Hi, I was wondering if there was anything bad to taking your own native language. I am Chinese-American and have been to my local Chinese school. I can speak and listen really well, but cant write/read. I was in Chinese 2 last year and got an A, however, this year in Chinese 3, I might be getting an A-. Is there anything wrong with taking your own native language? Also does this bad grade show that I am not working hard?
Thanks
There will most likely be differing points of view on this, but since you asked…
IMO, there is absolutely nothing wrong with a heritage learner taking the native language of his/her parents/grandparents, etc. In this case, the original poster is a Chinese-American who understands and speaks the language but does not read or write it. Taking language classes to fill in the gaps is fine. Also keep in mind, that just because a person speaks a language at home, that does not mean that s/he speaks it correctly.
Now, if the poster were born in China, attended school there, and moved to the US as a teenager, I would have an issue with him/her studying Chinese at the local high school. Additionally, regardless of linguistic background, I would suggest not taking the SAT Subject test, unless it is over and above the number the colleges require. Several college websites concur. For example, [url=<a href=“https://www.brown.edu/admission/undergraduate/how-would-brown-view-sat-subject-test-my-native-language%5DBrown%5B/url”>https://www.brown.edu/admission/undergraduate/how-would-brown-view-sat-subject-test-my-native-language]Brown[/url] and
[url=<a href=“http://undergrad.admissions.columbia.edu/apply/first-year/testing%5DColumbia.%5B/url”>http://undergrad.admissions.columbia.edu/apply/first-year/testing]Columbia.[/url]
Finally, to the OP, you will win few points along the way by calling an A- a “bad grade.”
I would encourage trying a different language or taking chinese and other language at once to show you aren’t slacking. It is really up to you and how much you can manage but taking chinese is not helping uniqueness
If you aren’t already fluent in it, I think it’s fine. If you were already fluent, I wouldn’t recommend it. My school is mostly Hispanic and Spanish-speaking, and almost everyone takes Spanish classes. I don’t really think it’s fair, haha.
The straight answer is no, nothing wrong with this, but it is not clear if this is the language you speak at home with your parents, or a new language you are taking on. Many students that speak their native language at home also take on a different language in school.
Nothing wrong with it, and I encourage you to learn Chinese no matter what you hear on here. However, an SATII on Chinese is worse than any other SATII (I think some colleges don’t even accept it), so plan for this.
Nope. I’m Chinese, too, and I would totally take Chinese if it were offered in my high school (Chinese school taught me nothing lol).
I’m in Spanish right now, and it’s kind of a waste for me. I plan on dropping it after high school and relearning Mandarin in college.
If I was in your position, I think that taking Chinese would be a fine idea. Use whatever advantage you can, and it doesn’t sound like it’s too great since you are learning the writing and reading of the language. Also, I wouldn’t stress about an A-. That’s a fine grade. If I knew a foreign language to some extent, I would take it in high school too. I’m just an American kid without any other-than-English speaking family members, so it didn’t really matter what language I did, it was all new to me.
@newjerseygirl98 My mom came from a largely Hispanic school when she was young, though she wasn’t Hispanic, and she said a lot of her classmates had the same problem as the OP - they could speak the language fluently, but as far as the grammar and all that went, they didn’t really know it, they had to learn that in class. That may or may not be the case with you, but I just wanted to throw that out there.
I am not aware of any college that will not accept the SAT Subject Test in Chinese. What is your source?
I think that’s true, the same way that many Americans speak improper English.
Right-- otherwise there would be no point in any Native English speakers taking AP courses in English Comp or English Literature.