What are some learning milestones for Primary School Chinese?

Every student progresses differently as they learn and grow older. But when they are in their primary school years, they should be able to achieve the key learning milestones to monitor their study progress and see if they have established the important skills needed to proceed to the next level. Each subject has key learning milestones that students have to reach as they progress and this is true for Chinese Learning.

Here are the learning milestones that your child should display as they progress with their Chinese Learning studies:

Primary 1 to Primary 2

Primary 1 to Primary 2 is an important part of your child’s journey to learning Chinese because these are the fundamental levels where they start to learn to recognise and write Chinese characters.

At these levels under the new syllabus, no graded exams will be given to your children, but they will be given assessments like quizzes, assignments, and follow-up discussions to check their knowledge. If you want to test your child’s current capability, you should set up a good learning routine at home so they can keep up with their studies.

Listening

1. Be able to determine the different syllables, initials, tones, and the rhyming part of a Chinese syllable
2. Understand and analyse information by determining points such as time, characters, date, and their roles.
3. Be able to pinpoint nuances in pronunciation such as tone changes, emotional inflictions, and other characteristics to determine the meaning.

Speech

1. Be able to read syllables, initials, tones, and finals correctly and clearly
2. Pronounce simple words properly and have a structured way of speaking
3. Connect and understand topics related to current knowledge to real-life experiences
4. Express thoughts and emotions clearly
5. Be able to ask and respond to questions
6. Be able to ask for clarifications if something is hard to understand or confusing

Reading

1. Know the glyphs, meanings, and words in a 600 to 650-word text
2. Be able to determine radicals
3. Understand the text and its tone with the help of punctuations
4. Read a text that has Chinese pictures, pinyin, and other graphics
5. Read aloud Chinese text with the right tone and emotions
6. Analyse the information by determining the facts of the text

Writing

1. Be able to write a 300 to 350-word text
2. Know the basic strokes and order to write the Chinese characters properly
3. Focus and take note of the structure while writing
4. Write sentences correctly with the proper punctuation

Primary 3 to Primary 4

When your child reaches this level, their learning of the language may become more difficult. But, if they apply what they learnt during their primary 1 and 2 levels, they will be able to advance their conversation skills and understand much deeper texts in Chinese. What is important is that parents must be consistent in ensuring that their child applies what they learnt previously as they continue to learn more.

Listening

1. Learn and pick up intonations
2. Determine the speaker’s thoughts
3. Analyse opinions
4. Understand and know the events in order

Speech

1. Be able to have a conversation about a topic and keep up with discussions
2. Analyse a subject and elaborate it with explanations and examples
3. Use the right tones and emotions when speaking
4. Must be able to express an opinion and respond to others
5. Identify key information from the discussion and the subject itself
6. Have a conversation with the correct tone and body language, and be able to correct mistakes

Reading

1. Identify glyphs, meanings, and words from 1200 to 13000-word text
2. Determine the meaning of certain sentences and words
3. Identify or predict the possible outcome of a story
4. Read with the help of reading tools

Writing

1. Be able to write a 700 to 750-word text
2. Use Chinese Pinyin into Chinese sentences and characters
3. Write in the correct text format
4. Use life experiences and current knowledge to write a meaningful text
5. Complete texts using pictures and videos
6. Organise paragraphs into a meaningful article
7. Write captions and descriptions correctly and clearly
8. Correct and edit text with the help of writing aids

Primary 5 to Primary 6

Once your child is in these stages, they will be able to converse with you better in Chinese. They will also become more confident with their language skills and be able to read and write in the language efficiently. With this said, you will need to be patient to let them speak their mind and help them fine-tune their conversation skills to the point they will be able to share key information and personal experiences.

Listening

1. Identify deeper meanings in the text
2. Do predictions and inferences using the text and the given keywords

Speech

1. Speak correctly based on the requirements and the situations given

Reading

1. Identify words, glyphs, and meanings from longer texts of around 1700 words
2. Analyse and learn key information from a text
3. Analyse and compare the content, characters, and key points
4. Understand the context and summarise it efficiently by identifying the theme, meaning, and character developments
5. Express thoughts clearly when asked about a text

Writing

1. Write longer texts of up to 1000 words or more.

Source: Ministry Of Education Primary Chinese Syllabus

Conclusion

As your child grows and their lessons become more difficult, they may find studying Chinese hard to keep up. Nevertheless, if you assist them to the best of your ability, they will be inspired to also do their best in their studies. As they progress and reach all these milestones, it is up to you to further encourage them to improve through constant practice and additional help.

We hope that the above list will help you to pinpoint where your child is at. Remember that there are a lot of resources available to help your children in their studies, and you can even hire a tutor to assist them to further broaden their minds in the subject and test their skills.

You will surely notice their improvement and even be surprised with their learning progress and mastery of the language as they continue to have support from you and the whole family.

For tips and tricks to increase your child’s interest in Chinese, here are some help:

Level Up Your Child’s Language Skills: Learn Chinese with Video Games
8 Quick Tips to Learn Chinese Quickly