New Chinese Language New Chinese Language Curriculum Curriculum

2007 Primary ThreeMeet-the-Parents Session

The Singapore Education Service - Moulding the Future of Our Nation

Chinese Language Curriculum and Pedagogy Review Committee set up in Feb 2004 in response to changing home background of students

BackgroundBackground

Generational Shifts in Use of CL in HomesGenerational Shifts in Use of CL in Homes

Dominant Home Language for P1 Chinese students

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

1980 1982 1984 1986 1988 1990 1992 1994 1996 1998 2000 2002 2004 2006

English Chinese Chinese Dialects

Differentiated Objectives Differentiated Objectives for Range of CL Studentsfor Range of CL Students

All CL students: enthuse them to learn CL Majority of students: focus on oral

communication and reading; writing to reinforce language skills

Students with ability and interest: develop fluency in all four language skills and good understanding of Chinese culture

An essential group of students: achieve both high proficiency in four language skills and an intuitive understanding of culture and contemporary developments in China

The Pedagogical The Pedagogical ApproachApproach

多听多说Listen and Speak More

读写跟上Follow on with

Reading and Writing

有效识字Recognise Characters

Effectively快乐学习

Enjoy Chinese Language

Learning

Listen and Speak MoreListen and Speak More

Language learning begins with ability to converse in the language

Engaged participation in classroom activities to encouraged students to express themselves using the language

Build a strong foundation in oral communication

Recognise Characters Recognise Characters EffectivelyEffectively

A range of character recognition strategies will be taught explicitly to students

No “one-size-fits-all” strategy Teachers and students will be

encouraged to adapt strategies to suit their needs

Teaching of ReadingTeaching of Reading

Early reading helps students acquire the language faster

It helps students consolidate characters learnt

Teach students reading strategies explicitly

Teaching of ReadingTeaching of Reading

Structured framework to teach reading throughout the 6 years.

P1 to P2: Focus on nurturing the intuitive grasp of the language（培养语感）

P3 to P6: Specific reading skills

Teaching of WritingTeaching of Writing

Essay writing skills will be taught systematically

At lower primary, students will be taught to compose simple sentences (写话 )

As they move up the levels:Sentences→Paragraphs→Short Essays

(写段 ) (写篇 ) Aid of hanyu pinyin writing software

sound

音

form

形Listen and speak more

Recognise characters effectively

Early ReadingWriting

meaning

义汉字汉字

Incorporate learner’s experience

Enjoy

learning

CL

Modular ApproachModular Approach

Greater Customisation and Flexibility

Students who need more support in learning CL 70-80%

Core Module

20-30%

Reinforcement

Module

Core Module

70-80%

Students with interest and ability

20-30%

Enrichment module

70-80%

Core ModuleMajority of

students

Modular Approach (P3-4)Modular Approach (P3-4)

School-based

Curriculum20-30%

B

R

R

B

PSLE

C

C

C

C

C

C

E

E

E

E

E

E

P1

P2

P3

P4

P5

P6

PSLE - only Core ModulesPSLE - only Core ModulesLegendB: BridgingR: ReinforcementC: CoreE: Enrichment

Student GroupingStudent Grouping

Students will be organised into R/C/E groups based largely on: teacher’s evaluation of students’

language competency, e.g. through classroom performance

their results in the previous year Students may move laterally across

the various module combinations at appropriate times of the year

Instructional Materials Instructional Materials for New CL Curriculumfor New CL Curriculum

Categories of CharactersCategories of Characters

Characters for Writing 识写字 Required to read and write these

characters Characters for Reading 识读字

Required to read these characters only

“Meet-Once” Characters 见面字 To retain authenticity of the passages Only required to read these

characters in context

New Textbook FormatNew Textbook Format

Core Module Reading Passage Language Garden (语文园地 ) Listening and Speaking (听听说说 ) or

Character Recognition (识字课 ) Learning Treasure (学习宝藏 )

Core Module:Core Module:Reading PassageReading Passage

Core Module: Core Module: Language ActivitesLanguage Activites

Core Module:Core Module:Listening and SpeakingListening and Speaking

Core Module: Core Module: Learning TreasureLearning Treasure

Reinforcement ModuleReinforcement Module

To provide support for character recognition in Core Module

To reinforce recognition of characters learnt previously

Reinforcement ModuleReinforcement Module

Enrichment ModuleEnrichment Module

Encourage independent learning

Promote reading Further enhance

reading and writing skills

Curriculum TransitionCurriculum Transition

P3 Connecting PackageP3 Connecting Package

For Primary Three students in 2007, MOE has provided them with a “Connecting Package”.

P3 Connecting PackageP3 Connecting Package

The “Connecting Package” consists of modified chapters from the new curriculum.

Objectives: Advance benefits of new CL

curriculum and pedagogy; Facilitate students’ transition to new

CL curriculum in 2008.

Parent SupportParent Support

Parent SupportParent Support

Parent SupportParent Support

Encourage children to speak to family members in Mandarin

Encourage your child to read good Chinese books Public libraries Books with attractive illustrations to

start the child Audio books, electronic books

Parent SupportParent Support

Expose your child to good Chinese television programmes, e.g. cartoons

Tap on the environment such as road signs and advertisements to engage your child in Chinese conversations during outings

Parent SupportParent Support

Parent SupportParent Support

Do not excessively correct children’s mistakes Build up their confidence Children are more willing to use the

language, thus, will acquire it better Allow the children to learn through

meaningful games

Thank You