Aleksandra A. Sergeeva

The article presents the author’s experience of preparing school students for the All-Russian Olympiad in Chinese through work with the Moscow team and Olympiad classes at the Centre for Pedagogical Mastery. It discusses challenges in teaching language and culture, the development of intercultural competence, and age-specific approaches to learning. The teaching materials “China: History and Modernity” and “Russia: History and Modernity” are described alongside ways of using authentic texts, videos and infographics. Sample tasks address vocabulary development, the matching of sociocultural concepts, and the evaluation of the truth of statements. Particular attention is paid to reasoned oral expression, discussion formats and teamwork. The contribution documents methodological work in school-level Chinese studies and links between Olympiad preparation and university-level education in Oriental studies.