Chinese Faculty
Chinese Course Descriptions
373.111-112 First Year Heritage Chinese
This course is designed for students who were raised in an environment in which Chinese is spoken by parents or guardians at home and for those who are familiar with the language and possess native-like abilities in comprehension and speaking. The course therefore focuses on reading and writing (including the correct use of grammar). 3 credits. Cross-listed with East Asian Studies
373.115-116 First Year Chinese
This course is designed primarily for students who have no prior exposure to Chinese. The objective of the course is to help students build a solid foundation of the four basic skills—listening, speaking, reading, and writing in an interactive and communicative learning environment. The emphasis is on correct pronunciation, accurate tones and mastery of basic grammatical structures. Note: Students with existing demonstrable skills in spoken Chinese should take AS.373.111-112. No Satisfactory/ Unsatisfactory. Students may choose to attend either lecture at 12pm or 3pm on TTh. 5 credits. Cross-listed with East Asian Studies
373.211-212 Second Year Heritage Chinese (H)
This course is designed for students who finished AS.373.112 with C+ and above (or equivalent). Students in this course possess native-like abilities in comprehension and speaking. The course focuses on reading and writing. 3 credits. Cross-listed with East Asian Studies
373.215-216 Second Year Chinese (H)
Consolidation of the foundation that students have laid in their first year of study and continued drill and practice in the spoken language, with continued expansion of reading and writing vocabulary and sentence patterns. Students will work with both simplified and traditional characters. Note: Students who have native-like abilities in comprehension and speaking should take AS.373.211-212. 5 credits. Cross-listed with East Asian Studies
373.313-314 Third Year Heritage Chinese (H)
This course is designed for those who have already taken AS.373.212 or equivalent. Students need to have native-level fluency in speaking and understanding Chinese. The course focuses on reading and writing. In addition to the textbooks, downloaded articles on current affairs may also be introduced on a regular basis. 3 credits. Cross-listed with East Asian Studies
373.315-316 Third Year Chinese (H)
This two-semester course consolidates and further expands students’ knowledge of grammar and vocabulary and further develops reading ability through work with textbook material and selected modern Chinese insofar as feasible, and written assignments will be given. 3 credits.
373.415-416 Fourth Year Chinese (H)
This course is designed for students who finished AS.373.316 with a C+ or above (or equivalent). Readings in modern Chinese prose, including outstanding examples of literature, newspaper articles, etc. Students are supposed to be able to understand most of the readings with the aid of a dictionary, so that class discussion is not focused primarily on detailed explanation of grammar. Discussion, to be conducted in Chinese, will concentrate on the cultural significance of the readings’ content. 3 credits. Cross-listed with East Asian Studies
373.491-492 Fifth Year Chinese (H)
Fifth Year Chinese is designed for students who finished fourth year regular or third year heritage Chinese course at JHU or its equivalent and wish to achieve a higher advanced proficiency level in Chinese. The goal of the course is to help students further develop their listening, speaking, reading and writing skills cohesively and to enhance students’ understanding of Chinese culture and society through language learning. 3 credits.
373.493 Fundamentals of Chinese Grammar (H)
This course is designed for students who have already studied 2nd-year Chinese grammar and wish to develop a thorough knowledge of Chinese grammar in order to advance all aspects of language skills to a higher level. It is also appropriate for graduate students who need to be able to read materials written in Chinese. The goal of the course is to provide students with a thorough knowledge of Chinese grammar; therefore, knowledge of vocabulary in depth is not requisite. In addition, since this is not a language course that places equal focus on all four skills (speaking, listening, writing, and reading), there will be no conversation practice – this is a lecture course on grammar. 2 credits. Pass-fail grade option only. Not offered every semester.
Chinese Placement Exam
Students who have studied Chinese in the past and want to start at a level other than first-year Chinese need to take the Chinese Placement Exam course, offered in Canvas, to determine which course they may enroll in. Students interested in starting from first-year Chinese should enroll directly in First Year Chinese.
Chinese Placement Exam course:
To enroll in this placement exam course, log into Canvas using your jhed credentials. Once in Canvas, select the Enroll button, then the Enroll in Course button, and then use the Go to Course link to access the placement exam.
The placement test consists of two parts:
- Online multiple choice via Canvas
- Follow-up interview
Once enrolled, you may also access the placement exam from your list of Canvas courses.
Ethics Statement
Johns Hopkins University strongly believes that every member of its community should uphold the highest standard of integrity in their work and should avoid academic dishonesty. You are expected to behave in an ethical manner while taking the online language placement exam.
You must take this exam without assistance from anyone and without the help of any document (notes, book, dictionary, etc.). You are allowed to take this test only once. Reproduction of the material included on this test is a violation of ethical standards. Therefore, you should not discuss the questions on this test with others nor should you provide others with the questions included on this test.
By taking the online placement test, you accept the following statements:
- I will do my own work on this test. I will not receive assistance from another person or from books or other documents.
- I will not discuss this test with others or reproduce test questions in any format.
- I will take this test online only once.
Study Abroad Scholarship
The CLE offers a scholarship to students studying a language offered in CLE overseas.