Mandarin is the national language in China and Chinese is the most widely spoken language in the world. China is also the second largest economy in the world. So, learning Mandarin gives you a distinct advantage when travelling or doing business with China or other Mandarin-speaking areas.

The skills that you learn in Mandarin are useful for working in areas such as business and commerce, travel and tourism and teaching.

What will I study?

This course offers you the opportunity to develop your skills in reading, listening, talking and writing in Mandarin, which are essential for learning, work and life. You will also learn to understand how language works and how to communicate information and ideas.

The course comprises four areas of study: Reading, Writing, Listening and Talking.

How will I be assessed?

Please note – for the 2022-23 session there is no assignment, only the 4 components.

The course assessment has five components totalling 120 marks:

Component 1: question paper 1: Reading  – worth 30 marks

Component 2: question paper 1: Writing – worth 20 marks (scaled up to 30 for 2022-23 session)

Component 3: question paper 2: Listening – worth 20 marks (scaled up to 30 for 2022-23 session)

Component 4: performance – talking – worth 30 marks.

For the performance component, you will be asked to deliver a spoken presentation and take part in a conversation in Mandarin (simplified) in one of the following contexts: society, learning, employability or culture. Your performance will be set by the Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA) and marked internally by an SQA assessor.

The question papers will be set and marked externally by the SQA. The grade awarded is based on the total marks achieved across all course assessment components. The course assessment is graded A-D.