Years 7 to 8
Languages
ASLANCHISL7_10Y78
Years 7 to 8 Chinese Achievement Standard
11 statements aligned to content descriptors and elaborations
Achievement standard (as ACARA publishes it)
Achievement standard
Click any sentence to jump to its statement and linked content descriptors.
By the end of Year 8, students use Chinese language to interact and collaborate with others, and to share information and plan activities in familiar contexts. They respond to others’ contributions, and recognise familiar gestures, questions and instructions in exchanges. They recognise relationships between spoken and written forms. They locate and respond to information in texts and use non-verbal, visual and contextual cues to help make meaning. They respond in Chinese or English, and demonstrate understanding of context, purpose and audience in texts. They use familiar language, and modelled sentence and grammatical structures to create texts, and demonstrate understanding of how some language reflects cultural practices. They use some familiar characters and Pinyin to support learning.
Students approximate Chinese sound patterns, tones, intonation and rhythms, and recognise the function of tone-syllables and Pinyin. They demonstrate understanding that Chinese has rules for characters, grammar, non-verbal, spoken and written communication. They comment on aspects of Chinese and English language structures and features, using metalanguage. They demonstrate awareness that the Chinese language is connected with culture and identity, and how this is reflected in their own language(s), culture(s) and identity.
Second language learners · Years 7 to 10 sequence
The 11 achievement standard statements
Open a statement to see the content descriptors ACARA links to it, then open a descriptor's elaborations.
By the end of Year 8, students use Chinese language to interact and collaborate with others, and to share information and plan activities in familiar contexts.
Content descriptorAC9LC8EC01 Communicating meaning in Chinese
interact with others using modelled language to exchange information in familiar contexts about self and personal world
Elaborations (3)
- Elaboration conducting a self-introduction with a peer, for example, 大家好, 我叫 Tim。我今年十二岁。我上七年级。我家有四口人。
- Elaboration expressing and justifying preferences when talking about a topic of interest (hobbies, pets, etc.), for example, 我喜欢小狗, 小狗很可爱 and stating reasons, for example, 我不太喜欢..., 我觉得…因为
- Elaboration making sure that other participants are included in an interaction, for example, 我去过法国, 你呢？
They respond to others’ contributions, and recognise familiar gestures, questions and instructions in exchanges.
Content descriptorAC9LC8EC02 Communicating meaning in Chinese
develop Chinese language to interact in classroom exchanges, routines, tasks and responsibilities
Elaborations (6)
- Elaboration asking questions, for example, using modelled language, interacting with a real or imagined new student, 你好！我叫...。你叫什么名字？我是澳大利亚人, 你呢？
- Elaboration engaging in class discussion by responding to questions such as 你喜欢运动吗？, and using modelled language to express agreement and disagreement with others’ opinions, for example, 对, 我也很喜欢运动
- Elaboration responding to correspondence (emails, text messages, postcards, etc.) by answering questions, and clarifying meaning, for example, 你说你想来澳大利亚, 是吗？and seeking further information, for example, 你想一月份来吗？
- Elaboration using Chinese to interact in classroom routines and responding to instructions, for example, 请举手, 把手放下 and playing games where students take turns role-playing 'the teacher’, giving each other instructions with actions such as 请安静, 起立, 请坐, 写, 听, 看, 请看白板, 请给我...
- Elaboration apologising and requesting or asking permission from peers and the teacher, for example, 我可以上厕所吗？; 谢谢。不客气。; 对不起。没关系。
- Elaboration exchanging greetings with peers and others, choosing suitable greetings to match age or position, for example, 您好, 老师好 or time of day, 你早, 晚安, and using appropriate tone and intonation
Content descriptorAC9LC8EC03 Communicating meaning in Chinese
engage in modelled non-verbal, spoken and written exchanges with peers to organise activities relating to daily life and school environment
Elaborations (4)
- Elaboration using online collaborative learning tools to create a rap about greetings and performing it in groups, for example, 你好吗? 我很好。你呢? 我也很好。大家好。, and using Pinyin to support the reading of characters, if required
- Elaboration working with peers to produce a bilingual publicity flier for an upcoming event, for example, 汉语角, to promote Chinese learning among school community members or 垃圾回收 to introduce a new or improved recycling program at school
- Elaboration planning a class sports day, discussing who prefers which sport and creating a program accordingly
- Elaboration determining an agreed social activity with peers, for example, going out on the weekend or a weeknight
They recognise relationships between spoken and written forms.
