Chinese impt in secondary level?

[verykiasu2010]

Oct 21, 2010

Milan goes gaga over Mandarin
MILAN (Italy) - A TOTAL of 18 high schools in Lombardy region, whose capital is Milan, have put Chinese in the curriculum this year, showing a growing interest towards Chinese culture in the Italy's most industrialized district.

Some 1,500 ordinary students throughout the northern region are studying Mandarin, which is becoming a foreign language more and more popular with Italy, following the recent Education Ministry' s decision to include Chinese among the curricular languages in high schools.

\"Chinese is the language of the future. I am doing my best efforts to learn it, as I am sure to have done the right choice,\" a student of Milan's Manzoni High School, Camilla, told Xinhua.

Her classmate Sara said that she decided to study Mandarin after choosing China as a main topic of her middle school term paper.

\"I was so fascinated by the vastness of this country and its millenary history that I decided to deepen its knowledge,\" she stressed.

\"The most moving moment since I began learning Chinese was when our teachers took us to visit a Terracotta Warriors exhibition in Treviso,\" said 17-year-old Federico, adding that he particularly enjoys the deep relation between Chinese language and culture. -- CHINA DAILY/ANN

http://www.straitstimes.com/BreakingNews/Asia/Story/STIStory_593491.html

[INNOVATE]

tiger 262, Sun_2010


Much have been said about A-level vs IB education in recent yrs, as such, I shall not dicuss on the merits of each as the discussion will merely be my own perspective at best. Instead, I shall outline the general grading system of each type which I think is more beneficial.

A-Level Education

4 H2 + Project Wk + General Paper or
3 H2 + 1H1 + Project + General Paper

Notes: 1. 1 of the content subject must be contrasting ie if 3 H2 are all science subjects the other H2/H1 must be from arts domain. A typical student may offer H2 Phy, Chem, Maths H2/H1 Econs.
2. PW is taken at JC-1/yr5
3. GP is compulsory, however, it can be sustituted with Theory of Knowledge which by itselt is a contrasting subject.

University Rank Pts
H2-A=20 pts, every grade down minus 2.5 pts.
H1-A=10 pts, every grade down minus 1.25 pts.
Max 90 rank pts.

Universities world-wide take into account 3H2 + 1H1 + PW + GP at one sitting. For those who took 4H2, the weakest H2 is regarded as H1. H3 is not relevant in the computation, however, it is for top students vying for scholarships.

IBDP
3 subjects at higher level
3 subjects at standard level
3 core subjects mainly, theorey of knowledge(1200-1600 words)‘extended essay(4000 words) and creativity, action,service-150 hrs.

3 HL and 3 SL must be chosen from six main grps comprising of:
Grp1 English Lit
Grp 2 Second lang CL/ML HL and SL
Tamil/Hindi SL
Grp 3 Humanities Hist/Geog/Social Sc/Econs
Grp 4 Science Phy/Bio/Chem
Grp 5 Maths
Grp 6 Arts Music/Dance/Theatre/Visual arts
Grp 6 may be sustituted with one subject from above 5 grps.

Grading System 1-7 pts for each subject for both HL and SL.
Max 6x7=42 pts, with the remainding max 3 pts from theory of knowledge and extended essay. Total 45 pts.

You will observe from above the main difference in the gradings. A level is more structured whereas, IB is more broad base and attempts to offer different perspective in the training of students’ minds. In fact, in recent yrs, with the introduction of a contrasting subject, A- level is moving closer to IB. Both are equally rigorous and well-known internationally. Our A-level grading system is recongnised by Oxbridge to be of higher standard than those taking Cambridge A-level. MOE sets damn high standard! IB though lesser known locally is highly regarded in countries like Australia, Canada and many parts of Europe. In many of these nations, IB is ranked higher than their own high school diplomas.

In conclusion, parents know their kids best. Selection must be based on kids’ attributes and peace of heart and mind. Let commonsense prevail!

[verykiasu2010]

INNOVATE


Thank you for the summary and comparison

[S-H]

Hi INNOVATE,


Thanks for your explanation, however, may I know what is H1/IB standard level. Thanks

[S-H]

Hi INNOVATE,


I need one more advise fm you. My ds is in sec 1 and is taking CL. Bcos of his good result, he is given a chance to take HCL in sec 2. However, from what we see, his standard of chinese is only average, he is more powerful in his English. I’m aftraid that he will be pressurised if he take up HCL in sec 2. DS also me that he doesn’t hv much confident too. We are in a dilemma. He is to give the teacher the answer not later than 25/10/2010. Hope you can give me some advice. Thanks.

