• A comprehensive paper embedded with the value that 鈥榣anguage is use鈥�.
• The paper called for a mixture of essential skills and a more mature connection of language and culture.听

This is the third June sitting for the Mandarin Chinese exam. There were some minor changes to the paper, as was expected, but these changes did not increase the difficulty. Instead, the new elements required students to show a comprehensive set of skills, making sure they paid careful attention to the process of learning. Students鈥� skills and knowledge were tested with different angles on reading, grammar and vocabulary.听

Section A: Reading opened with a very nice Question 1 which focused on Weather, Time and Numbers. The questions were clear and tested some very practical knowledge: essential if a student were ever to visit China. Question 2 on animals that are national treasures showed that the exam setter really considered the cultural background of the students. The material connected the iconic Chinese image of the panda with the black and white fleece of Irish lambs. This examined vocabulary of colours and the body within the context of the culture for which this exam was designed. Question 2 (E) was excellent as it tested students鈥� grasp of the logic of the Mandarin language by making sure they understand the radical of each character. This means that students not only needed to know what to say but why they say it like that. Knowing this information will help students have a solid foundation for further study. Question 4 was a translation question, which appeared for the first time at Higher Level. While this tested an essential skill, 4 (F) required a more mature understanding to answer. Students were asked to compare the approaches to email writing in English and Chinese. New learners might struggle to fully grasp the different intentions, while those who grew up with the language might struggle to verbalize something they might subconsciously feel through English. The question was very doable but posed an interesting and fair challenge to students of all backgrounds.听

Section B: Writing opened with three very practical writing prompts. The first two were about invitations and meetings and thus emphasized a series of expressions likely to be used in day-to-day life. Question 5 (C) asked students to write a long message to their friends in a way that probably is not true to life for the modern teenager, but the theme and vocabulary was very fitting. Students who were a little uncertain in how to approach the format could look back to the email in Question 4 as a helpful hint.听听

The longer compositions of Question 6 continued this approach of building the questions around the lives of students. 6 (A) was a new topic for the exams, Festivals, but an open-ended question meant a student could express their culture in any way they wished. Chinese New Year, Mid-Autumn Festival, St. Patrick鈥檚 Day and Christmas were all equally good choices here, so students should be very pleased. Option (B) echoed material prepared for the Oral鈥檚 Language Portfolio Sector, only updating the material to reflect their completion of their secondary school studies. Option (C) asked about the student鈥檚 family, which should be very familiar territory. This is the kind of vocabulary that teachers often cover at the beginning of a student鈥檚 education in Mandarin, so students could draw on some fundamental material.听

This was a more complex exam than previous years as students needed to have a more comprehensive grasp of the language. However, this was made more approachable by making sure so many questions were rooted in the real experiences of a student of Mandarin Chinese in Ireland.听

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• A fair and well-structured paper that was very accessible to those who only started studying Chinese in Senior Cycle.
• A paper focused on real life applications of the language.

While a little bit tougher than last year, most students should be happy with his paper. The examiner was very thoughtful in the choice of themes and in providing clarification on some key terms. The vocabulary drew on the usual topics that a student would have prepared when learning any language and so there was nothing out of the blue or shocking to be found. Students who took their time, read the instructions carefully, and covered the key points of the question will score well.

Section A is the reading section. The first question was a train station notice board, a very relevant example for anyone looking to visit China. The locations mentioned were clear and familiar to students (park, hospital, library etc.). Question 2 asked students to read a flyer for a zoo 鈥� another common location for new language learners to cover. The format of this piece was very true to life, ensuring that the student鈥檚 skills were relevant to actual experiences. The examiner was very thoughtful in clarifying certain terms that students might know, for example giving the characters for 鈥渢reasure鈥�. However, students should read the questions very carefully, as unlike the others, B (iii) required an answer in Chinese not English. The poetry question was accessible, without the need for advanced metaphor. Part (e) asked a very specific question about the radical of characters, which while not a challenging question requires a clear grasp of the principles of written Chinese. Question 4 brought in an element of Chinese culture by focusing on food, Hot Pot in particular. Students should be familiar with discussing food, but some might find the sequential phrases (鈥渇irst鈥�, 鈥渁nd then鈥�, 鈥渓ast鈥�) tricky.

Section B, the writing section, had lots of options for students. In Question 5 they would need to choose the correct format and tone. Students needed to ensure chose the correct level of respect for the context. This stays true the course鈥檚 core idea of representing Mandarin Chinese in a manner that is relevant to their real lives, and so how to respectfully make an appointment with a mentor, GP, or employer should have been prepared. More advanced students would need to be cautious about word count in this section. The longer 100-character pieces had a useful overlap with the previous sections such that a student writing about their favourite food could use some of the vocabulary from Section A鈥檚 Hot Pot piece. The questions were accessible enough to allow students to use the vocabulary that they knew in order to describe a person that they know or a dream holiday.

The aural was spoken clearly and drew on common vocabulary (travel, family, descriptions). However, students would still need to take the time to read the questions carefully in order to know what to look for 鈥� numbers, locations etc.

While students with a heritage of speaking Chinese will find this paper very easy, it was very accessible and fair to those who only started learning the language in 5^th Year. This paper was manageable and shows the study of Mandarin Chinese to be an appealing option for those looking to take it up for the Leaving Certificate.

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