Curriculum

=Issues and Discussion Concerning Curriculum=

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Assessment
Links to various assessment tools:
 * Center for Applied Linguistics
 * The Mandarin Center

Simplified, Traditional, or Both?
Currently the program starts with Traditional characters, with ZhuYin phonetics (BPMF). At 2nd grade, children begin HanYu PinYin phonetic romanization method. At 5th grade they are introduced to Simplified characters. At middle school, 6th graders learn both sets and required to write in one, and in 7th, they are assigned a character set based on their high school selection. However, currently middle school only have access to Simplified reading materials.

Countries that use Simplified characters: Mainland China, Singapore, Malaysia Countries that use Traditional characters: Taiwan, Hong Kong, Macau, Overseas Chinese Communities


 * Arguments in Favor of Learning Both Character Sets:**


 * **From a CLIP teacher and a Parent of 2 kids in CLIP:** //I think our kids need to be versatile in both considering the demographics of this area. Our kids first exposed to simplified in 4th grade. Learning simplified starting at 4th grade is a good starting point considering by then they've already had 3-4 years of foundation built up. [My daughter] recognizes both but prefers simplified in all her writings.//
 * **From an ex-CLIP Parent**: //"The switching [from traditional to simplified] is a lot easier than people think. The kids did not feel difficult. I think the children can grow twice more vocabulary in simplified characters as well as when they read literary work from China, [the quality of the material from Taiwan could be better]... [The fact is that] they will not achieve adult literacy level in writing, however, simplified Chinese will introduce them to much more reading materials, having more vocabulary will enhance the enjoyment of reading Chinese therefore help them to have interest in Chinese and eventually improve their comprehension. This can at least help them reach a young adult level of literacy in reading comprehension. They will never learn to write well because writing is another skill since our teachers are not writers, they cannot teach writing. But reading comprehension at a young adult level is achievable."//


 * Arguments in Favor of Learning a Single Character Set:**
 * Students will not achieve adult literacy learning both character sets
 * Transition is difficult for some students


 * Links:**
 * Wikipedia Article: [|Debate on traditional and simplified Chinese characters]

=2-Way Immersion=