Mandarin Excellence Programme: Teaching Resources

The Department for Education has established an Expert Group to advise on the implementation of the Mandarin Excellence
Programme in schools. To help schools deliver the programme, the Expert Group has drawn up the recommended lists of teaching
resources set out below, drawing on the best available resources from a wide variety of organisations.
Each list is split into two sections, the first showing resources that the group would particularly recommend for pupils on the
Mandarin Excellence Programme and the second showing other resources that the group believes are also suitable.
The lists are divided into:

1. Textbooks
2. General teaching resources (covering a range of skills within Mandarin study)
3. Online tools (usually covering one specific skills)/reference sources
4. Apps
5. Television/videos

The following points should also be noted:

 some of the recommended resources carry a cost. Schools will wish to balance their competing priorities in deciding whether to
purchase these resources;

 the use of any particular resource is not compulsory for schools participating in the programme;

 schools are not prohibited from using resources not on these lists. The Expert Group recognises that schools may already have
invested in other effective resources;

 UCL IoE will record which resources participating schools are using to enable an iterative discussion on their effectiveness; and

 the Expert Group will review the lists below periodically, in light of feedback about which resources schools are using and
finding most effective.
Textbooks

Whichever textbook(s) a school chooses to use, the Expert Group’s advice is that each pupil on the programme should have their
own individual textbook, to enable further progress during independent study.

Particular recommendations

Name Focus
Jinbu 1 & 2 (pupil book, workbook, Suitable for beginners. Allows for a good speed of progress. Less emphasis on Pinyin, so
listening tracks) good for encouraging character recognition. A challenging faster pace in Book 2.

Edexcel A/AS Very challenging with some good texts

Easy Steps to Chinese 1-8 Books 7 and 8 are suitable for higher level students, with exercises for practice and revision

Easy Steps to Chinese books 6, 7 & 8 Good level of language for post-GCSE study
Chinese Made Easy For use in KS3-5

Other suitable resources

Edexcel GCSE Suitable for mid-level students. A mixture of different exercises, easy for students to follow
and to use for revision.
GCSE Chinese trilogy plus sound Book 1 for complete beginners. Covers same age groups as Jinbu, but can extend into full
files preparation for Edexcel GCSE
AS for Chinese
Chinese Breeze Graded Reader Text selected to contain the most useful words for communication in Chinese. Each book only
Series (Level 1 - 300 characters; contains 5% new vocabulary, repeated at least 8 times throughout the book.
Level 2 – 500; Level 3 – 750; Level 4 –
1000 characters) Content is mostly original stories covering a wide variety of genres. Each book in the series
comes with a mini CD with recordings of the text in both normal and slower speeds. We
normally let Year 10 students borrow it as extra reading.
My Little Chinese Story Books, by Very good reading materials for Year 9 and above. They are in Simplified Chinese and heavily
Beijing University Press (total 40 illustrated, being aimed at learners with knowledge of 300-500 characters. Each story is about
series) 500 characters long, with small Pinyin script above the characters. The end of each story is
repeated on a single page, just using the Chinese characters. There is a vocabulary list at the
back of the book.

There is also an accompanying CD with a flash program that "reads" through the story, page
by page, with the words being highlighted.

Ni Hao For use in KS3-5

Discover China Books 2-4 These books have sections that can be adapted to suit advanced classes. They are also
supported by a good range of freely available extra materials on the website:
http://www.mydiscoverchina.com/
General teaching resources

Particular recommendations

Name Focus
Chinese Pod Podcasts of around 20 minutes including dialogue in Chinese and discussion of the
vocabulary and grammar introduced in the dialogue. Excellent resource for independent
https://chinesepod.com/ (MONTHLY study - improving listening skills and gaining new vocabulary or consolidating vocabulary
PAYMENT REQUIRED) and grammar.

Each podcast comes with a PDF document which includes a breakdown of new
vocabulary and grammar structures. Also has podcasts discussing culture of China.
Suitable for all levels with podcasts based on the following levels: Newbie, Elementary,
Intermediate, Upper Intermediate, Advanced.

