So I am considering transferring to a university after I finish community college (this is my first quarter). I’m worried because I did not take a foreign language class in high school. English is my second language, but I only have a basic understanding of my first language (Mandarin) because I moved to America when I was 5 and focused on learning English. My step mom also spoke Mandarin, but she wanted to focus on English as well, so I did not end up improving my Mandarin. I have been working on it lately, but not through an official class because my high school did not offer it, just using apps like Duolingo and Lingodeer, so I don’t think that will count. My high school did not require a foreign language, and I decided to focus on graduating early, so I focused on getting the credits I needed to graduate college, such as taking two math classes in one year.
Would I be able to take some language courses in community before transferring? If so, how many semesters? I am in Oregon and my community college has quarter credits, but I may transfer to one that counts semester credits.
TL;DR: Does knowing basic Mandarin count as a foreign language? If not, can I make up for the required years of a foreign language in community college?
I am sorry that I cannot answer your question directly.
When I applied to universities in the US (I went to MIT for my bachelor’s degree) my “foreign language” was French. This might seem foreign to some people. However, I was applying to MIT as an international student from Montreal. French is definitely not a foreign language in Montreal. Universities in the US seemed to think that it was foreign enough for them.
This might suggest that taking a class in Mandarin might be sufficient in your case. However, you might want to see whether your academic advisor or a transfer advisor at your community college agrees.
One thing that might be worth adding: My understanding is that universities look at the highest level achieved in a foreign language. I don’t think that you need to take many years of it. I would expect that you would start with a course that is intended for someone who already speaks some Mandarin, so you could achieve a sufficiently “high level” quickly. I do not know whether you would actually need to take a class at all.
Each college will be different with their foreign language requirements for transfer admission and graduation. And it varies by major. Identify a few you are interested in and research their requirements.
My liberal arts major son had to take four semesters of his foreign language to meet the graduation requirements. My engineering daughter does not need any foreign language courses to graduate from her college.
If you are interested in Mandarin, then you can take 101 at community college.
If you will transfer from the community college to an in state public university many of them have credit transfers already built in. Your advisor will be able to help you.
1 Like
Some colleges also allow you to essentially test out of the language requirement - if your Mandarin has gotten strong enough, that might be an option, but it depends on the college.
2 Likes
You need to look up both the transfer admission and the graduation requirements of the four year schools you may want to transfer to.
For example, University of Oregon requires transfer applicants to have foreign language of high school year 3 (or 2 years taken in high school), college term 2, or high enough proficiency / placement test score for admission. For graduation with a BA degree, college quarter 6 or equivalent is required, but there is no foreign language requirement listed for graduation with a BS degree.
You may want to ask the department offering Mandarin courses about placement. If it offers a sequence for heritage speakers, that may be useful for you.
1 Like