1. 7th Grade Chinese
2014– 2015
Back To School Night

2. Susan Hsueh-Mancino (薛老师 Xuē Lăoshī)
Teacher Background
Born in New Jersey. WW-P Graduate, Class of 1997
Graduated from Rutgers University, Class of 2001
-Majored in East Asian Languages and Studies
-Minored in Economics and Psychology
Worked two years in International Trade for State of NJ
-Learned it was beneficial in the working world to know more than one Language
-Decided to return and teach a second language in my home town.
Teaching since September 2001, Maternity Leave
Coached Field Hockey and Lacrosse
Site Based Council/Curriculum and Instruction Committee Representative
Gov. Board of Trustees for Asian American Study Foundation
Trained in SOPA, MOPI, STAMP, Chinese SAT II and AP Chinese Testing
Contact Information:
Webpage:

3. Best Practices for 2nd Language Acquisition
To encourage students to use the Chinese language communicatively in their daily lives
(Studies Show a larger L2 improvement within a year)
To provide students with culture exposures and give opportunities to enhance their potential in intercultural communication in the classroom
To help students reach individual proficiency goals by keeping the end in mind. Successful leaders set benchmarks to reach their objective(s).

4. ACTFL PROFICIENCY GUIDELINES
INTERMEDIATE LOW
Speakers are able to successfully create with the language in straightforward social situations.
Conversation is restricted to predictable topics necessary for survival in the target language culture.
Intermediate-Low speakers express personal meaning by combining and recombining words into short statements what they know and what they hear from their interlocutors.
Their utterances are often filled with natural hesitancy and inaccuracies as they search for appropriate linguistic forms and vocabulary while attempting to give form to the message.
Their speech has frequent pauses, ineffective reformulations and self-corrections.
Their pronunciation, vocabulary and syntax are strongly influenced by their first language but, in spite of frequent misunderstandings that require repetition or rephrasing.
Intermediate-Low speakers can generally be understood by sympathetic interlocutors, particularly by those accustomed to dealing with non-natives.
NOVICE HIGH
Speakers are able to handle a variety of tasks pertaining to the Intermediate level, but are unable to sustain performance at that level.
Conversation is restricted to a few predictable topics necessary for survival, such as personal information, preferences and immediate needs.
Novice-High speakers are able to express personal meaning by relying heavily on learned phrases or re-combinations of learned phrases.
Their utterances, which consist mostly of short and sometimes incomplete sentences in the present tense, may be hesitant or inaccurate. On the other hand, since these utterances are frequently only expansions of learned material and stock phrases, they may sometimes appear surprisingly fluent and accurate.
The speaker’s first language may strongly influence their pronunciation, as well as their vocabulary and syntax when they attempt to personalize their utterances.
Frequent misunderstandings may arise but, with repetition or rephrasing, Novice-High speakers can generally be understood by sympathetic interlocutors, but will not be able to sustain sentence level discourse.
NOVICE MID
Speakers at the Novice-Mid level communicate minimally and with difficulty.
They use a number of isolated words and memorized phrases limited by the particular context in which the language has been learned.
They pause frequently as they search for simple vocabulary or attempt to recycle their own and their interlocutor’s words.
Due to hesitations, lack of vocabulary, inaccuracy, or failure to respond appropriately, Novice-Mid speakers may be understood with great difficulty even by sympathetic interlocutors accustomed to dealing with non-natives.
When performing functions associated with the Intermediate level, they frequently resort to repetition, words from their native language, or silence.
NOVICE LOW
Speakers at the Novice-Low level have no real functional ability and, because of their pronunciation, they may be unintelligible.
They may be able to exchange greetings, give their identity, and name a number of familiar objects from their immediate environment.
They are unable to perform functions or handle topics pertaining to the Intermediate level, and cannot therefore participate in a true conversational exchange.

5. Best Practices for Assessment Preparation
Quizzes- Announced 1-2 weeks in advance
ALWAYS Based on Handouts, Blue Sheets and Class Notes
Some are open notebook or partner quizzes
Almost always, Surprise Quizzes are open notebook
Performance Based Assessments- (Given after Each Unit)
Interpersonal
Interpretive
Presentational
Re-Takes: Only on Quizzes
Parent needs to sign the quiz and letter written by student
Student needs to write me a letter explaining…
…why he/she tested poorly
…meet with me to go over misunderstandings
….schedule a re-take date on TEACHER CALENDAR

6. 7th Grade Chinese Readings
Objective: Explore the animal world as a vehicle for expressing and comparing humans with animal habitats, survival methods, abilities, emotions, and family values.
Theme: How do I connect with my natural environment?
3 Stories and 1 Fable:
鳄鱼怕怕，牙医怕怕 (Hygiene, Habitat, and Emotions)
(Scared Crocodile, Scared Dentist)
十二生肖的故事 (Survival Methods, Abilities, Emotions, Values)
(12 Zodiacs Story)
井底之蛙 (Habitat, Abilities, Emotions and Values)
（Frog in the Well, Fable）
小猫头鹰 (Survival Methods, Habitat, Abilities, Emotions and Values)
(Baby Owlets)

7. How do I teach? Use immersion-like setting to teach Chinese
Use proficiency scale to differentiate lessons to meet all levels of discourse.
Use various strategies to accommodate multiple intelligences
Create real life scenarios for students to use target language
Make learning a fun experience for students with communicative activities:
Information gaps
Think/Pair/Share
Spontaneous Improvisations

8. How can parents help? 1. Encourage participation in the classroom:
Remind students to copy down homework on the board and check teacher website
Practice at least15 minutes a night to prepare for the next day to prevent last minute cramming
Encourage students to use language outside of the classroom to promote risk taking and spontaneous discourse (Call a HOMEWORK BUDDY for extra credit)
Points given in class for participation in communicative activities

9. How can parents help? 2. Quiz your child with flash cards
Create flashcards on index cards for characters that are difficult to remember
Rearrange flashcards to create sentences
Review daily through
Character recognition
Character reading out loud (even if not spoken correctly it is still good practice)
Sentence creation with the character
If your child has difficulty creating it means more practice needs to be done in and out of class.

10. How can parents help? 3. Encourage Kids to write out Vocabulary and Structures in different Contexts
Study Blue Sheets by finding word in reading/story.
Create own sentences verbally and written in different contexts.
Find a study buddy and practice dictation-one child reads a sentence out loud, the other writes the characters and pinyin of the sentence.
Create concept/web mapping.

11. By working together, we will make this a successful year for the kids.
Thank you!