[computerkid]

S-H:

Hi INNOVATE,


I need one more advise fm you. My ds is in sec 1 and is taking CL. Bcos of his good result, he is given a chance to take HCL in sec 2. However, from what we see, his standard of chinese is only average, he is more powerful in his English. I'm aftraid that he will be pressurised if he take up HCL in sec 2. DS also me that he doesn't hv much confident too. We are in a dilemma. He is to give the teacher the answer not later than 25/10/2010. Hope you can give me some advice. Thanks.

Hi S-H,
Your DS situation is quite similiar to my DS. My DS only took CL in PSLE. In the beginning of the year, the HOD CL held a dialogue seesion with the parent of kid taking only CL. We were told that the school \"\" Strongly advise us to change to HCL\"\". Because it is a SAP school.

HOD explain he will form a special class for the kids. The CL teacher is very good, he explain to us his approach. He will gradually move the student to HCL progressively. So this class do not join the normal HCL class.

The teacher is very motivating and my DS enjoy his class and coping well. By Mid year, he has been \"\"promoted to the normal HCL class\" his EOY exam for HCL is not excellant but coping well. And of course we arrange tuition for him.

My opinion is, what is the school approach for your DS. If they just put him together with the rest of the HCL class. Then I think it is very difficult for your DS to cope. Because HCL is very much more difficult then CL. Maybe you should have a chat with the CL teacher on this.

[S-H]

Hi computerkid,


My ds will be put to another class taking HCL. That’s another reason why my ds is against taking HCL bcos he has made quite a no. of good friends in this present class. We are also afraid that he cannot cope with it so we may ask him to continue with CL instead of HCL.

[computerkid]

S-H:

Hi computerkid,


My ds will be put to another class taking HCL. That's another reason why my ds is against taking HCL bcos he has made quite a no. of good friends in this present class. We are also afraid that he cannot cope with it so we may ask him to continue with CL instead of HCL.

For my DS case, he is still in the same class. But for HCL, it is split into 2 class. 22 students take the normal HCL. 18 student take the \"\" upgraded HCL class\", this class will get the special guidance from teacher.

The HOD CL has given us assurance that they will continue to monitor the progress, if by sec 2, the kid cannot cope. They will go back to CL .

If your DS school just put him together with the rest of the class taking HCL all along. All of them has been taking HCL since primary school. I would think it is very stressful for your DS.

[S-H]

computerkid:

S-H:

Hi computerkid,


My ds will be put to another class taking HCL. That's another reason why my ds is against taking HCL bcos he has made quite a no. of good friends in this present class. We are also afraid that he cannot cope with it so we may ask him to continue with CL instead of HCL.

For my DS case, he is still in the same class. But for HCL, it is split into 2 class. 22 students take the normal HCL. 18 student take the \"\" upgraded HCL class\", this class will get the special guidance from teacher.

The HOD CL has given us assurance that they will continue to monitor the progress, if by sec 2, the kid cannot cope. They will go back to CL .

If your DS school just put him together with the rest of the class taking HCL all along. All of them has been taking HCL since primary school. I would think it is very stressful for your DS.

That's true. if ds school is like your ds school, that will be better. He himself also worry, that's why we may ask him to stick to CL although 2 bonus points is very attractive.

[INNOVATE]

S-H


At lower sec level, its good to stress yr ds a little without affecting his overall grade. His results must be pretty good for his sch to consider him taking HCL. At this pt, its impt to provide you with a typical profile of a good 0-level student. A good O-level student has 8-subject combination which briefly can be summarised as follows:

English
MT
Double Maths
Double Science
Double Humanities
Plus CCA and HMT.

Generally able students are able to achieve good 0-level grade, excel in CCA and passed HMT. Many good students have 4 pts at their disposal, which is used for joint admission to jcs. Therefore, every single pt is vital and it can strictly determine the type of institution he is posted.

His comfort level at this pt in time is not vital. After all, he is still in the same school as his buddies. At the end of sec 2, you can than decide whether to continue with HCL. If he decides to drop, he will find CL relatively easy. Should he decide to continue, apart from 2 bonus pts, he will have approximately 4 hrs weekly free from H1 chinese in a jc which frees him for revision. At this junction, I have to remind you that the A-level is approximately 3x more difficult than O-level.

Go for it!