HERITAGE LANGUAGES
CHINESE

Advanced Beginners
The UCLA Chinese language program has seen a growing number of "advanced beginners" since the mid-90's. Advanced beginners are:
  • Heritage language learners (Chinese-Americans born in this country and first generation immigrants from Chinese-speaking countries and areas), and

  • Non-Chinese Students with some Chinese language background (who have taken Chinese courses in high schools or study abroad programs prior to entering UCLA). Only a few students in this group are advanced beginners.

Ratio in enrollment
Advanced beginners currently account for about 50% of enrollment in elementary Chinese courses, more than 50% in intermediate level courses, and even higher percentage in advanced level courses.

Broad range of language proficiency
These students display a broad range of language proficiency -- their listening and speaking skills of Mandarin range from Novice High to Advanced High, and reading and writing skills are often Novice to Novice High. Their cultural background significantly helps them in Chinese language learning. They also have some knowledge of Chinese sentence structure and tonal pronunciation, even though their dialects might not be Mandarin.

Three-track Chinese Courses
The curriculum that had been in place in the Department of EALC for three decades does not meet the needs of advanced beginners. In 1996, the Department instituted the current three-track lower division curriculum, created specifically for these students.

Chinese 1-2-3, (4 units, 5 hours a week, three quarters) Elementary Modern Chinese for Beginners
Lecture, two hours; discussion, three hours; outside study, seven hours. P/NP, S/U or letter grading.
  • For students with no linguistic or cultural background.

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  • All four skills are taught, with attention to differences between Chinese and English.

Chinese 1A-2A, (4 units, 5 hours a week, two quarters) Elementary Modern Chinese for Advanced beginners
Lecture, two hours; discussion, three hours; outside study, seven hours. P/NP, S/U or letter grading.
  • For illiterate students with some background in Chinese culture, and with some speaking and listening skills in a non-Mandarin dialect, or limited speaking and listening skills in Mandarin.

  • All four skills are taught, with attention to differences between Chinese and English, and between Mandarin and Southern Chinese dialects.

Chinese 3R, (4 units, 5 hours a week, one quarter only) Elementary Chinese Reading and Writing for Mandarin Speakers
Lecture, two hours; discussion, three hours; outside study, seven hours. P/NP, S/U or letter grading.
  • A literacy course for illiterate/semiliterate fluent Mandarin speakers.

  • Only reading and writing skills are taught.

  • Students acquire about 600 characters (which form about 1,000 words).

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Students who successfully complete one of the three sequences will fulfill the one-year foreign language requirement and be able to proceed to intermediate Chinese courses. This curriculum allows heritage learners to complete the original 3-quarter courses in one or two quarters, and also makes more efficient use of TAships.

The second-year Chinese courses follow the same pattern as 1R-3R above:

1. Chinese 4-5-6, (4 units, 5 hours a week, three quarters)
2. Chinese 4A-5A, (4 units, 5 hours a week, two quarters)
3. Chinese 6R, (4 units, 5 hours a week, one quarter only)

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