Attending any graduate school involves adjusting to a learning curve, but the coursework at the Hopkins-Nanjing Center (HNC) presents a unique challenge. Before attending the HNC, I had never read a 20 page article in Chinese. It sounded daunting. Chinese coursework in undergrad and study abroad programs focused on reading short articles to understand every word and sentence structure. HNC classes are content-based rather than grammar or vocabulary-based. They require analytical skills and a broader understanding of concepts and their applicability to other related topics.
The first thing I had to do when I started reading was to let go of the idea that I would understand 100% of every article. Comprehending the general concepts of each article is more important than memorizing every new word. In the first couple of weeks, I read articles more closely in order to familiarize myself with academic writing in Chinese. I also did this because I hadn’t yet figured out that it is impossible to read every article in its entirety and comprehend every sentence. I always read with Pleco or 有道（Youdao）dictionaries by my side so I could look up characters quickly if I didn’t know them. I noticed that a lot of the words I looked up at the beginning of the semester were 书面语 （written language）that I hadn’t learned in undergrad. Because we use 口语（spoken language）in class and everyday life, writing down formal transition words and phrases I came across in my readings was beneficial when it came time to write papers. The idea of reading hundreds of pages in Chinese every week became less daunting after I discovered tactics that worked for me.
I have always been the type of person to participate, so speaking up in class was not a huge obstacle for me, though I did learn to jot down a few vocabulary words before raising my hand. Sounding like a 5th grader in Chinese at the beginning of the program is all part of the process. Everyone at the HNC faces the same learning curve, though everyone enters at a slightly different point on the curve. Frequently speaking up in class taught me how to formulate ideas in Chinese and express them in a way that my professors and peers would understand. My Chinese is far from perfect now, but verbalizing my ideas improved not only my analytical speaking ability, but also the clarity of my writing.
Taking a class in English during the first semester is another way to lessen the impact of the learning curve. Reading in English gave me a break from reading Chinese articles, and speaking in English reminded me that I am capable of analyzing issues without tripping over my words or pausing frequently to gather my thoughts. By mid-way through the first semester, I was confident that I could have taken all four classes in Chinese, but it was still nice to have the English class and engage with more of my Chinese peers.
The Chinese Constitution class, one of my favorite first semester classes, exemplified the above difficulties and strategies for learning difficult subject material in Chinese. Reading a textbook about the constitution and law articles in English is hard. Reading them in Chinese is even harder. Not only did I have to learn a lot of new vocabulary to participate in weekly discussions, but I also had to learn about a foreign country’s legal system. After doing readings for this class, I realized how easy my readings were in other classes because my foundational vocabulary took me further. Learning to skim and understand the general concepts was never more important than in this class. The professor expected us to do the readings, but not to magically understand the Chinese constitution or the legal system. Because there were only six of us in the class, we had a much more natural discussion-based class and could ask more questions. We frequently talked about current issues and news stories we were interested in, examining them through the lens of the Chinese constitution and legal system, regardless of their sensitivity. By the end of the class, I understood more about the legal justifications for the Chinese government’s stance on various current issues and how people perceive these issues based on their understanding of the law.
My other favorite classes during my time at the HNC were the unique collaborative classes in the fall and spring semester that had field research trips to Shangri-La and China's borders.
Written by Cady Deck, Certificate ’19 + Johns Hopkins SAIS MA ‘20
