Unit 3: Pupils are assessed in a variety of ways in this unit. Following reading comprehension questions, they are required to translate a short text from English into Chinese. They then write an essay in Chinese (250-500 characters) on a topic that links to the reading questions earlier. The final task is to write another essay, this time about an area of interest pupils will have researched in advance. It is in preparing for this last section that pupils have the opportunity to explore a feature of Chinese culture or society in greater depth.

The Mandarin Department invites all pupils to seize a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to visit Beijing and its environs through participating in one of our China trips. Pupils are also encouraged to take part in Mandarin competitions.