Content descriptorAC9LC8EC03 Communicating meaning in Chinese
engage in modelled non-verbal, spoken and written exchanges with peers to organise activities relating to daily life and school environment
Elaborations (4)
- Elaboration using online collaborative learning tools to create a rap about greetings and performing it in groups, for example, 你好吗? 我很好。你呢? 我也很好。大家好。, and using Pinyin to support the reading of characters, if required
- Elaboration working with peers to produce a bilingual publicity flier for an upcoming event, for example, 汉语角, to promote Chinese learning among school community members or 垃圾回收 to introduce a new or improved recycling program at school
- Elaboration planning a class sports day, discussing who prefers which sport and creating a program accordingly
- Elaboration determining an agreed social activity with peers, for example, going out on the weekend or a weeknight
Content descriptorAC9LC8EC04 Communicating meaning in Chinese
locate and process information and ideas in familiar spoken, written and multimodal texts, responding in ways appropriate to cultural context, purpose and audience
Elaborations (9)
- Elaboration reading online blogs and posting comments using supporting images in their own writing, for example, using emoticons such as >_<III to enhance meaning in digital communication
- Elaboration representing gathered information by restating key phrases and explaining reasons for actions and feelings, for example, 她很高兴，因为
- Elaboration summarising the findings of a class survey for an in-person presentation, or in digital or visual format, such as a poster or wall chart, for example, interviewing people about their experiences 他每天走路上学, and presenting this information to the class, quoting the source of information 老师说…
- Elaboration listening to, reading or viewing First Nations Australian authors’ stories and responding to them in spoken or written Chinese
- Elaboration obtaining the gist or specific information in spoken texts by focusing on familiar, predictable items in a flow of words, as well as features of voice, gesture and word choice, for example, recognising the emotion and degree of enthusiasm or dislike expressed such as 我一点儿也不喜欢… compared with 我不喜欢…
- Elaboration researching a famous Chinese-speaking person or historical event and presenting the information in a profile or timeline
- Elaboration reading familiar text types (shopping brochures, etc.) and understanding particular phrases such as 八折, and working out the final price with the support of online dictionaries and word lists
- Elaboration viewing audiovisual texts, such as a Chinese-language cooking program, and answering questions from classmates about some famous Chinese or Taiwanese dishes, for example, 古老肉, 狮子头, 柠檬鸡片, 小笼包, 盐酥鸡
- Elaboration locating and identifying key information in written texts (advertisements, catalogues, menus, packaging, etc.) to locate key points of information in relation to elements such as product, number, price, target audience, and suitability to recycle, for example, 回收纸, 回收塑料
They locate and respond to information in texts and use non-verbal, visual and contextual cues to help make meaning.
Content descriptorAC9LC8EC04 Communicating meaning in Chinese
locate and process information and ideas in familiar spoken, written and multimodal texts, responding in ways appropriate to cultural context, purpose and audience
Elaborations (9)
- Elaboration reading online blogs and posting comments using supporting images in their own writing, for example, using emoticons such as >_<III to enhance meaning in digital communication
- Elaboration representing gathered information by restating key phrases and explaining reasons for actions and feelings, for example, 她很高兴，因为
- Elaboration summarising the findings of a class survey for an in-person presentation, or in digital or visual format, such as a poster or wall chart, for example, interviewing people about their experiences 他每天走路上学, and presenting this information to the class, quoting the source of information 老师说…
- Elaboration listening to, reading or viewing First Nations Australian authors’ stories and responding to them in spoken or written Chinese
- Elaboration obtaining the gist or specific information in spoken texts by focusing on familiar, predictable items in a flow of words, as well as features of voice, gesture and word choice, for example, recognising the emotion and degree of enthusiasm or dislike expressed such as 我一点儿也不喜欢… compared with 我不喜欢…
- Elaboration researching a famous Chinese-speaking person or historical event and presenting the information in a profile or timeline
- Elaboration reading familiar text types (shopping brochures, etc.) and understanding particular phrases such as 八折, and working out the final price with the support of online dictionaries and word lists
- Elaboration viewing audiovisual texts, such as a Chinese-language cooking program, and answering questions from classmates about some famous Chinese or Taiwanese dishes, for example, 古老肉, 狮子头, 柠檬鸡片, 小笼包, 盐酥鸡
- Elaboration locating and identifying key information in written texts (advertisements, catalogues, menus, packaging, etc.) to locate key points of information in relation to elements such as product, number, price, target audience, and suitability to recycle, for example, 回收纸, 回收塑料
They respond in Chinese or English, and demonstrate understanding of context, purpose and audience in texts.
