Mother Tongue

The Topical Supplementary Reading Activity is specially designed to allow our students to effectively link what they have learnt from the textbook to the real world. After the completion of each unit in the textbook, the resource package consisting of news articles, videos and online portal zbCOMMA is used to engage students in a meaningful discussion which enables them to analyse and evaluate social issues, thereby providing opportunities for students to share their views. Through these discussion activities and thought-provoking questions, students are able to deepen their knowledge of current affairs and sharpen their thinking skills. 

With the implementation of the new Video Conversation Oral examination format from 2016 and in alignment with our aim of developing our students’ Personal Voice, our department has designed task-based assignments to scaffold students' learning. Through this programme, we hope to give students greater confidence in speaking in Mandarin and hence develop them to become an effective communicator in their daily interactions.

This Oracy Project is closely tied to the Fairsian outcome of Personhood and the Mother Tongue Department’s Secondary 1 theme of Heroes in your life (unsung heroes). Students are asked to share about the heroes in their daily life in three stages. In the first stage, students are required to do a simple introduction about themselves or their secondary school life. Teachers will provide coaching and feedback in this first stage to ensure that the students are familiar with the necessary oracy skills, such as tone, use of words and fluency. In the second stage, students are required to do a group project based on the topic of ‘National Heroes’. Students brainstorm and identify the national heroes they want to share about. In this project, students are required to research and work collaboratively with one another. In the last stage, students are required to complete an oracy project independently using the skills they have learnt in the first two stages. The topic for this third stage is ‘Unsung Hero in my life’. Students are required to present a short video about an unsung hero in their lives. 

Secondary 2 students embark on a learning journey to Chinatown to explore and gain knowledge about the heritage of Chinatown. This learning journey provides a context to their Oracy Project where in groups, they have to film a 3-minute video based on selected themes that are relevant to their lives and are tied to the Secondary 2 theme of Heart for Community. During the planning stage in class prior to the learning journey, students will go through the process of identifying the theme and conceptualising the video. Also, students will be given the additional task of designing questions. This process allows them to understand the different orders of thinking. Students within the group will also need to brainstorm and decide on their ideas, and through this process, sharpen their communication skills. In the final stage of this project, students will use the video-editing skills they have learnt from CCITP to produce an engaging video. 

Secondary 3 Project 

The Secondary 3 Oracy Project, which is a debate on social issues, is linked to the Fairsian Outcome of Personhood, namely ‘Finding your own voice’, and our department’s theme of ‘Controversies in life’. Secondary 3 students will learn persuasive oracy skills through debating which will effectively train and develop them to become effective communicators. They will work in pairs in this project to film a video that should not exceed 5 minutes based on selected topics that are relevant to their lives and the syllabus. Students will go through the process of identifying their stand, rebuttal and conclusion. They need to brainstorm their main points and research on relevant pieces of evidence which can be used to support their ideas. This process enables them to learn to write convincing argumentative essays and improve their mastery of answering open-ended comprehension questions. In addition, each pair of students will also need to discuss and decide on their ideas, which then enhances their communication skills. During the filming of their debate, Secondary 3 students will improve their presentation skills and become more confident in speaking their Mother Tongue Language.  

Secondary 3 Fairsians get to embark on a week of overseas experiential learning. In the past few years, our students have visited schools in China and Taiwan, and hosted their Chinese and Taiwanese counterparts when they visit Fairfield. 

This trip aims to enrich Fairsians’ global and cultural awareness, and at the same time sharpen their command of the Chinese language through interaction with the locals. Fairsians immerse themselves in Chinese culture not only through their classroom experiences, but also through close interaction with the buddies that they are paired up with in this immersion programme. This fosters international friendships and broadens the students’ global perspectives.

Differentiated Workbooks and Notes