Help me choose a Chinese study topic

[Daniel Primed]

Hello friends,

I am a year 12 student learning Chinese for the second time around(as I started it a year early). We have to do a large assignment which consists of a 5 minute oral presentation, a english written piece and a Chinese written piece. Since I'm doing it again I get to choose my own topic.

So I need some ideas on what I should do. Nothing too complex(ie political) but nothing too simple that relates to China. I was thinking of doing mine on Chinese design(more modern than traditional) as it intrests me. I want to do something modern about Chinese culture. Something that is rather stylistic. So what can you suggest? and what about information, where can I get it and how hard is it to find?

Thanking in advance,

-Daniel

[wai ming]

Hmm... if I remember correctly, you're Australian and this is a pretty major part of your assessment, right? It's called the In-Depth Study and the topic you choose will be the focus of your final (external) oral exam? I remember having to do something similar for French.

I don't have any particular topics to suggest; however, the examiners do tend to like topics which allow comparison between Chinese and Western culture, or traditional Chinese culture and modern Chinese culture. I'd also suggest staying away from topics which have a lot of subject-specific jargon and technical terms, unless you can limit the scope of your study to reduce the need for them or get around them with explanations in simpler Chinese.

Also, I'd say 'Chinese design' is a fairly wide topic, you might want to narrow it down somewhat, eg fashion design, architectural design... As for information, the Internet is always a good source Depending on where you live, your local library might have a collection of Chinese magazines or other materials which might be helpful. I do seem to remember SBS showing a program about Chinese fashion designers a few years ago, so if it's fashion design you're interested in, you might have a look for that Your teacher could probably also think of some good resources.

[Daniel Primed]

Yes your spot on there. Same thing applies for the French yr12 course too. Yup

I was thinking more so design such as in print media(magazines, newspapers, advertisements) as its a field that I want to get into and I love China so why not learn a bit about both.

my teacher suggested linking back to the default topic of festivals and say what young people do in celebration of them. Which sounds okay.

[wai ming]

You'd probably be better off choosing something other than "Chinese festivals" if you could, have a look at the 2005 Examiner's Report (SA) - it seems that the examiners are a bit sick of having to discuss 春节 a hundred times

Many students still chose topics such as Chinese New Year and Chinese education. The in-depth study that students undertake should be appropriate for their language level, and students should use appropriate materials in Chinese.

Although students studied a wider variety of topics in their in-depth studies than in previous

years, there was still a reliance on topics related to Chinese festivals. It is important that teachers ensure that the in-depth studies their students are undertaking are appropriate for them, and use appropriate materials in Chinese.

And again...

Although students covered a wide range of topics, many students still chose simple topics such as Chinese festivals. Topics that students had chosen because of genuine interest provided a more engaging discussion. It was evident that some schools choose class topics with very little difference in structure or content of responses among students. Now that teachers are familiar with the in-depth study and the processes involved, it would be appropriate for students to choose their own topics for research rather than relying on the class topic and on the teacher to conduct the research. Research must be in depth and meaningful, rather than superficial. It is important to choose an appropriate topic: one that allows the student and the examiner to explore different aspects of Chinese culture. It is also important that the chosen topic is appropriate to the student’s language level.

I have a feeling that the design of print media might be a bit difficult to talk about in Chinese given the average standard of year 12 Chinese students, since it probably would involve a lot of technical terms. Perhaps you could choose a topic related to something related to Chinese media - eg a film/film-maker, or perhaps a well-known Chinese magazine such as 《读者》. Or maybe you could try a topic related to art eg a famous Chinese artist or traditional Chinese art.

[Daniel Primed]

Thanks for that its really useful. I'll think of something non-festival related and do that.

lol, its rather funny as many other students that are repeating like me are doing festivals again because they think that the oral marker with be harsher on them because they would know that they've repeated the subject.

On a side note I got 26/30 last year. Yay!

Thanks for the help, I'll branch out from here.