<p>My parents are native speakers, but my actual chinese isn't actually good, and I can't say I'm fluent or even proficient. Would it admissions officers assume I already know chinese because of my chinese last name and see me as taking a " lazy class" if I sign up for Chinese? </p>
<p>No, not if you take it at an appropriate level. Just because one’s parents speak Chinese/Spanish, etc. at home does not automatically mean that the kids speak it, much less read/write it. Ask the many latinos/latinas in a HS Spanish class.</p>
<p>That said, if you know how to read/write basic Chinese characters and carry on a conversation, Chinese 1 is not for you.</p>
<p>My Chinese isn’t very good and I can understand a lot but can’t speak or write a lot. I guess I’ll ask the teachers for recommendation on which level to take. My only fear is that my Chinese really will be bad enough to merit a low level class and I’ll seem lazy or inept</p>
<p>Don’t worry to much about it. I know lots of really high achieving chinese kids took chinese through high school and they all ended up in great schools. In the grand scheme of your application, which foreign language class you took matters very little in comparison to overall course rigor, SAT/ACT, essays, etc. </p>
<p>My daughter is studying in Spain this semester and taking English! She said it’s a good way to understand grammar better. She is glad she signed up for it.</p>
<p>@MaineLonghorn maybe that’s what I need to do to help my terribly dyslexic son become a better writer! Thanks for the tip! </p>
<p>@salf236 I’m actually planning on doubling up languages so I can also take spanish. Not because I particularly love languages (Don’t dislike it either?) but because I see it being helpful in the career path I want to take. That other stuff is very reassuring though; thank you</p>