CHINESE-204
INTERMEDIATE CHINESE
Offered Fall 2026
Term
Overview
Feedback is mostly positive. The strongest signal is that students say they actually learn something useful. Best for students who want substance, not a disposable elective.
DepartmentAMES
Terms offeredFall, Spring
Typical enrollment7–14
Semesters of data5
4.4
Hrs / week
45
Responses
54
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.
3.2
Feedback Analysis
Feedback Analysishigh
Analysis based on student evaluations
Based on 138 comments across 5 sections
Feedback is mostly positive. The strongest signal is that students say they actually learn something useful. Best for students who want substance, not a disposable elective.
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
Moderate homework load
Homework load looks moderate. The recurring signal is steady weekly work, but not a course that turns every assignment into a grind.
Lecture Load
Regular lecture load
Lectures matter here, but the evidence points to a fairly standard lecture burden rather than a course dominated by long or exceptionally dense lectures.
Strengths
• 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 want substance, not a disposable elective.
Watch out for
• A large share of the evidence comes from one instructor's version of the course, so this may not generalize cleanly.
Student Responses
Chinese vocab, history, and culture
Fall 2023 · Zhang, Shu
My conversational skills really improved throughout the course. Additionally, the topics we covered were relevant to everyday life, which was very helpful.
Fall 2023 · Zhang, Shu
We learned from various chapters in which new words and grammar structures were introduced. This allowed me to increase my proficiency and ability to communicate fluidly with others.
Fall 2023 · Zhang, Shu
Better understanding of Chinese language and culture. I specifically learned many grammar structures, and improved my speaking and listening skills.
Fall 2023 · Zhang, Shu
We learned more vocab and grammar. We improved our listening, reading, speaking, and writing skills. We also discussed more Chinese cultural and societal topics in this course.
Fall 2023 · Zhang, Shu
Rating History
Rating history
Error bars show \u00B11 std dev
| Term | Instructor | Overall | Difficulty | Hrs/wk | Enrolled |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fall 2025 | Zhang, Shu 5.0Rate My ProfessorsQuality5.0Difficulty2.7Would retake100%Based on 3 ratingsClick to view on RMP → | 4.5 | 3.4 | 3.6 | 9 |
| Spring 2025 | Zhang, Shu 5.0Rate My ProfessorsQuality5.0Difficulty2.7Would retake100%Based on 3 ratingsClick to view on RMP → | 4.6 | 3.1 | 4.7 | 12 |
| Fall 2024 | Zhang, Shu 5.0Rate My ProfessorsQuality5.0Difficulty2.7Would retake100%Based on 3 ratingsClick to view on RMP → | 4.5 | 3.4 | 5.4 | 12 |
| Spring 2024 | Zhang, Shu 5.0Rate My ProfessorsQuality5.0Difficulty2.7Would retake100%Based on 3 ratingsClick to view on RMP → | — | — | 3.9 | 14 |
| Fall 2023 | Zhang, Shu 5.0Rate My ProfessorsQuality5.0Difficulty2.7Would retake100%Based on 3 ratingsClick to view on RMP → | 4.7 | 2.8 | — | 7 |
Instructor
Zhang, ShuAMES
Also teaches
CHINESE-102 FIRST-YEAR CHINESE II4.7CHINESE-203 INTERMEDIATE CHINESE4.4CHINESE-305 PRE-ADVANCED CHINESE4.6CHINESE-305D PRE-ADVANCED CHINESE4.1CHINESE-408S CHIN LANG & CULT THRU FILM4.6