Chinese Language Program

Welcome to the Chinese Language Program at Columbia! 2017 marks the centennial of Chinese Studies at the university. In 1917, a generous donation from Mr. Ding Long of Canton helped establish the first professorship in Chinese studies. In the hundred years since, the Chinese Language Program at EALAC has become the largest on the east coast. Over twenty full-time lecturers and teaching associates instruct roughly 450 students every semester. The program offers courses across five levels with two tracks (heritage and non-heritage) and in two types (comprehensive and professional). All instructors adopt a cognitive-functional approach to language education, and equally emphasize spoken skills and literacy. Through the Office of Global Programs, students also have the opportunity to participate in two summer programs in China: the Summer Business Chinese Program, and the Summer Language Program, both in Beijing.

The program reinforces its commitment to language instruction through its commitment to pedagogical research and innovation. Faculty and instructors develop all teaching materials used in the classroom, and many of these aides have gone into press for use well beyond Columbia. Courses in Chinese Linguistics and Language Pedagogy, History of the Chinese Language, and Acquisition of Chinese as a Second Language augment the core language curriculum. These additional courses build towards the program’s long-term goal of establishing itself as a leading center for linguistic research and teacher training in the Chinese language in the United States.

Please navigate the menu on the left to learn more about what the Chinese Language Program has to offer.