Chinese
Open Your Eyes to the World: Learn Chinese!
有朋自远方来,不亦乐乎!
孔子《论语》
How happy we are, to meet friends from afar!
-Confucius in Analects
Chinese at UWL
- Chinese language courses at 100-, 200-, and 300- levels
- Chinese literature and civilization courses taught in English
- Chinese Studies Minor (18 credits at 200-300 level)
- Study abroad opportunities
- All courses taught by a native speaker of Chinese with a PhD in second language acquisition and language pedagogy
- Opportunities to get more exposure to the Chinese language and culture outside of class
- To work with native speakers of Chinese outside of class
- To join the Chinese Club
Chinese program resources
UWL Chinese Club
All students who are interested in Chinese culture and language are welcome to join the Chinese Club.
Why learn Chinese?
Here is what the Chinese learners say
To sum up:
Chinese Is Important for Your Career
- China is the second largest economy in the world
- China is the second largest trading partners of the United States
- China has become a huge market, international companies are looking for people who can speak Chinese and operate successfully in a Chinese cultural context
- China has a huge demand for English teacher. It is a great place to teach your native language and develop your skills of Chinese at the same time
Chinese is Easy, Fun, and Interesting
- Chinese has a relatively uncomplicated grammar
- No verb conjugation
- No gender or number agreement
- Same basic word order as English
- Chinese characters are artistically formed and loaded with meaning (the more you learn, the easier it becomes)
- If you know the most frequently used 600 characters, you can recognize 80% of Chinese words in daily life; if you know 1000 characters, over 90% is covered
- China is the only continuous civilization that has lasted for 5000 years
And more …
- One out five people on this planet speaks Chinese
- 40 million people around the world are currently learning Chinese with enthusiasm and success. If they can, you can too!
News & events
Chinese Program Resources
• Learning materials:
• Marjorie Chan’s ChinaLinks: comprehensive and categorized
• On-line Chinese Tools
• Learning Chinese online
• BBC Chinese
• Free interactive language learning resources for beginning Mandarin Chinese
• Pinyin practice tool
• Chinese learning site, comics
• Online HSK proficiency test
• China News Digest
• Learn about modern Chinese society
• MCLC resource center
• Study abroad opportunities:
• Schools in China and Taiwan
• Teaching English in China:
• ESL Café’s journal of various job experiences in China
Open Your Eyes to the World: Learn Chinese!
Chinese is Important for Your Career
- China is the second largest economy in the world
- China is the second largest trading partners of the United States
- China has become a huge market, international companies are looking for people who can speak Chinese and operate successfully in a Chinese cultural context
- China has a huge demand for English teacher. It is a great place to teach your native language and develop your skills of Chinese at the same time
Chinese is Easy, Fun, and Interesting
- Chinese has a relatively uncomplicated grammar
- No verb conjugation
- No gender or number agreement
- Same basic word order as English
- Chinese characters are artistically formed and loaded with meaning (the more you learn, the easier it becomes)
- If you know the most frequently used 600 characters, you can recognize 80% of Chinese words in daily life; if you know 1000 characters, over 90% is covered
- China is the only continuous civilization that has lasted for 5000 years
And more …
- One out five people on this planet speaks Chinese
- 40 million people around the world are currently learning Chinese with enthusiasm and success. If they can, you can too!
Language Courses:
- CHI100 – Basic Spoken Chinese (1 credit) offered every spring
- CHI101 – Elementary Chinese I (4 credits) offered every fall
- CHI102 – Elementary Chinese II (4 credits) offered every spring
- CHI201 – Intermediate Chinese I (4 credits) offered every fall
- CHI202 – Intermediate Chinese II (4 credits) offered every spring
- CHI301 – Advanced Chinese (3 credits) offered the fall of odd-number years
- CHI315 – Business Chinese (3 credits) offered the fall of even-number years
- CHI326 – Current Events in China (1 credit) offered every fall
- CHI398 – Independent Study (1-3 credits)
Culture Courses:
- CHI305 – Introduction to Modern Chinese Literature
- CHI320 – Introduction to Chinese Civilization
See the course descriptions here!
Chinese Studies Minor Requirements
Chinese Culture Club (See News and Events tab)
About the Professor
Assistant Professor
311C Graff Main Hall
hxu@uwlax.edu
608.785.8312
Specialty areas:
Second Language Acquisition, Foreign Language Pedagogy
Hongying Xu's office hours
Dr. Xu Hongying got her PhD in second language acquisition and language pedagogy and has had over ten years of Chinese-teaching experience with college students. Her research interests include the acquisition of linguistic aspects by adult language learners and language pedagogy.
- Summer Program at Hangzhou Normal University
- 3-week language and culture intensive program (link to a PDF file)
- Scholarship available to strong candidates
- Up to 3 credits transferred back to UWL towards Chinese Studies Minor
- Semester-long Exchange Program with Hangzhou Normal University
- Chinese language courses
- Courses in your disciplines taught in English
- Internship opportunities
- Teaching English at K-12 schools in Hangzhou
Please contact Dr. Xu for more details or with any questions: hxu@uwlax.edu
For more information about upcoming events, visit the Chinese Culture Club page!
April 6 Chinese Calligraphy Workshop
2017 U.S. Midwest Chinese Bridge Speech Contest
Two students who represented UWL, Kyla Delaney from CHI202 and Cylus Young from CHI102, participated in the 2017 U.S. Midwest Chinese Bridge Speech Contest on April 15 at UW-Madison. Students from nine states participated in this contest.
Congratulations to Kyla Delaney for receiving third prize in the 2nd year group!








- Comprehensive Chinese learning websites
- Learning Chinese pronunciation
- Learning Chinese characters
- Videos
- Culture and news
Contact us!
Assistant Professor
311C Graff Main Hall
hxu@uwlax.edu
608.785.8312
Specialty areas:
Second Language Acquisition, Foreign Language Pedagogy