<p>I'm planning to take engineering as a major for sure, and I would also like to study Chinese (either double mojor, minor or just as a course). I took AP Chinese and recieved a 5, but I know it doesn't mean much. And thats about all the chinese I know too.</p>
<p>I was wondering what kind of stuff I would have to do if I major or minor in Chinese. Would I have to learn Chinese history and poetry? I'm mostly only interested in developping my practical skills. I don't want to learn about poetry and literature. Would it be better for me to just take the course without majoring or minoring in this case? I'm not really interested on how it would look on my diploma either. I don't mind if it doesn't even show up on it. And how much workload is it for majoring/minoring/only taking the course? </p>
<p>Also, what kind of people usually take Chinese courses at college? Is it mostly people who grew up in china, American-born chinese like me, or non-Asian?</p>
<p>Taking those lit or culture classes help strengthen what you learn from the language classes because. I would think the extra exposure would be very beneficial due to the difficulty of Chinese, even if literature isn’t your cup of tea. </p>
<p>I know at my school, for Spanish in particular because we don’t have a Chinese major, that the minor consists of language classes, a conversation class, and 1 lit class, whereas the BA is a bunch more lit and culture classes in addition to the minor. I’d say you would need to consult the degree checklist from the school you plan to attend to know for sure.</p>
<p>I took two semesters of beginning Chinese last year and during summer 2009. I’m Vietnamese. The majority of students in my Chinese class were either American-born Chinese or some other Asian.</p>
<p>If you do a minor you probably will do 2-3 years of a standard language track and an upper level class like reading works from lu xun. A major would be 4 years of standard language classes and 4-5 other classes such as what I just stated. Surprisingly its an equal mix of ABC and non asian leaning towards more non Asians.</p>
<p>How difficult is it and how much workload?
The only chinese i know is pretty much at AP Chinese level. How much would I know after I finish college?</p>
<p>LOL years of chinese school during elementary did no help to me at all. What a waste of saturday mornings xD</p>
<p>It depends on the school and how much effort you put into it. If you are expecting to be totally fluent then you will get a rude awakening but if you want to be proficient then it’s about effort. I have a friend at middlebury that doubles in Chinese Japanese and he basically lives and breathes those languages just to keep his head above the water sice he is overwhelmed. I have a friend at stAnford who breezes by because the teachers ate over easy.</p>