This course is for heritage students or non-heritage students who have been living in a Mandarin speaking community for a long time. These students are able to carry out communication tasks that are age-appropriate, but may not be fully functional in their literacy skills in Mandarin. About 90% of the classroom instructions are in Mandarin and the language used by the teacher and students in class is Mandarin. The focus for students of this course is to further develop their communicative skills, and to develop their reading and writing skills, so that they are able to understand and analyse increasingly complex written and spoken materials and assess subtleties of the language in a wide range of forms and styles. Students following this course normally can further their learning with A level Chinese at KS5.

The topic areas are: 

Young people and education - Society - The world - Cultural diversity

Why you should study this?

1. International businesses prefer to hire people who speak more than one language. China has become a huge market, and business leaders are looking for people who can speak Chinese and operate successfully in a Chinese cultural context.

2. Knowing Chinese may give you an edge when competing for an important position.

3. China will play a major role in world affairs in the future. As China now has opened up to the West, there are opportunities for employment in all areas.

What’s the difference between Second language and Modern Foreign language?

Unlike MFL, you will learn more sophisticated topics about society, current affairs, employment etc.  

Should I take this course?

Yes, if you are taking early entry for IGCSE Mandarin as Foreign Language in May and plan to continue learning Mandarin. 

Yes, if you are able to carry out communication tasks that are age- appropriate, but may not be fully functional in their literacy skills in Mandarin. 

How will this course help me at A level?

Second language topic areas are very similar to AS and A2. After the course, you will be well prepared for A level.