IGCSE Chinese 0523 vs IGCSE Chinese 0547: Which One Suits You Better?

IGCSE Chinese 0523 vs IGCSE Chinese 0547: Which One Suits You Better?

Cambridge IGCSE is one of the most well-known curriculum dedicated for students around 14-16 years old. This curriculum has been globally recognized by educational institutions and provides a wide spectrum of subjects to choose from. 

In Singapore schools with Cambridge IGCSE curriculum, Chinese is one of the common subjects to be taken. This subject aims to help children develop further language skills for better communication with others. Generally, there are two types of ICGSE Chinese subjects offered by Singapore schools with Cambridge curriculum: IGCSE Chinese 0523 and IGCSE Chinese 0547.  

So, how exactly do you choose the right IGCSE Chinese subjects? Let’s learn more about the syllabus and assessment through this article.

IGCSE Chinese as a Second Language (0523)

IGCSE Chinese as a second language is dedicated to students who aren’t using Chinese as their first language, but get enough exposure from their environment. Usually, students who take this course may have prior knowledge of Chinese language through daily communication in a community or family environment. 

This course mainly focuses on listening, reading, writing, and oral communication speaking to measure children’s ability and aims for the following objective

IGCSE Chinese 0523 Assessment

Currently, IGCSE Chinese 0523 consists of 3 different assessments that students need to take. This assessment is meant to measure students’ core skills to have effective Chinese communication. Let’s learn more about how IGCSE Chinese 0523 assessment works by reading the following table. 

Assessment Type Assessment Syllabus Question Type
Paper 1: Reading and Writing (2 hours)
  • Understand public notices and signs
  • Identify and select correct details from simple texts
  • Organise relevant information
  • Identify ideas, opinions, and attitudes from texts
  • Understanding implied meaning, writer’s purpose, and intention
  • Identify important points/themes
  • Drawing conclusion from text and connecting ideas
  • Communicate factual information, ideas, and arguments in short/extended writing task
  • Respond to a written stimulus with an appropriate style
  • Use correct grammar, punctuation, and vocabulary
  • Express opinions with appropriate style
  • Select and organise information into coherent paragraphs 
  • Information transfer: Complete form/notes template based on provided information
  • Short answer questions
  • Multiple matching: Match sentences to paragraphs
  • Writing: Write a short piece of functional prose
  • Extended writing: Longer piece of continuous prose based on short prompts
Paper 2: Listening (35-45 minutes)
  • Understanding factual information and ideas from different sources
  • Identify relevant information and select correct details 
  • Identify ideas, opinions, and attitudes 
  • Awareness of implied meaning, speaker’s intentions, or feelings
  • Short answer questions: travel announcements, recorder phone message, or brief dialogues
  • Gap-fill sentence: conversation, interview, monologue, formal talk
  • Information correction: Correcting printed information based on listening material
  • Multiple-choice questions
Component 3: Speaking (10-13 minutes) 
  • Communicate factual information, ideas, and arguments
  • Use appropriate vocabulary, grammar, pronunciation, and intonation
  • Organise and link ideas 
  • Give a short, clear presentation without script
  • Demonstrate competence in responding questions and other speech activities
  • Participate in conversation and demonstrate flexibility in dealing with new ideas
  • Show a sense of audience
  • Part 1: Presenting 2-3 minutes about a student’s chosen topic. Script is not allowed, single cue cards can be prepared. 
  • Part 2: 4-5 minutes discussion about the presentation
  • Part 3: 4-5 minutes conversation about general topics

IGCSE Mandarin Chinese as a Foreign Language (0547)

IGCSE Mandarin Chinese as a foreign language is dedicated for students who have little to no prior knowledge in Chinese. Aside from encouraging students to communicate effectively in Mandarin Chinese, this subject also helps offer cultural awareness through its curriculum. IGCSE Chinese 0547 is built from 5 topic areas that include everyday activities, personal and social life, the world around us, the world of work, and the international world. 

Similar to IGCSE Chinese 0523, this subject also encourages the use of Chinese language by focusing on listening, reading, speaking and writing. Generally, IGCSE Chinese 0547 has the following objectives to aim for. 

