VCE Chinese LCSStudy Design

The LCS is made up of four units.Each unit focuses on a specific study area，and students are expected to achieve a set of skills upon finishing each unit(see Table 4.1).Each unit is normally over the duration of a semester and involves at least 50 hours of scheduled classroom instruction.This study is designed for the students who have already studied Chinese as part of their secondary education for at least 100 hours prior to the commencement of unit 1，however，some students with less formal experience will also be able to meet the requirements successfully.There is no prerequisite for entry to units 1，2 and 3，but students must undertake unit 3 and unit 4 as a sequence.Topics throughout out the 4 units are separated but correlated under two strands①Chinese Language and②Culture and Society in Chinese-speaking communities.

Table 4.1　Prescribed strands and topics for each unit

The classroom language for instruction，as well as in assessments，are both English and Chinese.English writing tasks，a 600-word written report，accounting for 25 out of 50 points.15 out of 50 points are on responding listening and speaking questions in Chinese.Only 10 out of 50 points are marked on reading and writing in Chinese.The writing tasks include answering questions on the texts，and a 100-to 150-character report in Chinese.

The different weights of English and Chinese language in the assessment structure is directly reflected from Advice for Teachers(2016).All the reading and writing activities in units 1 and 2 are conducted in English，while Chinese is the language for some speaking practices like role play.In units 3 and 4，both English and Chinese are used for classroom activities.English is the language for academic level reading and writing activities，while activities using Chinese are suggested to have more focus on listening and speaking practice，including some short reading and writing exercise.