Blog 1_Learning Goals & Execution Plan (due on 9/5/26)

1. I took Chinese for a couple of years when I was younger and then I also took it during High School. I took Chinese at an international school in Singapore and then again when I moved to California. I have never been to China and I have never studied Chinese abroad (although I visited Taiwan once and did a Chinese camp). 
2. My goals for the semester are to improve my pronunciation when speaking (eg tones and rules) so when I can sound more smooth and natural. I also want to gain a better writing and reading skills. To do this, I will work on speaking with Chinese friends and in class and I will also try to learn new characters every week. 

1. I took Mandarin during all four years of high school. My first two years were mostly focused on speaking and listening, pin yin, traditional characters, and Chinese culture. My third and fourth years were mostly about expanding my vocabulary, learning to read simplified characters, and learning the basic sentence structures. I was never taught anything using a textbook, so my education has been mostly immersive and has included whatever my teachers thought was important. 

2. My main goals for this semester are to improve my pronunciation and my tones. I also want to get better at recognizing which tones are being used when someone else is speaking. Additionally, I would like to expand my vocabulary, my understanding of grammar, and my ability to carry out conversations fluidly and comfortably. I will work on these goals by speaking aloud regularly, paying extra attention to tone marks, paying attention to any grammar lessons, and by speaking with my friend who is fluent. 

1. I took Chinese on and off for a few years throughout my childhood, starting when I was very young and then I took a few classes in high school as well. I have never studied abroad, but I grew up in Hong Kong. I had taken a few trips around China (Shanghai and Beijing) for school travels, but never anything academically based.
2. My course goals for this semester is to improve my tone knowledge and rebuild my foundations in Chinese. Since I was very young when I first learned pronunciation and such, I am looking to improve a lot in that aspect through speaking as much as possible in class or on my own. In addition, I want to develop my writing skills through repeated practice and dictation. 

1. I took Mandarin Chinese during all four years of high school, but the courses I took used traditional Chinese characters rather than simplified. I also have very minimal experience in writing characters by hand. My grandparents on my dad's side are fluent in Mandarin, and I can have basic level conversations with them. 
2. My goal is to focus on perfecting my pronunciation and tone in order to reach a level closer to fluency. I would love to be more confident in my speaking abilities and learn to write characters by hand.

1. In high school, I took a Mandarin class all 4 years. My teacher focused mainly on listening comprehension and some speaking, but less reading and writing. She was not the most organized, especially given that all of the different levels were squeezed into one or two classes. We would often have multiple days of the week without instruction or assignments, as she'd be working with each level individually despite being in the same class. I tested out of the language requirement at my prior institution in freshman year (with German, not Chinese), and took a gap year after that, so it has been 2 full years since that high school class. 

My mom used to live in China and was fluent in Mandarin at one point, so occasionally I have been able to practice with her, but hardly. 

    2.  Moving forward, I hope to improve my tone pronunciation, expand my vocabulary (and be able to think on my feet better), and practice my character writing! My plan to execute this is to practice characters, dictation, and speaking out loud every single day, even if just for a little bit. I'd like to make it a part of my routine!

1) I was in a Mandarin dual language program in elementary school and took classes in middle school, as well as an online class my first year of high school. I haven't practiced in the three years since, because none of my family speaks Chinese at home. My best friend does, though, so she might be a good person to practice with!

2) My goal is mainly to review the Chinese I learned a long time ago and get back in the habit of actually using it. I want to focus on grammar and vocabulary when I'm writing/speaking, since I think those are the pieces I've lost the most. I also plan to pay extra attention to tones, especially for new vocab.

My goals are to learn Chinese so I can better understand my grandparents in China. I would love to visit them next year, and I want to be able to communicate with them better than I had been in the past. I only took Chinese when I was very young, and did not take any in High school. 

My mom is Chinese, so she will be a great resource to practice my Chinese with. Additionally, I will collaborate with my classmates as they may be better at writing than I am, since I have little to no experience.

1) I come from a Fuzhounese family, so my Mandarin is a bit mixed, and my pronunciation is a bit off from proper Mandarin. I took some basic Chinese classes years so I have a bit of a foundation in Pinyin. My goals are:

1. be able to read and write better
2. correct my pronunciation
3. be able to distinguish between the 2nd and 3rd tones

2) To achieve this, daily practice with my parents or other students in Chinese, along with consuming media in Chinese, is required.

1) In high school I took Chinese, and my class focused a lot on vocabulary, writing, and getting comfortable speaking the language with others (we were not allowed to speak any English in the class). However, by 11th grade the class was focused more on reading and writing, since by then most students had previous experience with speaking the language at home, which made me feel a bit lost in conversations and like I haven't improved much since then.

2) My course goals this semester are to improve my pronunciation and grammar, both of which I'm currently pretty bad with. In order to improve, I will practice speaking words aloud, memorize the tone marks for pinyin, and give extra attention to any teaching in regards to grammar.

I'm excited to see how the class goes this semester :)

1) In high school, I mainly focused on listening and reading, not really on speaking or writing. My teachers weren't the most organized when it came to teaching, so there are certain topics I'm more comfortable with than others. 

2) My goal for this semester is to get better at tones and my pronunciation. I want to be able to distinguish the different tones and be able to know which characters have which tones, while also pronouncing them correctly. My execution plan is to complete assignments on time and come to the weekly one-on-one conferences with any questions I have. 

Learning Goals:
In high school, I have mainly focused on Mandarin Chinese Listening and Reading skills, not Speaking and Writing. My speaking and writing are at a beginner level, whereas my listening and reading are at an intermediate level. Therefore, I will have three primary goals for this semester:

1. To be able to write basic characters by memory.
2. To be able to read pinyin and characters with the correct tone, without any incorrect attempts.
3. To be able to introduce myself freely and be confident in participating in basic conversational skills.

Execution Plan:

I would like to execute these three goals by

1. Having a study partner to practice my speaking with.
2. To complete the assignments ahead of time and ask for advice when necessary.
3. By handwriting the characters consistently to memorize them.

1. I took Chinese from 6th grade until 10th grade at the honors level, but I mostly forget everything since I stopped taking it. The only practice I've had with Chinese has been speaking very basic Chinese with the preschoolers at the school I worked at.
2. My course goals for this semester is to get better at tones because I was never great at them, and to get back to level I was when I stopped and improve beyond that point. My execution plan is to turn in my assignments on time, and if I ever feel unsure about a unit, to devote time to study and practice it more.

1. Im from a Chinese speaking family so I can only understand and speak some Chinese. I've never taken Chinese class or did any type of reading or writing. 
2. My course goal for this semester is to be able to understand the tones of pinyin or the letters in general. My execution plan is to try to complete all the homeworks in time and try to practice speaking Chinese. I plan on at least spending like 3 hours for this language course on a daily.

1. The only Chinese learning background I have is from my family. I have never went to a Chinese school before or taken a Chinese course in school. I have never studied abroad for Chinese.
2. My course goals for this semester is to better understand pinyin and to learn how to pronounce better and be able to read and write a little bit of Chinese. My execution plan is to always stay on top of my work and submit them early or at least on time. I will also study at home for a bit to retain the information better.