If a student has solid courseload and EC’s and has a set career path or goal in focus, I think many of us would support early graduation. But if you are uncertain, perhaps think of the rest of high school as opportunities to showcase your amazing abilities so you can get into a college that may interest you.
Yeah, join the math team, romp the AP tests, do your best. I know high school is a drag but it’ll get better soon if you apply yourself.
You should check with the Chinese teachers whether you should start in a more advanced Chinese course than the beginner one. A heritage speaker with some reading and writing knowledge taking the beginner course is probably wasting time, and colleges may look at it as if you were grade-grubbing an easy A.
A heritage speaker taking Chinese will likely be seen as not taking a “foreign” language. So, you could take an advanced Chinese class but I’d recommend taking a language that is Foreign to you. If you want a challenge I recommend French or German, Arabic if it’s offered at your school.
It might be this person wants to learn to read and write at a higher level. it is pretty common for people who speak multiple languages to be strong in speaking than reading and writing, and to have a more informal language rather than an academic one. I can totally see wanting to get stronger in Chinese as a legit thing. That can be explained in college aps. I do agree with checking whether the OP should start at a higher level of language or not. If the course is heavy on reading and writing, I’d err on not since learning that is important and usually done very systematically.
Glad your input was helpful to you. Good luck! Hope you enjoy high school.
@suteiki77 : usually, students don’t take level 1+2 though. Some take level 4+AP (or Spanish for Spanish speakers 1+2, ie., upper level Reading/writing emphasis classes, then AP).
A heritage language spoken at home can absolutely be taken but the student needs to take a real foreign language too. Obviously it depends on how selective the OP’s aiming for.
I don’t know what colleges expect and believe you know more than I do on that topic.
I think in the case of Chinese, if a person could only speak and listen, while that would be an advantage in the class, reading and writing the language is such a lot to learn, that one might have to start at level 1 even if one could speak well if they hadn’t studied how to read. I think it is likely the OP would start with at least level 2 but it would depend on what is taught at that school at each level. you have to know so many characters to read and to write. It takes a lot more studying than learning to read Spanish or French or any language with the same alphabet letters.
I do think starting wherever the student’s level is for reading and writing would be very important in a language like Chinese, no matter how well the student speaks the language. more ideal would probably be a weekend school if there was one that focuses on reading and writing and is made up of lots of kids who speak Chinese at home.
I’m thinking more in terms of someone really wanting to be able to use Chinese in the world in the future rather than someone thinking of college entry requirements.
@suteiki77 ,
relatively speaking, what you say about Chinese being valuable in the future is no doubt true. HOWEVER, many colleges DO want students to take a “Foreign Language”- i.e. one that is NOT the same as their “native” language. If the OP can show that he/she is fluent in English, Chinese AND another language, by taking level 3-4 classes or by good scores on an AP test, then that would be a + on his college application.
However , by taking ONLY Chinese for any Foreign Language requirement[ especially if he/ she has an Asian Surname], it may lead to his/her application being rejected out of hand.
Now is not the time for discussions of the value of one language over the other when college is over.
Well, this all gets back to the recommendation that the OP check with the Chinese language teachers at the school to determine proper placement, especially since s/he “can read and write it at a basic level” as well as speak it at home.
Indeed, if s/he places in a high enough level of Chinese, s/he may have schedule space to take Chinese to the highest level available and another language to level 3 or higher (or other substantial academic electives) within four years of high school.
have you heard of any college have that as an actual official policy? Certainly someone bilingual should not take a course in a native language to get an easy A. But, a person who can only speak a language and not read or write it is lacking in native language ability in that language. Someone who speaks a language in informal (home) settings but doesn’t know academic language doesn’t have full native proficiency, either. If the OP only speaks Chinese at home and was brought up here, the OP may not have full native language proficiency in both English and Chinese (and said can only read and write basic things). Learning thousands of Chinese characters is quite an undertaking. I think being fully bilingual is something most colleges would value. I don’t think it is fair to not count the learning of two languages that happens in childhood before college as language learning. People who spoke another language before coming to the US did learn a foreign language, English. people born here who speak another language at home also are learning two languages in childhood and would have to do additional work to reach full academic proficiency to read, write, speak, and understand those languages beyond just talking about family things at home. Many such students take on formal study of that other language in high school and college. I think this is great. Too often students are embarrassed by family that speak another language.
I do not think this would be a negative on a college application.
When I was at Harvard, intro to Mandarin was chock a block full of legacy speakers. It wasn’t just the easy A thing - many were illiterate in their own language and genuinely needed the class to attain proficiency. But there absolutely wasn’t any policy to police it.
Harvard now offers Chinese language courses for heritage speakers who can speak and listen but want to improve their reading and writing. It is not the only college that offers such courses. At some colleges, other languages are also offered in courses for heritage speakers.
Cool!
"If the OP only speaks Chinese at home and was brought up here, the OP may not have full native language proficiency in both English and Chinese (and said can only read and write basic things).
Students who apply to selective US colleges, regardless of where they were born or what language their parents spoke at home, need to pay attention to the Foreign language “recommendations” [ which should for all intents and purposes read as “requirements]” of the colleges they are applying to.
Otherwise they might find themselves at a disadvantage when their applications are reviewed.
I don’t make the rules. I’m just recommending, as others have, that they consider taking a language that they DON’T speak , or know at home.
THAT is the meaning of what is considered a FOREIGN language to colleges.
READ what other long time CC Senior members have lalso said.
We are here to help, because we have seen how competitive college admissions have become.
"A heritage language spoken at home can absolutely be taken but the student needs to take a real foreign language too. Obviously it depends on how selective the OP’s aiming for.
Can you provide a link to a college web page that says this?
I agree it is good to check with colleges you might be interested in attending. I don’t think all of them would have the same opinions on this topic. The school my son got into recommends things he didn’t do and it worked out for him. Still, that is chancy so it is good to ask and know. I think some would think wanting to become fully bilingual would be a great thing, not a negative.
Anyway, there is a big range in what it means to speak a language at home in terms of how developed that language and English are and which one was learned first and which is at native level and etc. It should not be treated as one monolithic group and I would personally want to call up any such admission office and give them my opinion on this topic if they were treating all such students as one group with one policy since that really isn’t one size fits all.
@suteiki: the problem is that Chinese1+2 would be VERY far from bilingual. At the end of HS Chinese 2 a student might be able to read and write 150-200 basic words. Since OP said s/he can “read and write a little” I assume Chinese1+2 wouldn’t really be “learning”.
AP would require a minimum of 1,200 characters with a 5 requiring more.
Hence, the suggestion: starting in Chinese 3 and going through AP Chinese.
It’d be a culturally enriching asset if OP took Chinese for Heritage speakers or college courses but HS courses are paced very slowly and Foreign Language level 2 is not going to cut it for highly selective colleges, let alone if it’s a heritage language.
Chinese 3 will be fine for many state flagships, including UC’s, UVA, UNC.
For highly selective colleges (Ivy+, Nescac…), if OP is interested in Chinese (which is worthwhile), I’d recommend taking Chinese 3 or 4 through AP (depending on original level) and either French or German through level 3 or 4.
Generally, unless a student has a hook or a legitimate reason, “recommend” should be read as “required” for sub 25% acceptance rate colleges. Substitution are seen as acceptable once the core classes have been taken, so that gives a bit of leeway senior year.