Beginning Chinese

Definitely a heavy class and not for those who don't intend to follow through with Chinese. The tests were quite long and extensive, taken typically over two days however that becomes the standard following 101. The quizzes are constant and are supposed to help you stay on top of the vocab but can really quickly steamroll you if you aren't ready for them. The homework is important but preparing for classes even more so. This class also has a language table component where students are expected to attend once a week with upperclassmen as opposed to students in the same class as was the situation during the J-term class. If you make it through, even barely, you still end up with an impressive vocabulary to take you into 201

Definitely a heavy class and not for those who don't intend to follow through with Chinese. The tests were quite long and extensive, taken typically over two days however that becomes the standard following 101. The quizzes are constant and are supposed to help you stay on top of the vocab but can really quickly steamroll you if you …Read more

A tough class, but a hurdle one must get through if they intend to keep learning Chinese at Midd. It was hard like all of the time over the semester, a lot of homework and a lot of quizzes. It is the only way to retain Mandarin, so it makes sense. Be prepared to invest a lot of time towards this course. Du laoshi and He laoshi are both very kind and will help if you reach out.

I have both lived in China and taken Chinese in high school (albeit at a much more relaxed pace), and this class is extremely challenging. 40-70 new vocab words a week. Quizzes once, and sometimes twice a week. Tests are around once every 3 weeks and last for two days. The class is taught 3 days by Du Laoshi and twice a week by He Laoshi (Harris). Harris is substantially easier and less intimidating. For all it's faults, the class will teach you mandarin, just with how much damage to GPA and personal misery.

I have both lived in China and taken Chinese in high school (albeit at a much more relaxed pace), and this class is extremely challenging. 40-70 new vocab words a week. Quizzes once, and sometimes twice a week. Tests are around once every 3 weeks and last for two days. The class is taught 3 days by Du Laoshi and twice a week by He La …Read more

After taking Chinese for a few years, I still found this class pretty hard and very fast-paced. You need to have a lot of time and genuinely like Chinese. There are mini test almost everyday and you are required to learn both traditional and simplified chinese which is rare

I started learning Mandarin at Middlebury and it took some time to get accustomed to the work-load. Du, Hang can be a little intimidating but she has our best interest. I struggled because I did not know how to study but once I established a routine and took advantage of Du Hang's office hours I was able to improve. I would definitely take this course again although I would not recommend if you are just trying to fulfill your language requirement. I recommend following the weekly schedules to learn the pinyin with tone marks, then how to write the traditional, and finally simplified characters. I can see how useful it is to learn both since students can choose to study abroad in either Beijing or Taiwan. The tests can be rather long because they will give a dictation portion, grammar, short response (making your own dialogue), and translations.

I started learning Mandarin at Middlebury and it took some time to get accustomed to the work-load. Du, Hang can be a little intimidating but she has our best interest. I struggled because I did not know how to study but once I established a routine and took advantage of Du Hang's office hours I was able to improve. I would definitel …Read more

He Laoshi is an incredibly efficient and understanding teacher. As being someone who also learned Chinese as a beginner, she is very thorough in her instructing and will make sure you understand the new material. She is honestly a lifesaver in an otherwise extremely difficult class.

Beginning Chinese was a class was extremely difficult. The culture of the class is very nice, but the material is very difficult. Overall, the professors are good at teaching, especially Harris. You have to work hard to be in this class.