Grade 6: Communicating

PRESCRIBED LEARNING OUTCOMES

• identify and exchange information about preferences and interests
• make and respond to simple requests
• respond to and give basic instructions
• use appropriate forms of formal and informal address
• participate in day-to-day routines

To view the prescribed learning outcomes for Communicating in other grades click on an icon below.

SUGGESTED INSTRUCTIONAL STRATEGIES

• Teach a game of "What Would You Like?" using pictures or real objects (e.g., plastic fruit, empty drink boxes). Display the names of the objects in Pinyin and Chinese characters. Students use simple question patterns such as Nvõ yao shenme? and Nvõ xvõhuan shenme? and respond with Wvo yao ____________ and Wvo xvõhuan ____________ where appropriate.
• Play the game "I'd Rather Not." Teach a few polite phrases for saying "no" (e.g., Wvo bœ tai xvõhuan ____________ ). Using cards with pictures, Pinyin, or Chinese characters representing items in a particular category, have students in pairs take turns asking one another's preferences and giving polite refusals.
• Establish with the class daily routines in Chinese and print some of them on a poster or chart along with visual cues to aid students' comprehension. Ask students in pairs to take turns playing the role of teacher, with one partner giving instructions while the other responds.
• At the beginning and end of class, play games similar to "Simon Says," in which students practise giving requests for classmates to follow. (Students at this age usually enjoy playing the role of teacher.)
• Invite students to practise common question patterns for given situations (e.g., shopping, talking to a friend at home or at school) by engaging in simple dialogues. When time permits, situations could be presented on cards for students to draw out of a box.

SUGGESTED ASSESSMENT STRATEGIES

• As students talk about their preferences and interests, play games, and participate in classroom routines, note and provide feedback on the extent to which they are able to:
  • make themselves understood by using Chinese words and phrases appropriately with accurate tones
  • ask questions
  • respond to simple, familiar questions
  • show increasing comfort and confidence
  • perform introductions and offer simple greetings
  • use patterns modelled by the teacher
  • use an increasing variety of words and expressions
• Assign partners when students play the game "What Would You Like?" After students have had several opportunities to display their preferences, ask each partner to report on two preferences or dislikes the other communicated in the game. Look for evidence that they are able to:
  • make themselves understood (e.g., use correct tones)
  • use familiar language and patterns
  • speak confidently
  • take risks trying new vocabulary
• When students are learning polite ways to say "no" or "I'd rather not," look for evidence that they:
  • use the phrases in appropriate contexts
  • distinguish between words and phrases of agreement and refusal
  • use appropriate gestures to support meaning
  • look for opportunities to voluntarily practise and use the phrases they have learned

• Chinese Sentence Book
• Concise English-Chinese/Chinese-English Dictionary (Oxford)
• Let's Play Games In Chinese
• Long is a Dragon

• The Dragon's Tongue Series
• Speak Mandarin in Five Hundred Words

• Chinese Mandarin Resource Book - Volumes 1, 2, and 3
• Zhongguotong

• The Rosetta Stone Language Library - Chinese Mandarin I

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