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Is there Chinese as a Leaving Cert subject?

  • 12-06-2011 11:35am
    #1
    megumiwinS
    Closed Accounts Posts: 30 ✭


    I know there's one for the people who don't do any languages and needed at least one language to get into certain colleges/universities. And that doesn't give you any points. So I'm just wondering if there is one as a subject like the others since this language is like so popular. :rolleyes:


Comments

  • #2
    ._.
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 334 ✭✭._.


    Sadly not :(


  • #3
    PictureFrame
    Registered Users Posts: 3,989 ✭✭✭PictureFrame


    No, it really should be at this stage in time as it is one of the world's most powerful countries! However it's supposed to be very difficult to learn I think!


  • #4
    megumiwinS
    Closed Accounts Posts: 30 ✭megumiwinS


    Ohh no? :(
    I've heard that it's quite easy to learn but just difficult in writing. :)


  • #5
    polka dot
    Registered Users Posts: 204 ✭✭polka dot


    It's currently being phased in but that may just be for TYs. I know some girls in my school just recently did a Chinese exam in Maynooth I think. Not for LC/JC. Our school's running the pilot programme as far as I know and they've been learning Chinese all year. Some teachers/education people went over to China a while back to discuss putting it on the curriculum.

    But still no, it is not on it yet.


  • #6
    PJelly
    Closed Accounts Posts: 494 ✭✭PJelly


    It's supposed to be easy to learn, so I've heard.
    The verbs don't go like "I put, she put he put." It's all infinitive. "I to put. She to put They to put" etc.
    If it is actually like that, it would be a dream to learn


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  • #7
    spurious
    Moderators, Category Moderators, Education Moderators Posts: 27,234 CMod ✭✭✭✭spurious


    Isn't there also four different ways of pronouncing some words, all with very different meanings?


  • #8
    megumiwinS
    Closed Accounts Posts: 30 ✭megumiwinS


    PJelly wrote: »
    It's supposed to be easy to learn, so I've heard.
    The verbs don't go like "I put, she put he put." It's all infinitive. "I to put. She to put They to put" etc.
    If it is actually like that, it would be a dream to learn

    Yeah I think so.:D
    If this is like the Japanese subject, just 2 years course it would be lovely :rolleyes:


  • #9
    megumiwinS
    Closed Accounts Posts: 30 ✭megumiwinS


    spurious wrote: »
    Isn't there also four different ways of pronouncing some words, all with very different meanings?

    Yeahhh that's the difficult part I thought. But I don't know. Maybe will be easy after all?:rolleyes:


  • #10
    caoty
    Registered Users Posts: 174 ✭✭caoty


    PJelly wrote: »
    It's supposed to be easy to learn, so I've heard.
    The verbs don't go like "I put, she put he put." It's all infinitive. "I to put. She to put They to put" etc.
    If it is actually like that, it would be a dream to learn

    There is no conjugation in Chinese. No plural forms, no tenses. It roughly goes like subject->verb->object.


  • #11
    2517ais
    Banned (with Prison Access) Posts: 10 ✭2517ais


    Yes I no a 2 year course may seem wonderful...but its seriously challenging....believe i'm doin japanese next week for the leaving cert and its quite difficult to get to the highish standard required in the leaving cert in just two year..(especially seen as we had only a double a week in our timetable to we ended up staying after school a couple of times a week and comin in early on fridays..not something i'd say was easy!)

    And then the oral was extremely difficult...!

    We started off with 10 in our class and now only 4 are left which says a lot...and they were all honours students who couldn't hack it...!

    That being said i'm glad i can say i have Japanese...bt if you are considering taking you a language like it for the Leaving Cert.. you have been warned its not a walk in the park:cool:!!


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  • #12
    Lanaier
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 604 ✭✭✭Lanaier


    As some have mentioned, Chinese grammar is indeed generally straight forward.
    Certainly easier than English.

    The writing is the hardest part but the pronunciation will be the most important issue and probably the biggest obstacle.
    I know people who have spoken Chinese for years and they still sound very obviously like foreigners.

    Robotic, stuttered sentences , inability to speak fluidly.
    Actually speaking Chinese with an Irish or an American accent, it's like no one told them Chinese is tonal.


  • #13
    RadioClash
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 132 ✭✭RadioClash


    The spoken language isn't mega difficult if you're tones are accurate and you have a good ear for them. As somone else mentioned the grammar is fairly intuitive for an English speaker, although the language can be highly idiomatic, so that presents a challenge. As for becoming fluent at the written language....forget it! It takes brute rote memorization of thousands of characters. This is why it's quite difficult for it to be put on the LC with it's emphasis on the written word for modern languages.


  • #14
    sckool
    Closed Accounts Posts: 18 ✭sckool


    Mu aunt is a prof in ucc in the asian studies department and a few monts ago she went to a meeting regarding to LC and she said it was only a matter of time before it goes to schools she said maybe 5-10 years so we definiately wouldnt be doing it for our leaving cert:(


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