Specification at a glance
This qualification is linear. Linear means that students will sit all their exams at the end of the course.
Subject content
Students study all of the following themes on which the assessments are based.
- 1. Theme 1: Identity and culture
- 2. Theme 2: Local, national, international and global areas of interest
- 3. Theme 3: Current and future study and employment
Assessments
GCSE Chinese (Spoken Mandarin) has a Foundation Tier (grades 1–5) and a Higher Tier (grades 4–9). Students must take all four question papers at the same tier. All question papers must be taken in the same series.
| Paper 1: Listening |
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What's assessed Understanding and responding to different types of spoken language |
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How it's assessed
(Each exam includes 5 minutes’ reading time of the question paper before the listening stimulus is played.) |
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Questions Foundation Tier and Higher Tier
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| Paper 2: Speaking |
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What's assessed Communicating and interacting effectively in speech for a variety of purposes |
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How it's assessed
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Questions Foundation Tier and Higher Tier The format is the same at Foundation Tier and Higher Tier, but with different stimulus questions for the Photo card and different stimulus materials for the Role-play. The timings are different too:
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| Paper 3: Reading |
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What's assessed Understanding and responding to different types of written language |
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How it's assessed
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Questions Foundation Tier and Higher Tier
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| Paper 4: Writing |
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What's assessed Communicating effectively in writing for a variety of purposes |
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How it's assessed
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Questions Foundation Tier
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