Curriculum

The school Use BC curriculum, following the Core and Curricular Competencies.

Chinese Language Arts

Graduates from HongDe’s bi-lingual education program will have command over two languages. Every aspect of their academic English will be on par with their peers from mono-linguistic programs. But they will also have enough knowledge of Mandarin Chinese so as to comfortably engage with native speakers.

The Mandarin Bi-lingual program aims to have all students achieve near-fluency by the end of seventh grade.  Specifically, students will be at the B1 to B2*  or Intermediate-High to Advanced-Mid**  levels.  At these levels students can be expected to:
-read simpler newspaper articles concerned with current affairs
-understand the main point of many TV programs
-confidently interact with native speakers on a wide range of topics

Students are exposed to traditional and simplified characters, as well as pinyin and zhuyin romanization systems. Extensive reading at each grade level establishes the core of instruction. Students will have a strong command of 1500-2000 Chinese characters by program’s end.

Textual sources have been selected based on their adherence to traditional Chinese values, which include the cultivation of virtue, respect for elders and learning, diligence and propriety. The time-honored Thousand-Character Classic（千字文）, Three-Character Classic（三字經） and Rules for Children（弟子規） are among the sources. The name of the school, HongDe, translated as spreading virtue widely, reflects the values our program aspires to impart.

*Common European Framework of Languages
**American Council on Foreign Languages