Chinese Language Program

The University of Kansas has offered Chinese since 1959 and has maintained the strongest Chinese language program in the Great Plains. 

Learn Chinese! 

China has one of the richest literary and philosophical traditions in the world, and a vibrant contemporary cultural scene. With an extensive history of inventions and ever-evolving technological innovations, China is also the US’ largest trading partner, the world’s second largest economy, as well as the largest film market outside of Hollywood. With over 1 billion speakers in many different countries and communities all over the globe, Chinese is the world’s most spoken language. Knowledge of Chinese is sought after by employers – and with one of the nation’s best Chinese programs, our department will greatly enhance your qualifications and options as you enter the job market. 

Study Abroad 

China is a vast and fascinating country with limitless potential for learning and adventure, and employers greatly value study-abroad experience in job candidates. K.U. students typically spend some time on a study-abroad program (e.g. in mainland China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, etc.), whether at a summer intensive-language program, semester program, or for a year at one of two schools that have exchange programs with K.U. There are programs that include non-language courses taught in English, and programs that offer internship experience. We will work with you to find the program best suited to your degree plans, and advise you on scholarship opportunities. Credit from study abroad programs can be transferred and can almost always be used to fulfill requirements for the major.  

Careers

Our graduates have gone on to a wide variety of careers involving China and the Chinese language, sometimes after further work at graduate school. Examples of careers and employers include: consulting in Washington, D.C.; Hallmark International in Kansas City; U.S. government and military intelligence (e.g., National Geospatial Intelligence Agency); United Airlines; newspaper editing in Shanghai; managing a fitness center in Thailand; working in technology in China; teaching high-school Chinese; teaching and researching Chinese as a university professor; working for Chinese companies manufacturing in the U.S.; Strategic Supply Chain Manager at Garmin Ltd.; Cyber Incident Response Analyst; translator and tour guide; journalist for Bloomberg in Taiwan; financial manager at Morgan Stanley; Account Representative at Cheng and Ts’ui Publishers in Boston, etc. 

Chinese Placement Exam

Placement exams help to determine the course in which you should enroll if you are continuing your study of a language with which you have had previous experience.  These exams focus on your abilities and knowledge of the language rather than the amount of prior coursework that you have had.  

Proficiency exams allow undergraduate students to gain exemption from the Non-English Language Proficiency requirement in the College of Liberal Arts & Sciences by establishing that their ability in a second language is equivalent to that of someone who has studied that language for four semesters at the college level.

If you are enrolling at KU for the first time, have learned some Chinese before, and want to continue studying Chinese, you should take an on-line placement exam, ideally prior to your arrival on campus. Upon completion of the exam, you will be given a preliminary placement, which you should use to register for a specific Chinese course. During the first week of classes, you should meet with your instructor to confirm the accuracy of the placement. If it is determined that another course would be more appropriate, you will be allowed to transfer to that course. 

For more information on placement and proficiency exams, please visit the OLRC page.

Proficiency Goals for KU Chinese Language Courses

The goal of these two courses is to help students acquire basic communication skills in Chinese in listening, speaking, reading and writing. Students who have successfully completed CHIN 108 should be able to:

  • Identify the general topic and some basic information in both very familiar and everyday contexts by recognizing practiced or memorized words, phrases, and simple sentences in texts that are spoken, or written.
  • Communicate in spontaneous spoken or written conversations on both very familiar and everyday topics, using a variety of practiced or memorized words, phrases, simple sentences, and questions.
  • Present information on both very familiar and everyday topics using a variety of practiced or memorized words, phrases, and simple sentences through spoken or written language.
  • Interact at a survival level in some familiar everyday contexts.
  • Understand some aspects of the Chinese culture.

The goal is to expand students’ communication skills in modern Chinese to an intermediate level by introducing more complicated structures and expand the vocabulary in listening, speaking, reading and writing. Students who have successfully completed CHIN 208 should be able to:

  • Identify the topic and related information from simple sentences in short informational texts/understand the main ideas in short conversation.
  • Request and provide information in conversations on familiar topics by creating simple sentences and asking appropriate follow-up questions.
  • Present personal information about their life, activities and events, using simple sentences in speaking and in writing.
  • Understand some facts about Chinese culture and contemporary lifestyle.

The goal is to equip students with proficiency in all four language skills, speaking, listening, reading, and writing at the intermediate level. Students who have successfully completed CHIN508 should be able to:

  • Understand the main idea and key information in short straightforward informational texts.
  • Exchange information in conversations on familiar topics and some researched topics, creating sentences and series of sentences and asking a variety of follow-up questions.
  • Tell a story about their life, activities, events and other social experiences, using sentences and series of connected sentences.
  • Write on a wide variety of familiar topics using connected sentences.
  • Understand the main idea in conversations that they overhear.
  • Gain the cultural knowledge necessary for communicating across a variety of situations.

The goal is to help students acquire their advanced communicative skills in listening, speaking, reading and writing in Chinese. Students who have successfully completed CHIN 564 should be able to:

  • Follow the main message in various time frames in straightforward, and sometimes descriptive, paragraph-length informational texts.
  • Exchange information in conversations and some discussions on a variety of familiar and some general interest topics, using connected sentences that may combine to form paragraphs and asking a variety of questions, often across various time frames.
  • Tell stories about school and community events and personal experiences, using a few short paragraphs, often across various time frames.
  • Handle social interactions in everyday situations, sometimes even when there is an unexpected complication.
  • Make presentations in a generally organized way on school, work, and community topics, and on topics that they researched.
  • Write coherent passages about events and experiences in various time frames and some analytical and argumentative essays on general interest topics. Demonstrate awareness of subtle differences among cultural behaviors and adjust their behavior accordingly in familiar and some unfamiliar situations.
  • Explain some diversity among cultural practices and examine critically some global issues and perspectives in writing and speaking

Resources