Mandarin

New exciting language!!

zĭ yuē  xué ér bù sī   zé wăng sī ér bù xué zé dài
子 曰，"学 而 不 思， 则 罔；思而不学，则殆。"

Confucius says, "To learn without thinking, one will be lost in learning. To think without learning, one will be imperilled".

Mandarin, as the most widely spoken language in the world, is proudly offered at GCSE and A level at Brighton College. 

When coming to Brighton College in year 9, every pupil is taught Mandarin. In this first year, each pupil receives 2 lessons of Mandarin per week, and the aim is to enthuse them about the fastest developing country and its culture.  Mandarin is then an option to Yr 10 and 11, a set of non-native speakers have embarked upon the GCSE course in 2008 following the Edexcel examination with 4 lessons per week.

At A level we continue following the Edecxel course. Both AS and A2 assessments draw on the following general topic areas:

• v Food, diet and health
• v Transport, travel and tourism
• v Education and employment
• v Leisure, youth interests and Chinese Festivals

With an additional topic: Environment (energy, pollution and environmental campaigns) and prescribed research areas relating to essay writing at A2 level.

Confucius classroom

Teaching Mandarin at Brighton College. Click to watch video. February 2009

Brighton College's Mandarin teaching facilities include our Confucius Classroom and state-of-the-art language lab, funded by Hanban, the office of the Chinese Language Council in Beijing, and opened by the Rt Hon Ed Balls, Secretary of State for Children, Families and Schools on 7th March 2008.

The work of the Confucius classroom is to introduce and strengthen the teaching of Mandarin in the South East region. The intention is to create a community which works together in implementing the teaching of Chinese in Sussex and South East Schools.

The Fourth Form took part in a Mandarin Afternoon to congratulate them on completing their first year of studying Chinese.  Through a series of workshops, they explored the art of Calligraphy, learned about Table Etiquette in China, and even tried their hand at making paper Dragons! The afternoon finished with each pupil being presented with a certificate to commemorate what is a considerable achievement.  Not many fourteen year-olds can boast an ability to speak Mandarin, and it is a skill which will serve them very well in the future.  Gong xi!

Beyond the classroom

Alongside the friendly, interactive and fun lessons, the department offers a wide range of opportunities for pupils throughout the school.

Beijing trip was the first to China and took place in Oct 2008. A group of pupils and staff visited our link school, the High School attached to Tsinghua University, one of the best schools in Beijing. It was considered an amazing experience and a great success by all involved. The pupils got the chance to experience many things including carving Chinese seals,  climbing the Great Wall, visiting the Forbidden City, seeing the Birds Nest Stadium and the Water Cube, tasting the yummy famous crispy Beijing duck and many others........ It will be a regular exchange between the two schools in the future.  

Chinese culture club run by Mr Huang taking place on Monday at 4pm and it includes calligraphy, film watching, kite flying, food tasting as well as many other fun activities.

Tai Ji club meets on Thursday at 4pm following Mr Wang to experience peace of mind through the relaxing movements of Tai Ji.

Mandarin day hundreds of prep and primary age school children are introduced to Mandarin language, characters, calligraphy and culture through regular ‘Taster Days' at Brighton College.

Festival celebrations are organised within the school community to provide pupils opportunities to understand and get a taste for Chinese customs and culture.

Oriental society will give sixth formers opportunities to take responsibility for their own learning. Pupils who are selected to join the committee will have the freedom to invite guest speakers and to run activities under the supervision of the department.

In addition to this, we also enter pupils to various competitions and activities available externally to help to learn the language through fun challenges.

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