Fwd: Seeking Distance-learning Chinese literacy course

[Timothy Beach]

 By way of introduction, I'm the father of a 15 year-old boy who has lived in Taiwan where he has been bilingually home-schooled his whole life.  His core academic courses are all in English via U.S.-based accredited distance-learning high school programs through which he earns high school credit.  He's Chinese studies are based on a combination of local and imported materials.  Our problem is that his Chinese studies are currently taking up a lot of time, but he's not earning any credit for them.  It has occurred to me that this needs to change, because we are helping him prepare for early college entrance.  Because he has grown up in bilingual home environment (my wife is Taiwanese), he doesn't need any speaking practice; he just needs to focus on furthering his reading and writing skills.  Unfortunately, virtually all of the online Chinese high school and community college courses I've found so far are aimed only at beginning-level, Chinese-as-a-Second-Language Learners.  Based on my personal assessment of his Chinese learning and academic needs, the ideal distance-learning course(s) would include the following features:

•  a focus on intermediate-level reading and writing skills
  
• preferably dual (high school & college) credit available
• year-round enrollment (we really need to start ASAP rather than waiting for a new term to begin)
• preferably reasonably priced!
• preferably focuses on traditional characters (which is the only form that he currently learning to write, although is slowly learning to read simplified as well as traditional characters).

Although we may not find all of these desired features in the same course, I hope that we can find at least most of them.  My hunch is that there are likely one or more Chinese instructors in the larger U.S. academic community who are more knowledgeable about  what's available in this rapidly changing world of Chinese distance learning than I could possibly be.  It is this assumption that has led me to contact you today.  I look forward to hearing any suggestions you might have.  Also, please feel free to pass this plea for info along to anyone whom you think might be able to direct me to a suitable course or courses for my son.  I thank you for your time and attention.

Sincerely,

Timothy Beach

Taichung, Taiwan

[Timothy Beach]

[Lisa]

I just did a quick search and found this. http://www.mivhs.org/Courses/HighSchool/MVSPlus/WorldLanguages/Chinese/tabid/285/Default.aspx. However it is only for high school credit and it appears you could not enroll until the fall. The only other one I saw at that leel didn't appear to give credit it was http://www.mivhs.org/Courses/HighSchool/MVSPlus/WorldLanguages/Chinese/tabid/285/Default.aspx I will ask on some other homeschool groups. Lisa

-------Original Message------- From: Timothy Beach To: undisclosed-recipients@ Subject: Seeking Distance-learning Chinese literacy course Sent: 17 Mar '12 15:53 �By way of introduction, I'm the father of a 15 year-old boy who has lived in Taiwan where he has been bilingually home-schooled his whole life. �His core academic courses are all in English via U.S.-based accredited distance-learning high school programs through which he earns high school credit. �He's Chinese studies are based on a combination of local and imported materials. �Our problem is that his Chinese studies are currently taking up a lot of time, but he's not earning any credit for them. �It has occurred to me that this needs to change, because we are helping him prepare for early college entrance. �Because he has grown up in bilingual home environment (my wife is Taiwanese), he doesn't need any speaking practice; he just needs to focus on furthering his reading and writing skills. �Unfortunately, virtually all of the online Chinese high school and community college courses I've found so far are aimed only at beginning-level, Chinese-as-a-Second-Language Learners. �Based on my personal assessment of his Chinese learning and academic needs, the ideal distance-learning course(s) would include the following features:

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[Julie Johnson]

There is an AP Chinese course. Advanced Placement (AP) courses give you college credit. Your son could start preparing for the Chinese AP test. 

I found some information on homeschoolers taking AP courses at http://www.collegeboard.com/student/testing/ap/reg.html

Registering

AP Courses

Once you've decided to take the challenge, it's easy to enroll in an AP course. Talk to an AP teacher or the AP Coordinator at your school about the course you want to take. Discuss the course's workload and any preparation you might need.

If you are a homeschooled student or attend a school that doesn't offer AP, you can still participate. Each year hundreds of students participate through independent study. Some states even sponsor online AP courses.

AP Exams

If your school offers AP, contact your AP Coordinator to register for the exams. He or she will order the necessary materials, collect fees, and let you know when and where to appear for the exams.

