Grade 11: Acquiring Information

PRESCRIBED LEARNING OUTCOMES

• research and use relevant information from age-appropriate Chinese-language resources to complete authentic tasks
• convey acquired information in a variety of formats

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

SUGGESTED INSTRUCTIONAL STRATEGIES

• Ask students to study a Chinese phone directory, in print or on a CD-ROM, and complete one or more of the following tasks:
  • explain how listings are ordered
  • list major headings
  • compare listings to those found in an English phone directory
• Take students on a guided tour, narrated in Chinese, of the University of British Columbia Asian Library to learn how a Chinese library is organized. Introduce them to a wide variety of resources at the library, including vertical files, CD-ROMs, and magazine indices. While at the library, students should try to access material on a research topic.
• Explain the parts of a textbook in Chinese. Have students examine textbooks to identify the different sections and list the headings.
• Ask students to study the different components of Chinese dictionaries (with simplified or traditional characters) and learn how to look up Chinese characters using radicals and strokes.
• Show a Chinese video on endangered species and distribute viewing grids for students to fill out. Ask students to discuss results in groups, then have each group prepare a report on one species, including a poster to raise awareness in the school. Have students access needed information and references through the Internet.
• Encourage students to research careers they are interested in pursuing. They could prepare outlines of specific careers that might involve using Chinese.
• Ask students to compare the language conventions of Chinese and English by examining a selection of formal letters (e.g., cover letters for resumes).

SUGGESTED ASSESSMENT STRATEGIES

• Have students work in pairs to develop challenges that test their classmates' abilities to use various Chinese resources (e.g., phone directories, textbooks, or menus). Look for evidence that they are able to:
  • devise appropriate questions or tasks
  • locate information to respond to challenges
  • recognize patterns in text features and organization
  • deal with ambiguity, persisting in looking for answers in spite of what they do not understand
  • make inferences based on familiar words and patterns
• Check on students' abilities to use Chinese dictionaries to solve communication problems. Introduce new vocabulary, then ask students to use dictionaries to determine:
  • accurate pronunciation
  • radicals
  • number of strokes
  • Pinyin
  • meaning
  • sample phrases or sentences
  • exceptional cases (nanzi bivao)
• When students present research information, look for evidence that it is:
  • based on accurate information from appropriate sources
  • clear and easy to understand
  • organized logically and uses appropriate transitions
  • thorough and detailed
  Each member of the audience could ask a specified number of questions during the presentations. Note the extent to which:
  • presenters are able to understand and respond to the questions
  • listeners demonstrate comprehension by asking appropriate questions about information not already presented

• Chinese Unmasked - Volumes 1 & 2
• Concise English-Chinese/Chinese-English Dictionary (Oxford)

• Childhood of Wang Mian
• The Dragon's Tongue Series
• Tadpole and the Whale

• Chinese Mandarin Resource Book - Volumes 1, 2, and 3
• Hanyu (Revised Edition)
• Zhongguotong

• Chinese and Characters

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