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Linguistics
Mailing Address: Gordy 383

Why Study Chinese?

All information on this page has been generated from input from former Chinese language students at Ohio University.

Chinese Is Easy, Fun and Interesting

  • "Chinese is mentally stimulating and interesting and fun! Chinese words are artistically formed by a combination of meanings: e.g., 'crisis' is "danger + opportunity.'"
  • "Chinese culture is one of the oldest in the world. If you know 1,000 commonly used characters, you will recognize 90 percent of the characters on Chinese newspapers."
  • "Chinese classes are the funniest class I have ever attended. Come join us! We enjoy each other's company. Often we get together outside of the classroom to speak Chinese,celebrate Chinese holidays, make Chinese food, or even watch movies. The food is good, so are the people."
  • "Chinese is unusual. My friends took common foreign languages, and they were jealous of me for taking such an interesting language! It's a great conversation piece."
  • "The size of the classes is small, which makes it easier to learn and you receive a lot of attention in the class."

Chinese Is Important for Careers

  • "Resume-builder: Knowing Chinese may give you an edge when competing for an important position."
  • "For students involved in international studies, China is, and will be, a major player in the business world. China is a wonderful country to teach English in. The experience is great and it is something one will never forget."
  • "China will play a major role in world affairs in the future. China's population of more than 1 billion accounts for a large percent of the world's population. As China begins to open up to the West, there will be opportunities for employment in all areas."
  • "International business prefers to hire people who speak more than one language. China is becoming a big market recently, and business people are now looking for people who can speak Chinese."

Demand for Business People Who Know Chinese (Mandarin) Is Skyrocketing

  • "Speaking even a little Chinese can greatly enhance your international business relations."
  • Chinese is required for the East Asian Studies Certificate.

Chinese is Useful

  • "Taking the course is a great opportunity to learn another language. It is also a great experience to be able to talk to others and it can be helpful if you like to travel."
  • "Taking Chinese can actually improve your mental power by learning how to arrange your thoughts into an alternative pattern or organization."
  • "Taking Chinese helps you to understand Chinese culture, literature and history."

Chinese is the #1 Spoken Language in the World

  • "There are more people speaking Chinese than English. It's the number one spoken language in the world."
  • "One out of five people is Chinese. If I can speak Chinese, I can communicate with more people different from myself, and learn things about different cultures."

Language Placement Testing or Test-Out Information

Students who have prior knowledge of Chinese should email cas.undergrad@ohio.edu from their OHIO email account and include in the subject line: "Chinese Language Placement Test." Students will then receive an email with instructions on how to take the online placement test. Students who have no prior background in Chinese do not need to take a placement test and can enroll in an open section of 1110.