<p>My brother attended CAS, and studied abroad in Shanghai the second semester of his sophomore year and is fluent in Chinese. However, many of his friends who went abroad with him weren’t, but they didn’t really have any problems with the language barrier. He told me that the NYU team in Shanghai was great and really took care of the students, often organizing trips to nearby towns to visit temples or enjoy some local delicacies.
I recently visited Shanghai for winter break, and I definitely don’t think it’s difficult for people with limited Chinese speaking/writing abilities to live there. I don’t think a student who isn’t fluent in Chinese will be disadvantaged because there is quite a large number of people there who can speak decent English.</p>