Chinese Connections Readers

Chinese Connections is designed for middle school and high school students learning Chinese as a world language aiming to take the AP or IB exam, and anyone else who wants to improve their proficiency.

Are your students looking for interesting new ways to engage with Chinese language learning? Chinese Connections is a brand new product developed by international in-service teachers which allows students to:

• Connect with the Chinese language through contemporary and relatable content
• Grow their vocabulary in a fun and engaging way
• Use the language in real-life, everyday scenarios
• Prepare for benchmark assessments 
• Engage in a whole host of interesting and fun activities

It’s the perfect bridge between textbooks and examinations. Learn more below!

Product Highlights

• Aligned with AP IBMYP, and IBDP themes and topics and new HSK 3.0 standards
• Contemporary authentic use of language and expressions
• Relatable stories enable students to practice Chinese in real world settings
• Vocabulary, grammar and sentence structures aligned to popular textbooks
• Stories that present vocabulary under different contexts to expand and reinforce students’ learning
• Supported with printable teacher guides and student worksheets, as well as online exercises and assessments
• Aligned with AP, IBMYP, and IBDP themes and topics
• Designed for differentiated learning

ACTFL Proficiency Levels (Each level with 24 books)

• Kick-Off: Novice Low
• Level F: Novice Low to Novice High
• Level 1 : Novice Mid to Novice High
• Level 2: Novice High to Intermediate Low
• Level 3: Intermediate Low to Intermediate Mid
• Level 4: Intermediate Low to Advanced Low

Why Chinese Connections?

No matter what age you are, knowing the fundamentals like colours and numbers is crucial to Chinese learning. However, teenagers understandably do not want to be reading kid story books. In order to attract this older demographic, we need to engage them with topics that they can not only relate to, but which they would actually want to talk about.

Over the years, we’ve worked with countless Chinese language teachers and schools, so we know the challenges they face.

Many educators today struggle with finding content that is not only developmentally and linguistically appropriate for this particular age range, but also stimulating. As a result, teachers often spend a lot of time first searching for content that would interest their students, and then even more time rewriting said content so that their students can actually understand and engage with it. Time that most teachers simply do not have.

And that’s where Mandarin Matrix comes in. Our Chinese Connections series recycles key vocabulary from textbooks that are commonly used in K-12 classrooms in an effective and engaging way, saving teachers both time and energy.

Available on the Mandarin Matrix Online Classroom (MMOC), Chinese Connections features authentic and relatable content in different contexts, specifically created for middle and high school students. These topics cover AP, IB (DP&MYP) themes and UN Sustainable Development Goals and include:

• Personal and Public Identities
• Contemporary Life
• Identities and Relationships
• Families and Communities
• Personal and Cultural Expression
• Social Media
• Globalisation and Sustainability 
• Science and Technology 
• Culture and Diversity
• Social Justice Issues
• Beauty and Aesthetics
• Volunteering and Social Organisation

The content is presented in a wide variety of formats, including:

• Email / Letter
• Article
• Blog / Vlog
• Debate
• Brochure / Poster / Leaflet
• Phone Calls
• Advertisements

While Chinese Connections’s sweet spot is middle and high school students, it also works well for middle school foreign language, middle school immersion, and collegiate. 

If you want your students to be be fully engaged in learning Chinese while building proficiency AND connecting it to their daily lives, then Chinese Connections is for you. To learn more about Chinese Connections and how it can help your students, please reach out to our dedicated sales team at sales@mandarinmatrix.com