  • Achieve language proficiency for effective communication in Mandarin equivalent to level A2 CEFR. 
  • Offer culture, society, and communities insights
  • Develop awareness of the nature of language learning 
  • Encourage positive attitudes toward speakers of other languages 
  • Provide enjoyment and intellectual stimulation
  • Develop transferable skills such as memorising or drawing of inferences 
  • Form a solid foundation required for progression to work or further education

IGCSE Chinese 0547 Assessment

Currently, IGCSE Chinese 0547 consists of 4 different assessments that students need to take. This assessment is meant to measure students’ core skills to have effective Chinese communication. Let’s learn more about how IGCSE Chinese 0547 assessment works by reading the following table.

Assessment Type Assessment Syllabus Question Type
Paper 1: Listening (40 minutes) 
  • Understand short recordings about everyday needs
  • Understand factual information and ideas from different sources
  • Understand description of events, opinions, emotions, hopes, and ambitions
  • Identify main points and specific information on everyday topic such as personal and family information, shopping, local area, or leisure activities 
  • Identify main points, themes, opinions, ideas, and attitudes in predictable texts such as news reports, conversation, interviews, or monologues
  • Deduce the meaning of unknown words and expressions based on context
  • Listen to short text and answer five multiple choice questions with 4 options 
  • Listen to a monologue/dialogue and answer multiple choice questions with 4 options 
  • Listen to 5 short monologues and match information with correct pictures
  • Listen to dialogue and match speaker’s opinions/attitudes
  • Listen to a monologue and answer multiple choice answer with 4 questions
  • Listen to dialogue and answer multiple choice answer with 3 options 
Paper 2: Reading (1 hour 15 minutes)
  • Understand short and simple text such as signs or notices
  • Understand authentic texts on familiar topics and situations 
  • Understand description of events, opinions, emotions, hopes, and ambitions in simple texts such as articles, interviews, or personal message
  • Identify main points and specific information in predictable texts such as advertisement, brochures, menu, and more
  • Identify main points, themes, opinions, ideas, emotions, and attitudes in predictable texts such as newspaper, magazines, film or book plots
  • Deduce the meaning of unknown words and expressions based on context
  • Answer multiple questions with 4 options on short texts
  • Match a series of short statements with correct pictures
  • Answer longer text requiring short responses in Chinese
  • Match a series of questions with four short texts
  • Answer multiple choice questions with 4 options with longer text
Paper 3: Speaking (10 minutes)
  • Participate in short social exchanges and communicate on familiar topics to meet simple needs
  • Participate in unprepared conversations on familiar topics of personal interest
  • Describe past events, experiences, hopes, and ambitions
  • Communicate with reasonable accuracy using a range of structures, time frames, and relevant vocabulary 
  • Use simple connectors to link shorter sentences 
  • Use appropriate strategies to maintain interaction
  • Use features of pronunciation and intonation to convey meaning 
  • Roleplay: Candidate respond to five transactional question such as accomplishing a task to obtain goods or services
  • Topic conversations: Respond to questions on two different topics to share views, opinions, and experiences 
Paper 4: Writing (1 hour 15 minutes) 
  • Fill in forms with details
  • Communicate simple factual information in writing
  • Write simple phrases and sentences linked with connectors about personal life
  • Write simple connected texts such as email or articles on familiar topics 
  • Describe past events, experiences, opinions, hopes, and ambitions in writing 
  • Communicate with reasonable accuracy using a range of structures, time frames, and relevant vocabulary
  • Use simple connectors to link shorter sentences
  • Fill in a form with single word or short phrases
  • Complete a directed writing task in about 80-100 characters about familiar topics
  • Choose between 2 tasks (email/letter and article/blog) and complete writing task in about 150 characters

Learn IGCSE with Elite Linguistic Academy

Whether you’re taking IGCSE Chinese 0523 or IGCSE Chinese 0547, enrolling in IGCSE Chinese courses can help you develop your Chinese skills better. These courses aim to provide you with materials in accordance with the official IGCSE Chinese curriculum. 

In Elite Linguistic Academy, we provide both courses for IGCSE Chinese to help you prepare for your assessment. With small group tuition and 1-on-1 private tutoring available, our IGCSE courses are meant to help you score better in your exam with our experienced trainers’ support. Learn more about our IGCSE Chinese courses by visiting our site and get started with your preparation today!

Contact us

+65 8885 7668 (Group Class)

+65 8509 6088 (Private Class)

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