Content descriptorAC9LC8EC05 Communicating meaning in Chinese
develop and begin to apply strategies to interpret, translate and convey meaning in Chinese in familiar contexts
Elaborations (7)
- Elaboration using key words such as 是 and 的 to help translate English texts into Chinese
- Elaboration comparing public information texts in Chinese, such as signs in shops, forecasts and announcements, to English equivalents and explaining their possible meaning and purpose, for example, the sign 休息中 on an unlit shop window to mean ‘closed’ instead of its literal meaning, ‘resting’, and identifying and translating specific information and key words, for example, 点, 度, 米, 公里, 元/块
- Elaboration interpreting key ideas from Chinese to English with explanation of the contexts and the use of fixed phrases, for example, discussing what Chinese-speaking parents might say to their child when dropping them off at school, such as the Chinese version of “Have a good day” 听老师的话, 不要调皮; determining the English version of 加油; considering why people say 加油 at a sports event
- Elaboration explaining key cultural concepts and practices to English speakers through translation, for example, “Do we translate 春节 as ‘Spring Festival’ or ‘Chinese New Year' ?”, “Why is 端午节 called ‘dragon boat festival’ in English?” “Does this translation capture the essence of this celebration?”, “What is lost in translation?”, “What are similar examples in English?”
- Elaboration using etiquette phrases within appropriate contexts and discussing whether the meaning of 对不起 is the same across contexts, for example, comparing meaning in 对不起, 让一让 with 对不起, 我错了
- Elaboration identifying Chinese symbols in print and digital texts such as the longevity symbol, and developing ways to include the culturally attached value when expressing the meaning of these symbols in English
- Elaboration preparing bilingual presentations of data collected from various sources, including texts in English about familiar people, places and events, for example, 澳大利亚的总理, 澳洲旅游景点, 我是澳大利亚人, and reflecting on the translation process
They use familiar language, and modelled sentence and grammatical structures to create texts, and demonstrate understanding of how some language reflects cultural practices.
Content descriptorAC9LC8EC06 Communicating meaning in Chinese
create spoken, written and multimodal informative and imaginative texts, for familiar contexts and purposes using appropriate vocabulary, expressions, sentence structures and some textual conventions, and familiar characters and/or Pinyin
Elaborations (7)
- Elaboration producing short performances, for example, using both characters and Pinyin for support, writing and performing a skit about celebrating festivals or making a video about food 这个东西太好吃了！是什么？
- Elaboration writing a short dialogue about an emotion and performing it in groups, for example, 汉堡包太好吃了！
- Elaboration using multimodal texts such as stories and vlogs, creating alternative versions of stories or action songs, incorporating voice, rhythm and gestures to animate characters, or using support materials such as drawings or story maps to create visual contexts, for example, changing the animals in 两只老虎 to 三只老鼠
- Elaboration creating a print or digital poster in Chinese to promote travel to a significant cultural location on a First Nations Country/Place, including what to see and do
- Elaboration creating a menu for a class restaurant using images and characters and using it to take part in an imagined restaurant experience
- Elaboration composing a self-introduction speech for a “Who are we?” video compilation of all members of the class
- Elaboration writing a short picture book story with speech bubbles or basic text to read to other students
They use some familiar characters and Pinyin to support learning.
Content descriptorAC9LC8EC06 Communicating meaning in Chinese
create spoken, written and multimodal informative and imaginative texts, for familiar contexts and purposes using appropriate vocabulary, expressions, sentence structures and some textual conventions, and familiar characters and/or Pinyin
Elaborations (7)
- Elaboration producing short performances, for example, using both characters and Pinyin for support, writing and performing a skit about celebrating festivals or making a video about food 这个东西太好吃了！是什么？
- Elaboration writing a short dialogue about an emotion and performing it in groups, for example, 汉堡包太好吃了！
- Elaboration using multimodal texts such as stories and vlogs, creating alternative versions of stories or action songs, incorporating voice, rhythm and gestures to animate characters, or using support materials such as drawings or story maps to create visual contexts, for example, changing the animals in 两只老虎 to 三只老鼠
- Elaboration creating a print or digital poster in Chinese to promote travel to a significant cultural location on a First Nations Country/Place, including what to see and do
- Elaboration creating a menu for a class restaurant using images and characters and using it to take part in an imagined restaurant experience
- Elaboration composing a self-introduction speech for a “Who are we?” video compilation of all members of the class
- Elaboration writing a short picture book story with speech bubbles or basic text to read to other students
Students approximate Chinese sound patterns, tones, intonation and rhythms, and recognise the function of tone-syllables and Pinyin.
