Getting Started with L3 Mandarin
To learn a new language is to have one more window from which to look at the world. Chinese proverb
For me, this quote sums up the opportunities which L3 brings our children and young people: opportunities to explore new languages and cultures, develop new perspectives, enrich and link to wider learning, and raise attainment.
These aspirations are underpinned by 1+2 policy. Some key points from Education Scotland policy documents include:
The ‘1+2 Report’, as it has come to be known, states that all children should learn an additional language (L2) from P1 at the latest. They should learn a second additional language (L3) from P5 at the latest.
The introduction of a second additional language (L3) from P5 is a fundamental part of the 1+2 policy.
Learning a further language will give additional opportunities to build on children’s literacy skills so that they develop a greater understanding of how language works.
With the right approach, it will give children the confidence to learn other languages in the future.
Planning for L3 should involve discussions at cluster level across local authorities.
Education Scotland, Updated Guidance on L3, 2019
Planning: Key Considerations
Some additional key questions are also worth considering when planning L3:
Purpose: Do you know what you are trying to achieve and is there a coherent, shared, and clear curriculum rationale for your L3 model?
Progression: Is the learning progressive? Does it build language and skills? Are strategies for language learning a key part of this?
Linking language across learning: Is the language learning embedded within relevant, motivating, and meaningful contexts? Does it contribute to wider skills agendas e.g. raising attainment, literacy and numeracy, STEM, and health and well-being.
Wider achievement: Are there opportunities to link to wider achievement initiatives such as the John Muir Award, Global Goals, JAS awards, Rights Respecting Schools or Eco Awards.
Culture: Is culture at the heart of your learning? How do you develop your learners’ intercultural skills through their L3 experiences? How does this contribute to learners’ sense of global citizenship?
Partners: Do you seek out opportunities to enhance learning through partnerships? For example, with other learners, other schools, secondary partners, student volunteers, local or national Mandarin providers (e.g., the Confucius Institute for Scotland’s Schools)
Assessment: How do you assess and evidence learning? Is the learning assessed through meaningful outcomes?
Leadership and choice: Does the L3 offer opportunities for learner leadership and choice?
Learner voice: Is learning planned and evaluated through learner voice activities. How does this impact on future planning? Are there opportunities for learners to lead the learning for others e.g., sharing at assembly, teaching the teachers, learner buddy initiatives etc.
L3 Opportunities and Mandarin
Mandarin and Chinese culture offers a unique, diverse and exciting context to explore and develop L3 learning. By starting the L3 process by exploring these opportunities in partnership with others, we can begin to unpack the huge range of opportunities Chinese language and culture brings.
A different writing system: languages written in characters are more pictorial and can offer children a chance to write and read in a whole new way. A basic summary of how Chinese writing works is provided by the British Council:
Let’s take 人 (ren) as an example. A single 人 means a person, a human being. Two 人 make a new character, 从 (cong), which means to follow (one person followed by another person). Three 人 make 众, which means the masses or a crowd. Likewise, a single 木 means a tree or wood. Two 木 make 林, meaning woods. Three 木 make 森, which means a forest. We can build more complex Chinese characters by learning basic components and single-structure characters step by step.
(Tompkins, C. British Council, 2014)
Far from this being a barrier, it can develop children’s confidence in their L1 literacy. Who wouldn’t be proud of having developed the skills to write some phrases or characters in Chinese? There are also some fantastic apps to help with beginning to write and read characters. I would particularly recommend Chineasy (they also produce lovely bright flashcards which are ideal for primary learners).
Mandarin is a tonal language. Again, this means that we learn to talk and listen in a completely new way, carefully listening to and pronouncing differences in tones. Interestingly, in East Lothian, some of our schools have reported that this has particularly helped learners with speech and language difficulties. This also opens up opportunities for learners to work collaboratively, listen carefully and develop strategies to support each other in their learning. There are excellent explanations of the tones on YouTube if you are new to Mandarin and learning along with the learners!
