Mandarin Pathways

To meet the learning needs of each student, the Dulwich Mandarin curriculum employs three pathways: Mandarin A: Chinese as a Native Language, Mandarin B: Mandarin as a Second Language and Mandarin C: Mandarin as a Foreign Language.

Mandarin A (CNL): Chinese as a Native Language

Students in this pathway acquired Mandarin as their first language at home and/or in schools where Mandarin was the instructional medium. English is typically their second language. Their home environment is typically Mandarin-speaking, and they excel in Mandarin language skills, which are further nurtured through our bilingual curriculum.

Mandarin B (MSL): Mandarin as a Second Language

This pathway is for heritage students who have been living outside of China (or other areas where Chinese is used as an official language) or non-heritage students who have been living in China and learning Mandarin for a long time. These students are able to carry out communication tasks that are age-appropriate, but may not be fully functional in their literacy skills in Mandarin. About 90% of the classroom instructions and languages used by the teacher are in Mandarin. The focus for students in this pathway is to develop their reading and writing skills, so that they can understand and analyse increasingly complex written and spoken materials and assess subtleties of the language in a wide range of forms and styles, preparing them for success in IB Mandarin and beyond.

Mandarin C (MFL): Mandarin as a Foreign Language

This pathway is for non-native/non-heritage students. From an initial stage, the course places a greater emphasis on functional skills in listening, speaking and reading, while students in this pathway use the Wo Hui Mandarin approach and website resources to support their learning.

Practical application of these skills in authentic language settings, both inside and outside the classroom, is encouraged to foster language fluency in our Mandarin programme.

Each pathway is tailored to the individual needs of students, ensuring they build a strong foundation for success in Mandarin, regardless of their starting point.

Mandarin Programme