Chinese

Open Your Eyes to the World: Learn Chinese!

China China China

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

Chinese Minor

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

Study Abroad

Chinese Culture Club (See News and Events tab)

Chinese Conversational Partners

About the Professor

Hongying Xu Profile

Assistant Professor
311C Graff Main Hall
hxu@uwlax.edu
608.785.8312
Specialty areas:

Second Language Acquisition, Foreign Language Pedagogy

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!