Chinese Pod TV As above in video format. No accompanying PDF documents

https://www.youtube.com/user/Chines
ePodTV (FREE)

Slow Chinese Contains blog posts about different aspects of Chinese culture and language. Frequently
updated and can be used for both listening and reading practice. Podcasts also
http://www.slow-chinese.com/shop available at cost that read the articles and are therefore good for listening skills. Suitable
(WEBSITE - FREE, PODCASTS – for intermediate level and above students.
PAYMENT REQUIRED)

Go Chinese Vocabulary/reading/listening/character input exercises, along with past papers to use

alongside Easy Steps to Chinese, Edexcel, IB Ab Initio, IB Standard, A Level, etc.
http://www.gochinese.net/
Excellent for independent learning and differentiation and also for teachers inputting own
(Annual subscription - £400 a year for texts/resources, which can be immediately segmented into words, Pinyin added and
<100 users, £600 a year for over 100) words translated as necessary by the platform.
Confucius Institute online Cultural information and various topics of interest. Suitable for all levels.
resources

http://www.chinesecio.com/?lang=en

http://www.chinesecio.com/cms/zh-
hans/culture-lessons-list

Mock HSK exam level 1 – 6, use the For A level

exercises for practice listening and
reading comprehension

http://www.lse.ac.uk/CIBL/resources/
Mock-HSK-tests-levels-1-6.aspx

Cambridge Pre-U Chinese, use as For A level

listening and reading
comprehension exercise

http://www.cie.org.uk/programmes-
and-qualifications/cambridge-pre-u-
mandarin-chinese-9778/
Other suitable resources

BBC Learning Zone – Chinese There are videos and clips regarding all different areas of real life topics. Suitable for all
levels.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/languages/chine
se

Beginner Chinese Games Games for practising basics such as numbers, days/months, colours. For beginners.

http://howdoilearnchinese.com/

http://www.thechinesestaffroom.com/r
esources/games

Easy Chinese lessons video from For beginners

CCTV

http://english.cntv.cn/program/learnchi
nese/easychinese/index.shtml

Rosetta Stone Comprehensive language learning software, available as downloadable software or as

online resources for computers, tablets and smartphones
http://www.rosettastone.co.uk/lp/h1/?p
c=cop&language=chi

(PAYMENT REQUIRED)
ULearn Chinese teaching Youth Each text book has five themed units introducing new vocabulary supported with
Chinese Test packs levels 1-6 reinforcement exercises. Designed in A5 format and can be printed locally from the
supplied pdfs.

Workbook - activities linked to the text book are completed by students. Each workbook
has a variety of activities suited for a wide age range and these can be printed as
required from the supplied pdfs.

Teacher's Guide - with a summary of the objectives and key vocabulary for each unit the
detailed teaching notes provide support for both Chinese (a Chinese version of the
Teacher's guide is provided for Packs 1 and 2) and non-Chinese speaking teachers.

Michel Thomas Language Course Largely audio CD-based, with a visual review course and interactive exercises for PC or
Mandarin Mac. Very clear presentation for beginners.

http://www.michelthomas.com/learn-
mandarin-chinese.php

(PAYMENT REQUIRED)

Collins Easy learning Chinese Learn how to write 250 of the commonest Chinese characters, with stroke by stroke
characters guidance on every page.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Learning-
Mandarin-Chinese-Characters-
Collins/dp/0007450060
Online tools/reference sources

Particular recommendations

Name Focus
Quizlet Website and app for learning characters and vocabulary. Includes games based on
characters. Characters can be put together in sets by teachers or by students. Suitable
https://quizlet.com/ for all levels.

Quizlet Teacher costs, but allows you to check student progress.

The Chairman’s Bao Online newspaper in simplified Chinese. Good for practising reading skills, authentic
listening material, can save vocabulary lists. Suitable for students at HSK Level 1- 6.
http://www.thechairmansbao.com/

(NOW REQUIRES PAYMENT)

Skritter Website or app that allows you to practise writing characters using the correct stroke
order. Suitable for all levels.
https://html5.skritter.com/ (PAYMENT
REQUIRED)
Memrise App and website for learning characters and vocabulary. Also has pronunciation of each
character so is good for oral and visual recognition of characters. Suitable for all levels.
https://www.memrise.com/ (FREE)
MDBG Online Chinese dictionary. Gives example sentences of how a word is used. The user
can draw the character to search for its meaning and can copy the image of the
http://www.mdbg.net/chindict/chindict.p character and put it into a Powerpoint slide which then shows you the moving graphic of
hp (FREE) how the character is written using the correct stroke order and detailing the radical in a
different colour. Suitable for all levels.
A All set learning Grammar Wiki Website (and now a book too) detailing comprehensive information about a wide range
of grammar points in Chinese. Suitable as a reference resource for both students and
https://resources.allsetlearning.com/chine teachers, from beginner level to advanced level.
se/grammar/Main_Page (FREE)

