Chinese Language &
Culture Study Library.

Family structure and roles in Chinese society · Intergenerational relationships and filial piety (孝顺) · Single-child family policies and their social effects · Changing family dynamics in contemporary China · Cross-cultural comparison of family norms and expectations · Marriage customs and ceremonies across Chinese regions · Social norms around education, career, and family pressure

Language as a marker of cultural and personal identity · Heritage language maintenance and language loss across generations · Chinese diaspora communities and bicultural identity · Simplified vs. Traditional Chinese characters as cultural markers · Dialects and regional languages (方言) within China · Cultural values transmitted through language and literature · Identity negotiation between Chinese heritage and Western upbringing

Traditional Chinese art forms: calligraphy (书法), ink painting (水墨画), ceramics · Classical Chinese literature and the Four Great Classical Novels (四大名著) · Traditional Chinese music, instruments, and opera (京剧, 昆曲) · Contemporary Chinese art and its global reception · Aesthetic philosophy in Chinese culture (harmony, balance, nature) · Architecture and urban design in Chinese tradition and modernity · Cross-cultural aesthetic comparison between Chinese and Western art traditions

Technological innovation and China's digital economy · Social media, internet culture, and mobile payment in China · Scientific progress and China's space and technology programs · Digital society: benefits and challenges of technology dependence · Environmental impact of technological development · Artificial intelligence and automation in Chinese society · Cross-cultural comparison of technology adoption and digital norms

Health, healthcare systems, and traditional Chinese medicine (中医) · Education systems in China: gaokao, academic pressure, and educational reform · Work-life balance and changing attitudes toward career and leisure · Economic development and income inequality in contemporary China · Social welfare, urban-rural divide, and migrant worker issues · Food culture, nutrition, and dietary traditions in Chinese society · Housing, urbanization, and changing living standards

Environmental challenges: air pollution, water quality, and climate policy in China · China's response to global environmental agreements and carbon neutrality goals · Social change: gender roles, youth culture, and generational shifts · Governance structures and civic participation in Chinese society · Global challenges: poverty reduction, international development, and China's global role · Media, information access, and public discourse in China · Cross-cultural perspectives on environmental and social responsibility

Listening Part A — Rejoinders: selecting the most appropriate conversational follow-up (sociolinguistic competence, social register, implied meaning) · Listening Part A — Listening Selections: comprehension of announcements, conversations, radio broadcasts, and interviews heard once or twice · Reading Part B — Text types: personal emails, notes, advertisements, menus, brochures, signs, news articles, literary excerpts · Reading strategies: skimming and scanning for 35–40 questions in 60 minutes · Vocabulary in context: inferring meaning of unfamiliar characters from surrounding text · Simplified/Traditional character toggle navigation under timed conditions · Cultural knowledge tested via MCQ: holidays, geography, social customs, historical context

Email Response (15 min, 10%): reading and replying to a fictional email; addressing all questions asked; appropriate salutations, closings, and 敬语 (respectful language) · Conversation (4 min, 10%): simulated 6-exchange conversation with a virtual Chinese speaker; 20 seconds response time per prompt; topics linked thematically across exchanges · Register and formality: formal written Chinese conventions vs. spoken conversational norms · Completeness: Task Completion rubric requires answering every question and responding to every conversational cue · Spontaneous spoken response: direct Chinese thought formation without English-to-Chinese translation under 20-second time pressure · Tonal accuracy and pronunciation in speaking responses · Chinese IME keyboard proficiency for typed email response under timed conditions

Story Narration (15 min, 15%): four sequential images; construct a cohesive narrative with beginning, middle, and end; temporal and logical connectors (首先, 接着, 然后, 最后, 突然, 于是, 因此) · Story Narration: character motivation and descriptive language; narrative arc beyond mere image description · Cultural Presentation (7 min = 1 read + 4 prep + 2 speak, 15%): continuous 2-minute spoken presentation analyzing the cultural significance of a given Chinese cultural topic · Cultural Presentation: analytical depth vs. descriptive listing — rubric rewards explanation of why a topic is culturally significant · Presentational register: formal, organized, audience-aware language in both written and spoken modes · Typed Chinese text production: Pinyin IME or Bopomofo keyboard fluency under 15-minute timed conditions · Silent preparation strategy: note organization in 4-minute prep window before Cultural Presentation recording begins

Holistic 0–6 scoring rubric: three criteria — Task Completion, Delivery, Language Use — applied to all four FRQ tasks · Conversation 0–36 total scoring: six separate 0–6 scores, one per exchange prompt · Score descriptors: Excellent (6), Very Good (5), Good (4), Adequate (3), Weak (2), Very Weak (1), Unacceptable (0) · IME infrastructure requirement: students must type all written responses in Chinese via Pinyin Simplified, Pinyin Traditional, or Bopomofo keyboard input — no handwriting recognition · Speaking infrastructure requirement: wired headset with microphone required; audio prompts played through headset; student responses recorded digitally · Custom exam application: NOT Bluebook; school-managed College Board exam app on Mac/Windows/Chromebook · 2027 redesign: exam moves to Bluebook; Conversation and Cultural Presentation replaced by Personalized Project Reference (PPR) speaking task; PPR outline submitted April 30; Unit 3 music/art designated as PPR focus area