<p>Hey, I have a few questions regarding studying Chinese at Notre Dame. I have already sent e-mails to the Chinese department, but I'd like to get a student's perspective. Does anyone on cc know someone studying Chinese at Notre Dame?</p>
<p>I am in a class with (and group project with) a Chinese major here at ND. Let me know what questions you have and I will try to remember to ask her or I may just forward them on to her.</p>
<p>Thanks, Irish. Here are a few of my questions:
1. Are all of the Chinese classes taught by Chinese people or by Americans who have learned Chinese as a second language?
2. Which phonetic system is used- pinyin, the Yale system, etc?
3. Are traditional or simplified characters (or both) emphasized?
4. Are the majority of students Chinese-Americans who have had exposure to the language since childhood or do they come from a mix of backgrounds? (i.e. will I be the only one in the class to struggle with tones?)
5. Which textbooks are used for language instruction, especially at the intermediate levels and the Chinese for a New Era course? (I already asked this of one of the Chinese professors, but he only told me the textbooks used for earlier courses- and I don't want to pester him)
6. I have been studying Chinese since grade school, and can read/write approximately 1,500 characters (but still struggle a bit with tones)- will Notre Dame's program be too hard, too easy, or a good fit for me?
谢谢！</p>
<p>I shot an email to my friend and I will post when I hear back.</p>
<p>Thanks again, irish. And be sure to thank your friend for me!!!</p>
<p>interesting thread....</p>
<p>I will PM you the info since it has my friend's contact info.</p>
<p>Thanks, I got the message.</p>