Yuan-Yuan Meng

I really enjoyed going through the book in this class. I enjoyed the sections that covered key places in China, the section on the minority groups in China, and the simulation of being interviewed for a job. I found those sections both interesting and useful. I have a lot of good memories of the class. I enjoyed listening to my classmates' perspectives. I really enjoyed when Professor Meng shared her perspectives, insights, and experiences (how students have changed throughout her years of teaching, the double standard between empresses and emperors, an image of a dragon circling a pillar in Taiwan). Professor Meng is a teacher who's diligent (often grading/looking over HW after hours and leaving thorough comments), very receptive to feedback, and works very hard in ensuring that all her students are comfortable and bonding (shared lunch and potluck). We went through a Chinese textbook (that she co-authored), and I remember enjoying almost every section with the exception of the dating section/dating show/marriage/passive aggressive in-law sections. I would have preferred a longer section or more time on exploring more of China or Taiwan (especially) of (thinking more practically job-wise, more material centering on navigating China or Taiwan's industries). The daily quizzes on writing and the readings really did help level up my Chinese in both reading and writing. I liked th…

Professor Meng is a phenomenal teacher. She incorporated a lot of Chinese speaking in her class and the sessions were a highlight of my day. She went above and beyond in considering everyone's feelings. She is highly efficient and disciplined in graded work. The comments back on the essays were an extra special touch.

Teacher Meng is an exceptional instructor. Her grading is fair, and she provides a comprehensive education that covers all aspects of the language—speaking, reading, writing, and listening. We’re encouraged to engage in lively discussions on a wide variety of topics, from politics to daily life and academics, which helps expand our vocabulary across different areas. The class is always dynamic and never feels dull. She also is understanding and supportive. Overall, in my experience, she stands out as the best teacher in the Columbia Chinese Language Department.

I've said this once and I'll say it again: Meng LaoShi is the BEST teacher at Columbia. She's not just the best in the language department. SHE. IS. THE. BEST. She cares about each student like they're her own, she is flexible, understanding, and passionate about Chinese. She's a teacher everyone will love, whether you are obsessed with Chinese or just taking it for a req. Her classes are chill and it's a class each student in the class looks forward to. Take Meng Laoshi. You won't regret it.

It's called "Readings in Modern Chinese." As Meng explains on the first day, that's because the purpose of the class is to instruct you in reading Chinese, and you will acquire a lot of vocabulary that you will be able to recognize when you encounter them, but--again, as Meng tells you on the first day--not necessarily be able to use in your own speaking or writing. You will not work much on your tones or on speaking in this class, because that's not really the purpose of the class. I had to shift my expectations of what a language class is for this one, but I'm glad I did because if you need what she's offering, you'll see the value in it. And as a result, it can be a lot more fun than lower-level classes at Columbia. The class is very focused on vocabulary acquisition. So you will not be endlessly writing sentences to practice grammar patterns. Nor will you have to sit through excruciating powerpoint presentations by your classmates. She knows what she's doing.

I studied with Meng Laoshi as an undergraduate (1st year Chinese) and later as a graduate student (4th year Chinese, aka "Readings in Modern Chinese") at Columbia. This was a while ago (2002 and 2007), though I feel, given the stubbornness of Meng's general character, this review will still be relevant today. I've never been moved to write a review for CULPA, but I'm so alarmed by the reviews here of Meng (how positive they are), and I care deeply about studying Chinese, I felt compelled to write something. I also believe I write from a perspective of useful retrospection and relative objectivity. Students have various intense axes to grind - or total adulation - with or for Meng Laoshi, but it's been years since I've seen or spoken to her, and I feel neither in particular. I've also studied Chinese for many years and speak from some experience. I've studied at the following institutions and have had countless Chinese instructors - Princeton in Beijing, Middlebury Chinese School, ICLP in Taiwan, and IUP in Beijing, in addition to Columbia - and have attained total fluency in the language. I am now currently an assistant professor of Chinese literature and teach Chinese language courses. Finally, I am a non-heritage speaker of Chinese who started "at zero" about ten years ago. I don't think Meng is a good Chinese language teacher and I don't think you should study Chinese with…

OK, I usually cringe at students who gush on and on about professors who, in reality, are not that great because they have flaws that are not mentioned in the reviews. Having said that, I really believe that Meng laoshi is the BEST PROFESSOR I'VE HAD SO FAR. I honestly don't understand why she is not a gold nugget. She belongs on that list, with her knack for presenting material in a clear and concise way, her patience with students who ask mutiple consecutive questions, and her supremely nice personality. Her mastery with the English language, plus the fact that she has no detectable accent, makes learning so much easier. Not only that, she's also immersed in American culture, which means that you get a kick out of her anecdotes, like the time she described to the class an episode of Sex and the City. Hilarious! Aside from being an effective and engaging professor, she is also very understanding towards students. If ever you feel like you need an extension, she will grant it to you without hesitation, as long as the request is reasonable. For instance, I couldn't make an oral presentation to the class on the day it was assigned because I was stressed about work in my other classes. She totally understood and scheduled an individual appointment for me to do the presentation. In general, she's always available outside of class and always manages to find ways to meet with studen…

While I felt I was getting a lot out of Meng laoshi's class during the semester, it was only this past summer, while studying abroad, that I realized just how much I gained from her Readings course. I found that I recalled the vast majority of the vocab, sentence patterns, idiomatic expressions, and even folk similies (xiehouyu) that we learned, and -- more importantly -- could put them to use. This included a good sense for the nuances of terms and usage and finer shades of meaning. That is, what we learned we learned well. I came out of the course with an active command of the material, which to me is key; I want to build on what I learn, not constantly relearn it owing to never really having grasped it. The course amounted to something of a turning point in my study of Chinese, I dare say, in that by the end of the two semesters of Readings I found I could make out and appreciate the structure and logic, use of metaphor, and rhetorical styles and choices present in a variety of writings in Chinese. Very cool. Meng's detailed analysis of the essays as pieces of composition is to be credited for this. Much of this has to do with the textbooks we used for the course, which I thought were terrific. A unique feature of the texts is their analysis of usage (verb collocation, etc.) and numerous sample sentences and phrasings. Few textbooks offer something like this. Credit goes to…

Very worthwhile 1 Columbia University: Arts & Sciences Fall 2023 Course: CHNSGU4014_001_2023_3-MEDIACHINESE : CHNSGU4014_001_2023_3 - MEDIA CHINESE Instructor: Yuan-Yuan Meng

The workload was never superfluous. It never felt tedious. The homework wa