If you are a homeschooled student or attend a school that does not offer AP, you can still take the exams by arranging to test at a participating school. (Students in mainland China should contact intern...@collegeboard.org.)

• Call AP Services no later than March 1 to get the names and telephone numbers of local AP Coordinators. Prepare a list of the exams you plan to take prior to calling so that the appropriate Coordinators can be identified
• Contact the AP Coordinators identified by AP Services no later than March 15.

When calling Coordinators to arrange testing, make sure to tell them:

• You are trying to locate a school willing to administer exams to homeschooled students or students from schools that do not offer AP.
• You will use a different school code so your exam score(s) will be reported separately from the school at which you test. (Homeschooled students will use the state homeschool code provided by the Coordinator on the day of the exam; students attending schools will use their school code.)
• The exams you plan to take.

Once you locate a school willing to administer the exams, that school's AP Coordinator is responsible for ordering your exam materials, telling you when and where to appear for the exams, and collecting your fees (note: the school may elect to charge a higher exam fee in order to offset additional proctoring or administration costs). That school must administer the exams for you; it cannot forward them to you or your school for handling.

More at http://www.collegeboard.com/student/testing/ap/sub_chineselang.html 

Chinese Language and Culture

Download the AP Chinese Language and Culture Course Description, Effective Fall 2011 (.pdf/880KB).
Complete course and exam information is available in the Course Description.
Requires Adobe Reader (latest version recommended).

AP Chinese Language and Culture Exam Overview (.pdf/4.6MB): Use this presentation to preview the question types and directions screens you'll see on exam day.

The AP Chinese Exam assesses students' interpersonal communication skills, their abilities to present and interpret language in spoken and written forms, and their functional familiarity with Chinese culture.

Frequently Asked Questions

What level of Chinese language ability and what aspects of Chinese culture will be taught in the course and assessed in the exam?

The AP Chinese Language and Culture course is roughly equivalent to a 4th semester college course. The course and exam incorporate Chinese cultural information within the teaching of reading, writing, speaking, and listening to the language.

On which Chinese dialect is the AP Chinese Language and Culture Exam based?

The AP Chinese Language and Culture course and examination is based on Mandarin/Putonghua Chinese.

What type of characters are used on the exam?

The exam provides its questions using both traditional and simplified characters, enabling students with knowledge of either type of characters to take the exam. Similarly, student responses using either set of characters are accepted.

How can I find out if AP Chinese Language and Culture is available in my high school?

Please check with your Chinese teacher, your school's AP Coordinator, or principal/head of school to find out whether your school offers the AP Chinese Language and Culture course. If your teachers and school administrators are unaware of this course, encourage them to visit AP Central for more information.

How is the AP Chinese exam scored?

The AP Chinese Reader's scores on the essays and problem-solving questions are combined with the computer-scored multiple-choice questions, and the total raw scores are converted to a composite score based on AP's 5-point scare: 5 (Extremely well qualified), 4 (Well qualified), 3 (Qualified), 2 (Possibly qualified), and 1 (No recommendation).

I found this at eHow.com on How to Take AP Courses as a Homeschooler:

Instructions

1. • 1
     Research Advanced Placement courses online. Courses commonly found online are AP Literature and Composition, Psychology, History, Economics, Computer Science and Art History.
   • 2
     Email the online academies that offer homeschoolers Advanced Placement courses and request more information. Take advantage of different online programs by mixing and matching courses based on tuition, class offerings and means of instruction.
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   • 3
     Enroll in Advanced Placement courses by registering online. AP instructors use email, instant messaging, video conferencing and online bulletins for teaching the courses.
   • 4
     Print out the syllabus and complete course work just as you would any homeschool class. Join in class discussions and keep in contact with your instructor if you have problems.
   • 5
     Download course descriptions and exam requirements at the College Board website (see Resources). If enrolling in an online course isn't possible, use the course information found at the College Board and prepare for the AP exam yourself.

Read more: How to Take Advanced Placement Courses as a Homeschooler | eHow.com http://www.ehow.com/how_2154331_take-advanced-placement-courses-as.html#ixzz1pk19aFZH 

Hope this helps!

Julie in Beijing

---

From: Lisa <li...@ouramericanfamily.us>
To: nonscho...@googlegroups.com
Sent: Saturday, March 17, 2012 9:44 PM
Subject: Re: Seeking Distance-learning Chinese literacy course