CLASS EXPECTATIONS
Mandarin Chinese II
2015-2016
Instructor: Ms. Zhang Hongling
Phone Number: 854-6062
Email: honglingzhang@claytonschools.net
Classroom: 144
Textbook: Huanying, An Invitation to Chinese, Volume 1 Part 1
By Jiaying Howard and Lanting Xu, Second edition.
Boston: Cheng & Tsui Company.
Workbook: Huanying workbook
Course Description: Chinese II is designed for students who have studied
Chinese for 1 year at CHS or two years at WMS. In this course, students will
be guided away from mechanical, classroom-style language learning at the
beginning level and develop their language proficiency through more complex
grammar and more spontaneous conversation. Authentic reading, listening
and visual materials such as maps, traffic signs, menus, forecasts, shopping
ads and hospital signs on online newspapers and TV will be incorporated into
the class. Students will develop their cultural understanding and appreciation
through frequent comparisons of different regions in China as well as
between China and the United States of America.
Materials: 1. A binder (for lots of handouts) and a notebook (for notetaking and writing practice). You should bring a writing utensil
and paper with you to class every day, as well as your textbook
and workbook. (Take good care of your book—the first one is
free, but you have to pay for replacement copies!) You should
use whatever method of keeping track of your papers and
assignments that works best for you (folder, binder, etc.).
2. A flash drive to back up computer work for the class.
Class Format and Expectations:
There are six lessons in each unit and each lesson will take one week
to complete. Quizzes and oral presentations will be given on a weekly basis.
A comprehensive test will be given at the end of each unit and long and
short-term projects will be assigned throughout the semester.
The key to learning a foreign language is practice! This includes
listening to others, participating in class, completing class and homework,
completing group tasks and projects, and studying/preparing for
assessments. The best ways to practice are to use the language as much as
possible in class and to study for a short period each day. A successful
language learning experience in this class is comprised of the completion of
the following:
1. Homework: The primary purpose of homework in this class is for
practice and skill development. There will be both short- and longterm assignments. The homework may consist of studying,
practicing vocabulary, completing a worksheet or assignment,
writing, preparing for an oral evaluation, or working on a long-term
project. The more practice you get by completing homework, the
better prepared you will be for assessments (oral presentations,
projects, quizzes and tests). Each homework assignment will be
recorded and reported in the online grading program with a
completion grade and will serve as materials to be covered in
quizzes and tests.
2. Participation: Participation in class plays a vital role in your success
in this class. Obviously, the more you participate in class, the more
likely you are to develop your four language skills. The more skills
you develop, the better you will be able to complete the required
oral presentations and demonstrate your learning on quizzes and
tests. Your voluntary contribution to the class will all be part of the
participation grade. Participation means coming to class prepared,
following instructions in Chinese, maximizing your ability to speak
Chinese, taking an active and appropriate role in discussion and inclass exercises and working collobratetivelly with partners and
small groups.
Assessment Types: The semester grades will be based on tests, quizzes,
oral presentations, participation, homework assignments, and projects:
20%
20%
20%
25%
15%
Class Participation
Homework assignment.
Oral Presentations and Projects
quizzes, lesson tests and unit tests
Final exams, both oral and written
Policy on Late Work, Absences and Test Retake
Lateness – 10% or a letter grade will be deducted for every day the
assignment is late.
Absences: If you miss school due to an excused absence, you will have the
same amount of days to make up for your homework, quizzes and tests.
After that, the late work policy will apply to you.
Retake: You can retake the quizzes and tests for 90% of the full credits if
your scores are below D+.
In order to create a more uniform grading system, the faculty at CHS has
standardized
some commonly used codes in PowerGrade. The meaning of four commonly used
codes are below. If you see a code and do not know its meaning, please contact the
teacher.
0 = ZERO
A student earns a zero on an assignment or test or has failed to turn something in
that cannot be made up.
M = MISSING
Current score is a zero but a student can still turn in the assignment.
EX = EXCUSED
A student missed and was excused and does not need to make it up. Counts as
exempt.
✓ = PENDING
The teacher has entered assignments in advance of collecting them; the teacher
needs a placeholder; this assignment has been collected but not graded; there is no
reason to be concerned about this assignment/grade at this time.
Our agreed departmental grading scale for all courses other than AP.
97 (and up) A+
93 A
90 A87 B+
83 B
80 B77 C+
73 C
70 C67 D+
63 D
60 D-