Content descriptorAC9LC8EU01 Understanding language and culture
recognise and use tone-syllable pronunciation and intonation patterns to form words and phrases, and Pinyin to support learning pronunciation
Elaborations (5)
- Elaboration exploring key features of Chinese phonology, examining the range of sounds and recognising how spoken syllables and tones are represented in Pinyin by spelling words in Pinyin, or reading aloud words and sentences in Pinyin with attention to pronunciation, tone and phrasing
- Elaboration differentiating between sounds and tones when listening to or producing spoken Chinese, for example, distinguishing between 我买 and 我卖东西, or 床 and 穿
- Elaboration recognising and discriminating between homonyms in Chinese, for example, 是 and 室, relying on contexts to assist understanding, and differentiating syllables with different tones, for example, 是 and 十
- Elaboration performing Chinese songs and experimenting with rhythm, voice, emotion and gesture, to convey the intended sentiment, and exploring the meaning and message
- Elaboration listening to Chinese words showing the tones on a computer, recording the same words with the same tonal sounds, and playing back the recording to check pronunciation
They demonstrate understanding that Chinese has rules for characters, grammar, non-verbal, spoken and written communication.
Content descriptorAC9LC8EU02 Understanding language and culture
develop knowledge of, and use sentence structures, characters and writing system features, to understand and create spoken, written and multimodal texts
Elaborations (10)
- Elaboration applying knowledge of characters to learn to read and write new characters, and developing strategies for learning, for example, making connections between characters with a common component 你, 他, 们
- Elaboration learning the origins and features of components encountered in characters, and analysing the formation of characters, including recognising the frequency and positioning of common components such as 人, 女, 日, 月 and their function or relationship to a compound character such as 亻in 他, 认, 从
- Elaboration identifying contextual meanings of key characters in diverse contexts, for example, 今天 versus 天空; 星期日 versus 日本; 你好 versus 好玩
- Elaboration identifying the placement of time and place phrases; the use of conjunctions 和 to add information; 还是 and 或者 to offer or indicate choices, and the role of measure words such as 个, 只
- Elaboration recognising markers of time such as 第二天 in a sequence of events to monitor information flow and assist reading for overall meaning
- Elaboration analysing the variety of verb types found in Chinese, for example, adjectival verbs 高, 大 and modal verbs 会, 可以 and the placement and use of adverbs such as 都 to indicate inclusion; 就 to indicate sequence
- Elaboration identifying the relationships between the meaning of individual characters in words and exploring how these frequently used characters apply in a wider range of word contexts
- Elaboration learning the number, nature and sequence of strokes; exploring the range of stroke types used in characters; learning to write with a focus on stroke direction and order, and on balance and proportion within the square
- Elaboration exploring features and conventions of Chinese texts, including lack of word spacing or use of punctuation, comparing texts in traditional characters with texts in simplified characters such as 門, 门 and variability in text direction in Chinese and other scripts such as Arabic, Japanese and Hindi
- Elaboration explaining the use of common suffixes 子, 里, 面 and key morphemes 电, 家, 物, 机
They comment on aspects of Chinese and English language structures and features, using metalanguage.
