Teaching Chinese in Primary School

This subject is not offered in 2013.

54 hours

There are three prerequisites:

None

N/A

N/A

For the purposes of considering request for Reasonable Adjustments under the Disability Standards for Education (Cwth 2005), and Students Experiencing Academic Disadvantage Policy, academic requirements for this subject are articulated in the Subject Overview, Objectives, Assessment and Generic Skills sections of this entry.

It is University policy to take all reasonable steps to minimise the impact of disability upon academic study, and reasonable adjustments will be made to enhance a student's participation in the University's programs. Students who feel their disability may impact on meeting the requirements of this subject are encouraged to discuss this matter with a Faculty Student Adviser and the Disability Liaison Unit: http://www.services.unimelb.edu.au/disability/

The subject provides a sound rationale for teaching modern languages in Primary school and sets out the contextual and learning requirements for developing a successful Chinese program in the upper primary years.

It presents and engages students with the theoretical foundations from current psycholinguistic research and the actual practices of innovative primary programs in Australia and abroad that have shown significant success over time, which include use of interactive electronic technologies.

Students in this subject will develop their ability to

• conceive of language learning at the primary level as both a local classroom activity and the development of a relationship to real Chinese speakers
• link the demands of Chinese language work to the individual learning paths of the children in their class
• make use of kinesic support and other effective innovative techniques to teach their new material so that it is grasped and remembered
• work collaboratively within and across cultures in professionalactivities
• work flexibly with a wide range of on-line resources and applications, all transferable to their own teaching.

Weekly participation in Discussion Forum activities, equivalent to approximately 1000 words, 40%

Assignments comprising weekly tasks involving choice of texts, text analysis, research information on authors and content, and creative practice design, equivalent to approximately 1500 words, 60%

Online readings

This subject is not available as a breadth subject.

Students in this subject will be enabled to develop

• an in-depth knowledge of their specialist discipline
• the habit of critical reflection
• awareness of ethnocentricity and the means to develop towards ethnorelativity
• the ability to lead in innovative practice