Bing Chinese dictionary Online Chinese dictionary which is good for example sentences. Suitable for all levels.

http://cn.bing.com/dict/search?q=welco
me&FORM=BDVSP6&mkt=zh-cn
(FREE)

Chinese Tools Website with cultural information but key thing is it allows you to type in Chinese
characters if the computer doesn’t allow you to. Also allows you to type in Chinese
http://www.chinese-tools.com (FREE) characters which then produces the pinyin with tone marks. Suitable for all levels.

Online English to Chinese, Chinese

to English dictionary

www.nciku.com

Sentence of the week – poems or For A level

phrases

http://www.lse.ac.uk/CIBL/resources/S
entence-of-the-Week.aspx

HSK and YCT (Youth Chinese Test) Good revision materials for all levels
past papers

http://www.chinesetest.cn/godownload.
do
Other suitable resources

Hanlexon Website which allows you to create PDF documents of characters with accompanying
boxes to practise writing the characters accurately and with the correct stroke order.
http://www.hanlexon.org/index.htm More suitable for teachers but could be used by students at all levels.
(PAYMENT REQUIRED)

Arch Chinese Similar website to Hanlexon but generates a different type of character worksheet.
Also generates flashcards. Suitable for teachers or students at all levels.
http://www.archchinese.com/how_to_wri
te_chinese.html (PAYMENT
REQUIRED)

Chinese characters input online tool Suitable for all levels.

www.inputking.com

Chinese to Pinyin converter Helps students with pronunciation and preparation for speaking exams. Suitable for all
levels.
http://www.chinesetools.eu/tools/chines
e-to-pinyin/index.php#transcrire

Learning radicals of Chinese Animations to show radical stroke order to form characters.
characters

http://www.chtsai.net/radicals/

Mind Snacks Mandarin (PARTLY Games to practice character/Pinyin recognition. Suitable for all learners and levels
FREE, MOSTLY PAID)
Clicker 6 Build sentences from characters by clicking on them from a box. Allows characters to
be presented in the sequence they will be needed, but gives pupils a choice at each
http://www.cricksoft.com/support/clicker stage
6.aspx
Apps

Particular recommendations

Name Focus
Pleco Chinese dictionary app which is usable offline. Allows the user to draw the character
to search for its meaning. Useful with flashcard and sound and stroke order plug-ins
https://www.pleco.com (FREE) which cost extra. Suitable for all levels.

Outlier (forthcoming add-on to Pleco) Dictionary of Chinese characters – not yet released but looks very good, particularly
accessible for beginners. Will be available as an add-on to Pleco and on Outlier’s
(PAID FOR) website. Full explanations and break down of characters in picture form. Could be
revolutionary for character learning.

Word Tracer (PAID, iTunes only) Chinese characters and phrases

Other suitable resources

Du Chinese Reading app with a range of levels. FREE, though additional premium content is to be
added. Suitable for GCSE upwards.

Chinese Writer Short activities for writing Chinese characters

Anki All-purpose flashcards, that can be adapted for learning vocabulary

Chinese Gems App An animated, audio-enhanced game that helps the user learn the appearance,
meaning, Pinyin spelling and pronunciation of Chinese characters. The “professor’s
portal” enables teachers to track pupil achievements.
TV/videos

Name Focus
Happy Chinese – Season 1 Daily Life Enables learning of Chinese vocabulary and grammar, and listening practice from
Chinese TV show, 116 episodes native speakers in conversational situations. Mainly targeted at students from beginner
to intermediate levels

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Vh Carton film: 36 characters 36 个字. Used for end of the year 9 revision sessions.
OCX5WLpw Accompanying worksheet contains all 36 characters for students to find out the
meaning of the characters.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AIeS For beginners

zxDE_NI

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UQ3l
SlIjpAY

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nknx Understanding and recognising Chinese characters

ZlnDDVw

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FjB
MXKerVK4

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ks_h Teaching culture and traditions through learning Chinese songs

RFXi7Iw

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fw7d
OfBatsU

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mRK
TOZmX2cE