Chinese is the most widely spoken first language in the world and is increasingly important in the worlds of business, economics, politics, culture, and literature.

The Chinese program is the newest language program at College Prep and will expand over the next few years. This program aspires to provide students with a strong foundation in listening, speaking, reading, and writing.

Students will begin learning simplified characters, which are used primarily in mainland China. At the higher levels, they will also be introduced to traditional characters, which are used in Taiwan, Hong Kong and elsewhere.

Chinese can be a difficult language to learn, but motivated students will be surprised at the level of progress they are able to make and will feel a deep sense of accomplishment as their language skills improve.

Students who decide to participate in the Chinese program will leave College Prep well prepared for advanced language study in college and will be equipped to interact (through written and spoken channels) with native speakers here and throughout the world.

The class is an elementary Mandarin Chinese course that focuses on helping students develop basic listening, speaking, reading, and writing skills in modern standard Chinese, using pinyin and simplified characters. Chinese I is for students who were not raised in Mandarin-speaking environments and who have had little or no exposure to the language. The course uses multi-media teaching materials to introduce Chinese language and culture and to provide students with strong basic skills in reading and writing Chinese characters. Special emphasis is placed on helping students establish a solid foundation in speaking and pronunciation.

The class is a high-intermediate Mandarin Chinese course designed for students who have completed Chinese II or who have obtained an equivalent level of language proficiency. The course helps students further develop listening, speaking, reading, and writing skills with a goal of preparing them for advanced language study. Mandarin is the only language of instruction. Both traditional and simplified Chinese characters will be used in class. Students will be exposed to a broad array of authentic language materials so that they can acquire the ability to survive (and thrive) in a real Chinese-speaking environment. This course has been designated an Honors course by the University of California.

This class is an advanced Mandarin Chinese course that prepares students to demonstrate their level of Chinese proficiency across the three communicative modes (interpersonal, interpretive and presentational) and the five goal areas (communication, cultures, connections, comparisons and communities). The course focuses on language proficiency while interweaving level- and age-appropriate cultural content throughout the course of the year and providing for frequent assessment of students’ developing proficiencies within the context of their learning. Instructional materials and activities are strategically adapted from authentic sources to support the linguistic and cultural goals of the course. All students prepare for the AP Chinese Language and Culture Exam.