CHINESE-131
FRST YR CHN: BIL LEARNERS
Offered Fall 2026
Term
Instructor
Overview
Feedback is mostly positive. The strongest signal is that discussion is a clear strength. Best for students who will actually talk in class instead of sitting silent.
DepartmentAMES
Terms offeredFall, Spring
Typical enrollment5–12
Semesters of data5
4.6
Hrs / week
53
Responses
64
Enrollment
83%
Response Rate
Evaluation Scores
Overall quality
Teaching, content, and experience combined.
4.6
Intellectually stimulating
Challenges students to think deeply.
4.5
Instructor effectiveness
Explains concepts and facilitates learning.
4.8
Difficulty
Higher means harder.
3.5
Feedback Analysis
Feedback Analysishigh
Analysis based on student evaluations
Based on 176 comments across 8 sections
Feedback is mostly positive. The strongest signal is that discussion is a clear strength. Best for students who will actually talk in class instead of sitting silent.
Student Reports
How hard is the A?
A is doable but not automatic
The signal here is more do-the-work-and-you-should-be-fine than easy-A chatter. Students do not describe the A as automatic, but the evidence also does not paint grading as punishing.
Homework Load
Heavy homework load
Homework load is one of the clearest friction points. Students repeatedly describe assignments, readings, or problem sets as time-consuming.
Lecture Load
Lighter lecture burden
Student comments describe this as more discussion-, seminar-, or workshop-driven than lecture-dependent. The lecture burden itself does not sound like the main source of friction.
Strengths
• Discussion is a clear strength; students repeatedly describe the class conversation as engaging and useful.
• Students repeatedly say the course teaches something concrete, whether that is content mastery, research skill, or a strong foundation.
Tradeoffs
• There is no single dominant complaint theme, but the feedback is not uniformly glowing either.
Best fit for
Best for students who will actually talk in class instead of sitting silent.
Student Responses
I learned the most about the history of Chinese dialects overall, specifically their variety and how they originated from different areas and cultures. I also gained a better perspective on the differences between Chinese and American cultures, such as between standard parenting styles. I also improved my conversational skills from discussing various topics with the teacher in class.
Fall 2023 · Lee, Kun Shan
-reading chinese characters (both traditional and simplified) -writing chinese characters -speaking and listening skills -chinese culture and traditions (family, dialects, history)
Fall 2023 · Lee, Kun Shan
- How to read and write new Chinese words and Phrases and interesting topics such as Chinese American, Chinese parenting, Chinese tradition
Fall 2023 · Lee, Kun Shan
I learned about Chinese culture and customs, how to write proper grammar and sentence structures, and a diverse range of Chinese vocabulary.
Fall 2023 · Lee, Kun Shan
Became much more fluent in Chinese, learned to write my name in Chinese, and learned to read more fluently.
Fall 2023 · Yang, Shasha
Rating History
Rating history
Error bars show \u00B11 std dev
| Term | Instructor | Overall | Difficulty | Hrs/wk | Enrolled |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fall 2025 | Chou, Ya-Chuan | 5.0 | 3.3 | 3.5 | 9 |
| Spring 2025 | Lee, Kun Shan 4.1Rate My ProfessorsQuality4.1Difficulty3.9Would retake75%Based on 18 ratingsClick to view on RMP → | 4.4 | 3.8 | 5.4 | 7 |
| Fall 2024 | Chou, Ya-Chuan | 4.7 | 3.3 | 4.2 | 19 |
| Spring 2024 | Chou, Ya-Chuan | 4.6 | 3.4 | 4.0 | 10 |
| Fall 2023 | Lee, Kun Shan 4.1Rate My ProfessorsQuality4.1Difficulty3.9Would retake75%Based on 18 ratingsClick to view on RMP → | 4.4 | 3.7 | 5.3 | 19 |
Instructor
Chou, Ya-ChuanAMES
Also teaches
CHINESE-101 FIRST-YEAR CHINESE I3.5CHINESE-203 INTERMEDIATE CHINESE4.4CHINESE-232 INTERM CHN: BIL LEARNERS4.3