Mandarin Term 3 Overviews

Year Level	Term 3
Prep	In Term 3, Foundation students will explore the topic of family members in Chinese through engaging nursery rhymes and picture talks. Students will learn vocabulary for immediate family members, including 爸爸 (bàba – dad), 妈妈 (māma – mum), and siblings. Through songs, games, picture discussions, and interactive activities, students will build their confidence in recognising and using these words in context.
Grade 1	In term 3, Grade 1 students will be introduced to the vocabulary for like and dislike as well as the sentence structures for "What fruit is this? This is... (fruit name)." Students will learn that in Chinese language we put "不" (bù) in front of a verb to negate a verb. They are also going to explore that in Mandarin the structure of a simple sentence is different from that of a simple question. Students are going to participate in interactive activities such as worksheets, multiple exposures, crafts and singing in the Mandarin class.
Grade 2	Students will also revisit the tones and language patterns introduced in previous terms, strengthening their pronunciation and listening skills. In addition, they will continue developing an awareness of Chinese characters by recognising familiar characters and demonstrating basic comprehension of their meaning.
Grade 3	In Term 3, Grade 3 students are exploring how to ask others about how they physically feelings (你还好吗？/ 你怎么了？/你哪里不舒服？) as well as to express some symptoms of common illnesses, using different adjectives such as 痛 (painful) , 酸 (sore), 痒 (itchy), or 晕 (dizzy). In this unit, students learn to use both simple "noun+adjective" and "subject+verb" sentences. Students will continue to learn to speak Chinese by using Pinyin. They will also be exposed to knowledge of Chinese radicals so they can read and write Chinese characters effectively.
Grade 4	In term 3, Grade 4 students develop foundational Chinese language skills through the topic of hobbies and leisure activities. Using a Comprehensible Input (CI) approach, students are exposed to meaningful language through listening, actions, visuals, and guided interaction. They progressively build from recognising vocabulary to producing simple spoken sentences that express personal preferences, reasons, time, and social connections.Students also develop intercultural understanding by exploring similarities and differences in hobbies and leisure activities across cultures.
Grade 5	In Term 3, Grade 5 students will learn how to order food in Chinese using a school canteen menu. Being able to understand menu items, order food, and demonstrate appropriate dining etiquette are important communication skills, particularly as dining customs can vary across cultures.Students will learn how to order different food items and portions, ask and respond to questions about prices, and use key vocabulary and sentence structures related to food and drink. They will also explore how some food names used in Chinese are borrowed from English and have similar sounds, helping them make connections between languages.Throughout the term, students will develop their ability to communicate orally using simple Chinese sentences, expand their food-related vocabulary, and build an understanding of Chinese dining etiquette. This knowledge will support respectful intercultural understanding and enable students to participate confidently in authentic food-ordering situations.
Grade 6	In term 3, Grade 6 students develop their Chinese language skills through the authentic context of shopping and bargaining. Students learn how to enquire about products, discuss colours and preferences, ask and respond to prices, negotiate purchases, and complete transactions using culturally appropriate language.Throughout the term, students participate in role-plays, collaborative tasks, listening activities, and real-world simulations that build confidence in speaking and interacting in Chinese. Students explore how bargaining practices differ across cultures and consider how language choices change depending on the context, audience, and purpose of communication.A key focus of this unit is the integration of previously learned language. Students revisit and apply language from earlier units, including asking for and giving directions and describing locations. By the end of the term, students will create and perform an extended dialogue that combines language from multiple topics. For example, a customer may ask how to get to a particular shop, describe its location, enquire about products, negotiate prices, and complete a purchase.This unit supports students in moving beyond isolated sentence patterns to sustained and purposeful communication, preparing them to use Chinese creatively and flexibly in a range of real-world situations.