Learning a new language enables you to make connections with different people and their cultures. It also helps you to develop important skills in communication, critical thinking, as well as increasing your cultural awareness.
Cantonese is the most common language in Hong Kong and many parts of China. It has fewer non-native speakers than Mandarin, so those learning it have a significant advantage when visiting or doing business with Hong Kong or other Cantonese-speaking areas.
Career Pathways
To see what career areas this subject could lead to and the routes to get there, download and view these career pathways:
Arts, Social Sciences and Languages
Hospitality, Leisure and Tourism
Information, Culture and Heritage
Uniformed and Security Services
Entry is at the discretion of the school or college but you would normally have achieved:
The course provides you with the opportunity to develop reading and listening, talking and writing skills in the modern language, and to develop their knowledge and understanding of detailed language in the contexts of society, learning, employability, and culture
The course comprises three areas of study.
Reading and Writing; Listening
You will develop:
Assignment – Writing
You will develop:
Performance – Talking
You will develop:
The course assessment has five components totalling 120 marks:
For the performance component, you will be asked to deliver a spoken presentation and take part in a conversation in Cantonese in one of the following contexts: society, learning, employability or culture. Your performance will be set by the Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA) and marked internally by an SQA assessor.
The question papers will be set and marked externally by the SQA.
The course assessment is graded A-D.
If you complete the course successfully, it may lead to:
Further study, training or employment in:
Your school will give your parents an Options or Choices information booklet, which has detailed information on the curriculum and the individual subjects or courses you can study. It will also invite them along to a Parents’ Information Evening.
They can also read the information leaflet(s):
Nationals in a Nutshell - Modern Languages (National 5)