A simple counting system. Mandarin numbers are far more orderly and easier to grasp for counting that English numbers. For example, if you learn the numbers 1 to 10, you can then combine these to say other numbers easily. So, for example to say 20 we would say, “two ten” or 30 would be, “three ten” and so on. To extend this, we just add the additional numbers. So, 44 is “four ten four” and 56 is, “five ten six” etc. This makes it really easy to progress learning of numbers quickly and easily. What’s more, the days of the week are formed by just saying day 1, day 2 etc. and months are formed by saying month 1, month 2 etc. So, once you know the numbers, you can easily add in the date. All of this contributes to developing learners’ numeracy skills and building confidence. Being able to count to 100 in Mandarin is a pretty impressive skill to show off to parents and families so also makes for a great opportunity to share success!
Mandarin can offer a flipped learning experience. With the schools I’ve worked with, we have sometimes used Mandarin as a means of reengaging learners in language which offers them something fresh and different. For example, in my previous role as the lead languages officer in Edinburgh, we ran a Mandarin learning project with a group of non-attending, disengaged learners which was designed to give them a new learning experience and boost their confidence. Learners reported that they enjoyed it as it was something completely new and they felt good about themselves for achieving something which others would think is highly academic and challenging. Further to this, it is worth noting that in the beginner stages, Mandarin is actually much more straightforward than many people realise and is “decluttered” in terms of grammar, compared with European languages. Let’s look at some key features of a simple sentence structure as an example:
There are pronouns like in English, so for example, wǒ means I and ni means you.
The verb doesn’t change depending on the person or the tense. So, if you know that the verb chī means to eat then you can use this with any pronoun and to describe the action at any time. Therefore, to say I go, we would just use wǒ chī and you eat would be ni chī.
You also don’t need to worry about articles preceding the nouns. The word for pizza is pǐsà. So, I eat pizza would be wǒ chī pǐsà – easy!
It can be surprising how effective Mandarin is as tool for inclusive language learning and this is definitely worth exploring if you are looking to reignite enthusiasm and confidence in learners.
The cultural opportunities are vast! Chinese culture is vast, rich, engaging and complex and for every aspect of culture we can think of, there is an equivalent and flipped perspective of this in the Chinese context. Art, music, history, geography, places, people, daily lives, food, customs, festivals and traditions all offer rich opportunities to both explore life in another country and reflect upon our own cultural experiences.
Mandarin Contexts for Learning
As I mentioned above, there are endless ways in which Mandarin and Chinese culture can be developed. Some example ideas are provided below:
Resources
Mandarin benefits from having its own dedicated centre of development in Scotland, the Confucius Institute for Scotland’s Schools (CISS). You may be lucky enough to have one of their Confucius Classroom Hubs in your school, cluster of local authority. If so, I would encourage you to engage with this resource (if you haven’t already!) and see what they have available to share. They may already have extensive resources developed (e.g., L3 learning packs) or physical packs such as calligraphy sets. It is also always worth contacting CISS if you are looking for any specifics advice on getting started. You can contact them via their website here.
In partnership with SCEN, we have led an initiative linking University of Edinburgh Mandarin speaking students with schools in East Lothian, Midlothian and Scottish Borders. This project has developed in response to recent restrictions moving from an in-person teaching project to online Mandarin lessons for P5 – S3 learners. Whilst there might not be a similar project in your local authority, the model is replicable working with volunteers, parents or other partners.
The following resources may also be helpful in planning L3 Mandarin.
John Muir Mandarin Award - CISS produced package of resources linking the John Muir Discovery Award and Mandarin language.
BBC Bitesize 2nd Level Mandarin
Beyond the Panda - Royal Zoological Society of Scotland Mandarin learning resources.
Scottish European Educational Trust (SEET) One World Competition (Secondary) - SEET initiative linking film and
British Council Connecting Classrooms – Global portal for school partnership projects.
Mandarin at the Museum – Mandarin learning resources linked to and produced by the National Museum of Scotland.
CISS L3 Mandarin resources – CISS page hosting a range of resources for developing L3 Mandarin.
Lastly, my only other advice is to embrace and enjoy the learning process! Seek out opportunities to engage with partners and develop opportunities for the learners to lead the learning whenever possible (e.g., teach the teacher or teach the parents!). Mandarin is an endlessly fascinating language and by creating a virtual Chinese learning space in your classroom, you are opening a world of opportunity and discovery for your learners.
Ann Robertson, January 2021
Ann Robertson is a freelance languages advisor and consultant working in East Lothian, Midlothian and Scottish Borders Councils. She has worked extensively on the strategic development of 1+2 Mandarin at both primary and secondary level and sits on the advisory board of SCEN.
