Proficiency Levels
Proficiency Guidelines
Beginning Level
Students build up a repertoire of vocabulary and basic grammatical structures so that they can:
- introduce themselves in an informal social situation,
- converse about themselves, their friends and families,
- talk about activities in daily lives, and
- engage in simple transactions.
Samples of students' production:
Beginning Level for Mandarin Speakers and Learners
In addiiton to building up a repertoire of vocabulary and basic grammatical structures, Mandarin speakers will learn:
- differences between basic Cantonese and Mandarin grammar and
- differences between Cantonese and Mandarin pronunciation,
Samples of students' production:
Intermediate Level
The primary objective is to expand vocabulary and develop complex sentences. Learners acquire the vocabulary:
- to engage in conversations about less concrete topics,
- to give directions and instructions,
- to carry out transactions in linguistically unfamiliar situations. and
- to learn about major Chinese festivals and the legends associated with them
Samples of students' production:
Intermediate-high (3) to Advanced-low (1) Level
The primary objective is to help students become proficient speakers so that they can talk about a wide range of topics:
- history, e.g., the Cantonese language, SF Chinatown, the detention center on Angel Island, Tòihsāan, and Hong Kong
- culture: movies and video clips, e.g., comparing how different regions welcome a new year
- current events, e.g., COVID-19 and the general election in the U.S.
- topics of interest to students, e.g., Bruce Lee and the theme of oppression in his movies, Asian American identity, language and identity, and Cantopop and identity
Students learn to describe and narrate in different time frames. Targeted linguistic skills include textual cohesion, subordinating and coordinating sentences, and linguistic devices for foregrounding and backgrounding information. There is also an optional field trip to a dim sum restaurant or a Cantonese community every quarter to experience Cantonese culture.
Samples of students' production:
