and what should I do next?

1. Are you a native speaker of Mandarin?

A Native speaker refers to those who can speak Mandarin fluently and write Chinese characters without difficulty. You may have acquired Mandarin from early childhood and Mandarin remains one of your primary means of communication.

• YES
• NO

2. Are you a heritage speaker?

A heritage speaker refers to those who have acquired some Chinese without gaining full fluency through exposure to spoken Chinese (including Mandarin, Cantonese and other regional dialects) at home or in the ethnic community.

• YES, but I don’t know how to read or write
• YES, and I have some knowledge of written Chinese:
• NO

3. Have you studied Chinese in a formal setting before?

• YES, I passed NCEA 1 or NCEA 2
• YES, I passed NCEA 3 or IB Ab Initio
• YES, I studied in another school/tuition.
• NO

If you are unsure about which course to take, please email the UG adviser Wang laoshi ([email protected]) and describe your personal situation. We will contact you to complete the placement test.

go back to UoA Chinese FAQs