VCE Chinese Second Language Advanced Practice: Oral Exam and Written Exam

By the end you can

• Know what happens in the oral and the written exam. The oral is a conversation of about 7 minutes, then about 8 minutes on your Detailed Study. The written exam has listening, reading and writing in about 2 hours plus reading time.
  我想从两个方面来说。 · Wǒ xiǎng cóng liǎng ge fāngmiàn lái shuō. · I'd like to answer that from two angles.
• Talk about language, identity and Year 12 life (The Individual). Answer with a view, a reason, a real example and a link back, and make answers richer with 不但…而且 and 之所以…是因为.
  我在家说中文，在学校说英文。 · Wǒ zài jiā shuō Zhōngwén, zài xuéxiào shuō Yīngwén. · I speak Chinese at home and English at school.
• Discuss community, travel and keeping traditions (Chinese-Speaking Communities). Talk about Box Hill, a Spring Festival in Penang and how young people can pass on culture, and compare with 没有…那么, 与其…不如 and 跟…一样.
  我从小就在中文学校上课。 · Wǒ cóngxiǎo jiù zài Zhōngwén xuéxiào shàngkè. · I've gone to Chinese school since I was little.
• Give balanced views on technology, city life and change (The World Around Us). Discuss AI and study, living costs and transport in Melbourne, and turn one-sided answers into balanced ones with 虽然…但是 and 一方面…另一方面.
  这个问题有利也有弊。 · Zhège wèntí yǒu lì yě yǒu bì. · There are pros and cons to this.
• Discuss a Detailed Study with evidence and comparisons. A model discussion on a sample subtopic, Melbourne's Chinatown, shows how to name a source, quote an interview and open an answer with 拿我外公来说 or 根据我读的报道.
  我的专题是墨尔本唐人街的变化。 · Wǒ de zhuāntí shì Mò'ěrběn Tángrénjiē de biànhuà. · My subtopic is how Melbourne's Chinatown has changed.
• Answer listening and reading questions in English and in Chinese. A radio notice, a podcast, a library notice and a blog post, with answers in English and in Chinese, true or false questions you correct in Chinese, and words to find in the texts.
• Write a persuasive article and a personal diary entry. Argue a view with two reasons and answer the other side with 有人会说…其实, then show feelings through details in a diary entry, with a model for each in the key.
  我认为利大于弊。 · Wǒ rènwéi lì dà yú bì. · I think the benefits outweigh the costs.

What’s inside

• The study: The Advanced Study in One Page
• Conversation 1: The Individual
• Conversation 2: Chinese-Speaking Communities
• Conversation 3: The World Around Us
• Detailed Study: A Model Detailed Study Discussion
• Listening: Listening and Responding
• Reading: Reading and Responding
• Writing: Writing 1: Persuasive Article · Writing 2: Personal Diary Entry
• Plan: Your Six-Week Plan to the Exams

How to use this book

Every Chinese line is on the free audio with a pause to say it back, and the listening texts are on the same track. Little and often works best: fifteen minutes of speaking a day helps more than three hours the night before.

1. Week 1: Record your conversation answers. Answer the nine conversation questions aloud, listen back and add one real example to each. Write six short notes on your Detailed Study and practise answering questions on it from memory.
2. Week 2: New questions and daily listening. Write ten new questions on the three themes and answer two aloud every day. Listen to Chinese every day and note five new words.
3. Week 3: Detailed Study and reading. Ask a friend or family member to put Detailed Study questions to you, and name a source in every answer. Read one short news article a day and sum it up in English.
4. Week 4: Writing against the clock. Write one persuasive and one personal piece in timed conditions, then check your connectives, measure words and 了.
5. Week 5: A full practice oral. Do a practice oral of about 15 minutes with your teacher or a family member, then redo your three weakest answers.
6. Week 6: Timed written practice. Do one timed written practice, review your notes only, and sleep well before each exam.

Who it’s for

Year 12 students in Victoria taking VCE Chinese Second Language Advanced, getting ready for the oral and the written exam, and teachers who want model answers with audio on all three themes.

Before you start: Chinese at about HSK 4 to 5. Entry to the Advanced study depends on your schooling in Chinese, so check your eligibility with your school. Every model line has pinyin and English, and the answers are in the key.

Frequently asked questions

Which parts of the VCE Chinese Second Language Advanced exams does it cover?

Both sections of the oral: nine conversation questions across the three themes and a model Detailed Study discussion. For the written exam it has listening and reading with answers in English and Chinese, and two writing tasks: a persuasive article and a personal diary entry. SayMei wrote every text and question.

Can I use the Chinatown subtopic for my Detailed Study?

It is the book's own example, there to show how a discussion works. Choose your subtopic with your teacher, and prepare two or three sources you can name in the discussion, such as a report, a film or an interview.

Should I learn the model answers by heart?

Say each model aloud, then cover it and answer about your own life. The oral is a conversation, so speak from notes rather than a script, and time yourself with a phone timer.

Is this workbook free?

Yes. The whole 16-page PDF is free, and you can look through its pages here before you download. There's no card and nothing to pay.

Do I need a SayMei account?

Yes, to download the PDF, and the account is free: sign up with Google, Apple or your email address. With it we email you a copy of the workbook, keep every workbook you download on your account on all your devices, save your place in the free online practice, and you can practise speaking with Mei Lin, SayMei's AI tutor.

How do I print it?

The PDF is US Letter size. On A4 paper, choose "Fit to page" (or "Scale to fit") in the print dialog so nothing is cut off. Print the whole workbook or only the pages you need; colour looks best, and black and white works too.

Can I print copies for my class?

Yes. Print as many copies as you like for your own class or family. To share it, send this page: everyone can download their own copy.

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