<p>Hi. I'm thinking of starting a brand new language at Duke. To fulfill my 3 semesters of foreign language, I want to start something new. I took 3 years of Spanish in high school and am a native speaker of Hindi. I want to learn probably an oriental language (Chinese, Korean, Japanese) because I think these would be very valuable to know these days. </p>
<p>I'm leaning towards Chinese 1, but I'm worried about the intensity of the course. I have absolutely no experience with Chinese, and I'm wondering if the workload/difficulty will be too much for a non-native speaker. </p>
<p>Is anyone else in my situation? Has anyone taken this class?</p>
<p>Taking a new language will not be a problem for you if you're worried about being a non-native speaker. Chinese 1, the intro class, is for non-native speakers only (if you speak any Chinese at all already, Duke forces you to take Chinese 35). Your intro class will be completely with people in the same situation as you.</p>
<p>As for intensity and workload, it is the same as all intro level language classes in that you can expect a lot of practice outside of class to reinforce the oral and writing skills. That will be the same. The difference is, as you may know, Chinese is not an easy language to learn because you have to memorize so many symbols and pronunciation is somewhat difficult as well. On the other hand you are right in that learning Chinese now would have vast benefits if you're up to the challenge. ;)</p>
<p>So if I'm a crude native Cantonese speaker, and I could say "ni hau ma" or recite some silly chapter "wo de shu bao ni yo shu yo yo bi" or be able to attempt to translate from Canto to Mandarin, I'd be put in Chinese 35?</p>
<p>I'm not planning to take Chinese, but you never know.</p>
<p>I knew someone who did his foreign language requirement with Chinese, and he said it was INCREDIBLY intense...to be honest I don't think he enjoyed it at all. He was always complaining about tests and the amount of time he spent studying. A roommate of mine took Japanese and spent endless hours studying for that as well. From someone who has taken Spanish and German classes at Duke, the probably do 5 times as much work as I do for those classes...seriously.</p>
<p>I'd say if you're serious about learning the language, and utilizing it in your future go for it, but be prepared that these professors don't mess around at all! You're going to have to work a lot harder than your other friends taking romance languages to fulfill their requirements. If you're willing to put the work in and WANT to do it it will be totally worth it! For my Japanese friend she's actually, believe it or not, studying in Japan now and LOVES it.</p>
<p>TAdd - my D knew a Robertson Scholar who took Chinese and had an incredibly difficult time. They almost flunked the class and it was the class that took the most amount of time and effort.</p>
<p>So, read carefully what the other posters have to say. You might want to consider taking a conversational Chinese language class or find a private instructor over the summer to make a more informed decision about whether to sign up for Chinese or not.</p>
<p>Chinese is a tonal language so think carefully if you have auditory issues with pitch.</p>
<p>my Indian friend took Chinese from the beginning for his requirement. He did not enjoy it at all. He told me he had lots of trouble with pronounciations as well as the tons of memorization. So I guess taking intro chinese really takes some commitment (5 days a week of classes plus lots of out of class work)</p>
<p>RevDem, I have not taken (or attempted to) take Chinese either, but I am simply relaying what my Chinese friends who tried to take Chinese 1 told me. Apparently its pretty intense because they want to make sure no native speakers are in the class. Being able to speak the language, even "ni hau ma" and the chapter of whatever, might give you an advantage.</p>
<p>I hear even the lack of an accent when attempting to speak chinese will get you booted from the class. </p>
<p>Speaking from personal experience, the chinese department tends to place people as high as possible rather than error on the side of caution and let people stay in lower classes.</p>
<p>The problem with foreign language classes at Duke is that many students sign up for intro foreign language classes when they are already familiar with the language. According to what SBR says it sounds like the Chinese department is aware of this.</p>
<p>My D took Russian and about half the class had Eastern Europe roots. They all disclaimed any prior knowledge of Russian, but it was obvious that many were familiar with the language - they may not have been able to write the language, but they knew how to pronounce and read it! It put students new to the language at a disadvantage.</p>
<p>Her friends report the same issue in other language classes, especially French.</p>
<p>you guys are right about the chinese thing. From friends, I've heard that the dept. is very, very, aware that lots of native speakers are signing up for intro classes as a gpa booster. Furthermore, it's pretty obvious to them if you speak can speak chinese (at all). I mean, just your name should give them some sort of hint.</p>
<p>could anyone describe in more detail about the booting of native speakers in chinese 1? like how exactly do they check, just by accents? and also, are they really strict and determined to find these native speakers??</p>
<p>i can only speak REALLY BASIC chinese and dont know how to read or write. so i feel like im in at a level in between these two classes and would rather be placed in the lower one.</p>
<p>I think Chinese 35 would be a good choice for you. I've looked at their textbook, and it's really basic chinese but not as basic as chinese 1 where they teach you ping ying and all that stuff.</p>