Content descriptorAC9LC8EU03 Understanding language and culture
compare Chinese language structures and features with English, using familiar metalanguage
Elaborations (6)
- Elaboration explaining the concept of ‘tense’ across languages, for example, asking, “What tense is used in English to share ideas about a future activity?”, “Can you exemplify how the future tense is expressed in English and in Chinese?” 我明天去北京, 下个星期去上海
- Elaboration applying processes of discourse development by joining, contrasting and sequencing using 也, 和, 但是, 就, and exploring the use of cohesive devices and ways of extending, sequencing and elaborating ideas, for example, through the use of connectives, conjunctions and subject pronouns and comparing these with English cohesive devices
- Elaboration describing the major features of familiar text types in Chinese (narratives, etc.) and experimenting with analysing Chinese texts, for example, recognising the ‘problem’ and the ‘resolution’ in a narrative
- Elaboration comparing textual features and language used in different types of written communication within and across languages, for example, comparing the formatting of a letter and an email in English and then in Chinese and identifying the differences for each text type in each language
- Elaboration experimenting with features of text presentation in Chinese, for example, text direction, word spacing, punctuation, and overall paragraph format when using squared paper
- Elaboration comparing writing across languages, recognising differences in stroke sequences and word formation (letter strings versus character squares), word spacing, punctuation and text direction
They demonstrate awareness that the Chinese language is connected with culture and identity, and how this is reflected in their own language(s), culture(s) and identity.
Content descriptorAC9LC8EU04 Understanding language and culture
recognise how identity is shaped by language(s), culture(s), beliefs, attitudes and values
Elaborations (8)
- Elaboration discussing how different roles and relationships are reflected in or impacted by word choices, for example, whether/when it is appropriate to ask someone’s age, when to say 你几岁？ or 你多大了？ or when to use 你属什么？
- Elaboration identifying aspects taken for granted in communication such as a shared understanding of gesture, body movement and word meanings, and comparing ways people interact across cultures, for example, asking, “How do Chinese-speaking people use gesture?”, “Which non-verbal cues are shared with English speakers?”, “Do they mean the same thing in both cultures?”, “How does not understanding these differences impact on how we perceive each other?”
- Elaboration discussing identity and cultural values reflected in language use, (in relation to celebrations, etc.) and how they influence interactions, for example, asking, “In the colloquial phrase 合家团圆, what is 团圆?”, “Why wish people 团圆?”, “Does this have the same meaning in Australian culture(s)?”, “What is the relationship between language use and values in this phrase?”
- Elaboration examining how First Nations Australians’ languages have strong connections to Country/Place and how these can be compared to language variation across Chinese-speaking countries and regions/regional dialects
- Elaboration considering the different ways of addressing people in authority 李老师, 王校长 and discussing how the organisation of information reflects concepts of hierarchy and authority, for example, the placement of the date in personal correspondence; how the address is organised on a letter 小区名, 楼号, 楼, for example, 龙江小区蓝天园15栋2单元504室
- Elaboration viewing interactions in Chinese between peers or in texts (a segment of a movie, etc.), and interpreting the meaning of the dialogue as well as comparing culturally determined manners or behaviour
- Elaboration comparing their own experiences to the lives of young people in different Chinese-speaking countries, for example, 我觉得 7:30上学太早, 我不坐地铁上学, 我坐公共汽车上学
- Elaboration reading jokes or cartoons in Chinese and discussing how humour is conveyed through words and the presentation of ideas; comparing this to humour in English and discussing whether ‘entertainment’ means the same thing in different languages and cultures
This achievement standard describes the expected learning for Years 7 to 8 Chinese · Second language learners · Years 7 to 10 sequence. Use it to plan teaching and assessment with the Australian Curriculum v9.
At a Glance
| Strand | Substrand | CDs | Elaborations |
|---|---|---|---|
| Communicating meaning in Chinese | Interacting in Chinese | 3 | 13 |
| Communicating meaning in Chinese | Mediating meaning in and between languages | 2 | 16 |
| Communicating meaning in Chinese | Creating text in Chinese | 1 | 7 |
| Understanding language and culture | Understanding systems of language | 3 | 21 |
| Understanding language and culture | Understanding the interrelationship of language and culture | 1 | 8 |
| Total | 10 | 65 | |
Frequently Asked Questions
What should students know by the end of Years 7 to 8 Chinese?
By the end of Year 8, students use Chinese language to interact and collaborate with others, and to share information and plan activities in familiar contexts. They respond to others’ contributions, and recognise familiar gestures, questions and instructions in exchanges. Read the full standard
How many Content Descriptors support this standard?
10 Content Descriptors support this Achievement Standard (Communicating meaning in Chinese: 6, Understanding language and culture: 4).
Is this from the latest Australian Curriculum?
Yes, this Achievement Standard is from the Australian Curriculum version 9.0 (AC v9), the most current version published by ACARA.