The University of Kansas has taught Chinese since 1959 and has since had the strongest Chinese language program in the Great Plains.
Chinese is an easy language to learn to speak. In a few weeks time students in Elementary Chinese 104 know their four tones and can speak beautifully about basic topics of daily life. Learning characters, the most intriguing aspect of Chinese, starts slowly in the first year, then picks up in the second and third years so that students at the advanced level are reading newspapers and contemporary fiction. Graduating majors in Chinese are fluent and can compete with peers from any college in the United States.
China is a vast and fascinating country with limitless potential for learning and adventure. K.U. students typically spend some time in China, whether at a summer intensive language program or for a year at one of three schools that have exchange programs with K.U. Someone is always around who can tell you what's what in China, Taiwan, and Hong Kong.
Graduates have gone on to jobs in China in universities, schools, and companies. Some have continued their studies in graduate school, edical school, and law school in the United States. These are some of the places they have gone on to: a consulting firm in Washington, D.C., Hallmark International in Kansas City, United Airlines to be an attendant on flights to Asia, Johns Hopkins University to study public health in China, Shanghai to edit a newspaper, and Thailand to manage a fitness center. Opportunities also exist in government and military intelligence.
China has one of the fastest economic growth rates in the world and holds one quarter of the world's population. It is a country with an ancient and fascinating history, and a complex and interesting role to play in the present. See the following for more information: