Professor
Yan Shen
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Most Helpful Review
Fall 2021 - Shen Laoshi was a very great professor, definitely caring about student learning and having very engaging lectures. She was definitely flexible, and has adapted well to online learning. She also gave personal feedback for homework assignments and essays. --- The class is significantly different compared to the Chinese 1 to 3 series. While reviews from a decade or so ago indicate this class was an easy A, it appears that the Chinese series was overhauled a few years ago and made more difficult. All the homework and powerpoint slides were labeled “Chin 100A,” for example. Several chapters were skipped, and while not major, it helps to finish off the book from Chin 3 before starting this class. --- Regardless, the class was still not difficult, but the class did require quite a bit of work and studying. If you took Chinese 1-3 series, the following are the biggest changes: --- First would be essays. Two were take-home essays and one was in-class. Since the topics are given beforehand, including for the in-class essay’s topic, one can prepare for them. --- Second difference would be quizzes. One quiz is given per chapter, with 7 total and the lowest 2 dropped. These quizzes were quite long, around 45 minutes each, and felt quite a bit like the AP Exam style questions. They were all multiple choice, with listening and reading comprehension sections. --- Third difference would be text recordings, where you read the text dialogue by yourself or with a partner. Fortunately, this was graded based on completion only. I have mixed feelings about this; this was good speaking practice but sometimes felt like busy work. --- Last difference would be the final video project. This was a decent amount of work that should take 3 days to do, or about 12 hours total including subtitles and practice. --- Other than that, it didn’t feel too much different from the 1-3 series. Homework was based on completion and grade cutoffs were fixed. The written exams were open note (and actually not proctored whatsoever). Finally, two big logistics notes: First, Shen Laoshi gives you everything you need to do the homework assignments. The Workbook is NOT NEEDED. But, the textbook is highly helpful, and you SHOULD buy the textbook, but not the workbook. Second, the lectures are NOT recorded, but the slides are given out. That said, the slides themselves don’t have too much on them, so lectures are basically mandatory. Students are also graded on attendance.
Fall 2021 - Shen Laoshi was a very great professor, definitely caring about student learning and having very engaging lectures. She was definitely flexible, and has adapted well to online learning. She also gave personal feedback for homework assignments and essays. --- The class is significantly different compared to the Chinese 1 to 3 series. While reviews from a decade or so ago indicate this class was an easy A, it appears that the Chinese series was overhauled a few years ago and made more difficult. All the homework and powerpoint slides were labeled “Chin 100A,” for example. Several chapters were skipped, and while not major, it helps to finish off the book from Chin 3 before starting this class. --- Regardless, the class was still not difficult, but the class did require quite a bit of work and studying. If you took Chinese 1-3 series, the following are the biggest changes: --- First would be essays. Two were take-home essays and one was in-class. Since the topics are given beforehand, including for the in-class essay’s topic, one can prepare for them. --- Second difference would be quizzes. One quiz is given per chapter, with 7 total and the lowest 2 dropped. These quizzes were quite long, around 45 minutes each, and felt quite a bit like the AP Exam style questions. They were all multiple choice, with listening and reading comprehension sections. --- Third difference would be text recordings, where you read the text dialogue by yourself or with a partner. Fortunately, this was graded based on completion only. I have mixed feelings about this; this was good speaking practice but sometimes felt like busy work. --- Last difference would be the final video project. This was a decent amount of work that should take 3 days to do, or about 12 hours total including subtitles and practice. --- Other than that, it didn’t feel too much different from the 1-3 series. Homework was based on completion and grade cutoffs were fixed. The written exams were open note (and actually not proctored whatsoever). Finally, two big logistics notes: First, Shen Laoshi gives you everything you need to do the homework assignments. The Workbook is NOT NEEDED. But, the textbook is highly helpful, and you SHOULD buy the textbook, but not the workbook. Second, the lectures are NOT recorded, but the slides are given out. That said, the slides themselves don’t have too much on them, so lectures are basically mandatory. Students are also graded on attendance.
Most Helpful Review
Winter 2022 - If you took Shen's Chinese 4 Class, you'll already know what to expect. Otherwise, you'll be in for a treat. If you're too lazy to look up her reviews for Chinese 4, I copy-pasted my previous review: Shen Laoshi was a very great professor, definitely caring about student learning and having very engaging lectures. She was definitely flexible, and has adapted well to online learning. She also gave personal feedback for homework assignments and essays. --- The class is significantly different compared to the Chinese 1 to 3 series. While reviews from a decade or so ago indicate this class was an easy A, and most students still gets A's it appears that the Chinese series was overhauled a few years ago and made more difficult. All the homework and powerpoint slides were labeled “Chin 100A,” for example. --- Regardless, the class was still not difficult, but the class did require quite a bit of work and studying. For example: --- There were three essays. Two were take-home essays and one was in-class. The in-class essay is an on-demand essay, but with multiple prompts, open everything, and a baseline knowledge of Chinese, it's completely manageable. --- Next, one quiz is given per chapter, with 7 total and the lowest 2 dropped. Yes, two are dropped, but they can be quite difficult since we're graded on a flat scale. Miss 3 questions and you have yourself a B. These quizzes were quite long, around 45 minutes each, and felt quite a bit like the AP Exam style questions. They were all multiple choice, with listening and reading comprehension sections. --- There were text recordings, where you read the text dialogue by yourself or with a partner. Fortunately, this was graded based on completion only. I have mixed feelings about this; this was good speaking practice but sometimes felt like busy work. --- There is the final video project. This was a decent amount of work that should take 3 days to do, or about 12 hours total including subtitles and practice. --- Exams were all open note, with a midterm and a final. They're a major time-crunch, however, and I found it easy to lose track of time. --- Other than that, it didn’t feel too much different from the 1-3 series. Homework was based on completion and grade cutoffs were fixed. The written exams were open note (and actually not proctored whatsoever). Finally, two big logistics notes: First, Shen Laoshi gives you everything you need to do the homework assignments. The Workbook is NOT NEEDED. But, the textbook is highly helpful, and you SHOULD buy the textbook, but not the workbook. Second, the lectures are NOT recorded, but the slides are given out. That said, the slides themselves don’t have too much on them, so lectures are basically mandatory. Students are also graded on attendance and effort..
Winter 2022 - If you took Shen's Chinese 4 Class, you'll already know what to expect. Otherwise, you'll be in for a treat. If you're too lazy to look up her reviews for Chinese 4, I copy-pasted my previous review: Shen Laoshi was a very great professor, definitely caring about student learning and having very engaging lectures. She was definitely flexible, and has adapted well to online learning. She also gave personal feedback for homework assignments and essays. --- The class is significantly different compared to the Chinese 1 to 3 series. While reviews from a decade or so ago indicate this class was an easy A, and most students still gets A's it appears that the Chinese series was overhauled a few years ago and made more difficult. All the homework and powerpoint slides were labeled “Chin 100A,” for example. --- Regardless, the class was still not difficult, but the class did require quite a bit of work and studying. For example: --- There were three essays. Two were take-home essays and one was in-class. The in-class essay is an on-demand essay, but with multiple prompts, open everything, and a baseline knowledge of Chinese, it's completely manageable. --- Next, one quiz is given per chapter, with 7 total and the lowest 2 dropped. Yes, two are dropped, but they can be quite difficult since we're graded on a flat scale. Miss 3 questions and you have yourself a B. These quizzes were quite long, around 45 minutes each, and felt quite a bit like the AP Exam style questions. They were all multiple choice, with listening and reading comprehension sections. --- There were text recordings, where you read the text dialogue by yourself or with a partner. Fortunately, this was graded based on completion only. I have mixed feelings about this; this was good speaking practice but sometimes felt like busy work. --- There is the final video project. This was a decent amount of work that should take 3 days to do, or about 12 hours total including subtitles and practice. --- Exams were all open note, with a midterm and a final. They're a major time-crunch, however, and I found it easy to lose track of time. --- Other than that, it didn’t feel too much different from the 1-3 series. Homework was based on completion and grade cutoffs were fixed. The written exams were open note (and actually not proctored whatsoever). Finally, two big logistics notes: First, Shen Laoshi gives you everything you need to do the homework assignments. The Workbook is NOT NEEDED. But, the textbook is highly helpful, and you SHOULD buy the textbook, but not the workbook. Second, the lectures are NOT recorded, but the slides are given out. That said, the slides themselves don’t have too much on them, so lectures are basically mandatory. Students are also graded on attendance and effort..
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Most Helpful Review
Spring 2020 - Professor Shen is a very dedicated teacher. The entire class is taught in Chinese, even when you ask for clarification. This usually isn't a problem, since intermediate-level classes should be taught in Chinese anyways. So I don't take it as a negative. However, it seems like learning vocabulary outside of the class material is necessary to do well on exams and take-home essays because of how much has to be written and the limited scope of the textbook. If you don't go beyond the textbook vocabulary, your essays will seem very contrived. If you aren't enthusiastic about learning Chinese, this class can get annoying. But if you do care for the subject, then Professor Shen is great. Attendance is mandatory. On Zoom, Breakout sessions usually take up about 15-20 minutes per class. Homework is graded for completion rather than correctness. Purchasing the workbook is not needed, since she provides the homework worksheets online to be printed. The midterm and final will be most of your grade. This class uses the Cheng & Tsui Integrated Chinese series textbooks.
Spring 2020 - Professor Shen is a very dedicated teacher. The entire class is taught in Chinese, even when you ask for clarification. This usually isn't a problem, since intermediate-level classes should be taught in Chinese anyways. So I don't take it as a negative. However, it seems like learning vocabulary outside of the class material is necessary to do well on exams and take-home essays because of how much has to be written and the limited scope of the textbook. If you don't go beyond the textbook vocabulary, your essays will seem very contrived. If you aren't enthusiastic about learning Chinese, this class can get annoying. But if you do care for the subject, then Professor Shen is great. Attendance is mandatory. On Zoom, Breakout sessions usually take up about 15-20 minutes per class. Homework is graded for completion rather than correctness. Purchasing the workbook is not needed, since she provides the homework worksheets online to be printed. The midterm and final will be most of your grade. This class uses the Cheng & Tsui Integrated Chinese series textbooks.
Most Helpful Review
Courses taken: Chinese 100 A, B, C I really like Shen laoshi. She's probably the best UCLA professor I had so far because she is always so willing to help students. Her lectures are well organized and generally easy to follow. I understand that this is an upper div Chinese, so students with a heritage background like myself would have a easier time to understand the material. This may be challenging for non heritage students, but she always tries to slow down to answer any questions. Though her lectures can be sometimes dry but students are always welcome to join in the discussions. I have to admit my Chinese had improved over the three quarters. I will continue to stay in the Chinese dept since they just have nice and kind professors.
Courses taken: Chinese 100 A, B, C I really like Shen laoshi. She's probably the best UCLA professor I had so far because she is always so willing to help students. Her lectures are well organized and generally easy to follow. I understand that this is an upper div Chinese, so students with a heritage background like myself would have a easier time to understand the material. This may be challenging for non heritage students, but she always tries to slow down to answer any questions. Though her lectures can be sometimes dry but students are always welcome to join in the discussions. I have to admit my Chinese had improved over the three quarters. I will continue to stay in the Chinese dept since they just have nice and kind professors.
Most Helpful Review
Winter 2017 - Professor Shen is great. She's definitely concerned about student learning and wants to see you succeed in her class. She's very understanding when it comes to turning in assignments late and making up quizzes (although try not to make it a habit if you don't have a good reason...). She's been teaching Chinese for over a decade and her experience really shows in her lectures and class structure. And she always writes up these really nice handouts that include a lot of new vocabulary or elaborate on grammar points. This class is understandably difficult for anyone who is coming into her class without a background in Chinese, but she encourages students to see her at office hours. She's always willing to help you learn and if you just want to chat or practice speaking anything in Chinese, she'll help you with that as well. As for her tests, she'll always tell you exactly what's going to be on the test beforehand. I think they can still be pretty tricky to study for since they're quite comprehensive. I would focus on knowing the texts and grammar points, the translations from homework, as well as familiarizing yourself with whichever exercises she mentions. The tests do get progressively harder as you progress through the series, as she started asking us to write short paragraphs in 100B, and my test grades have been steadily dropping from the first one in 100A :( My Chinese has definitely improved since I've taken her class. Fun fact: she wrote the Barron's AP Chinese book!
Winter 2017 - Professor Shen is great. She's definitely concerned about student learning and wants to see you succeed in her class. She's very understanding when it comes to turning in assignments late and making up quizzes (although try not to make it a habit if you don't have a good reason...). She's been teaching Chinese for over a decade and her experience really shows in her lectures and class structure. And she always writes up these really nice handouts that include a lot of new vocabulary or elaborate on grammar points. This class is understandably difficult for anyone who is coming into her class without a background in Chinese, but she encourages students to see her at office hours. She's always willing to help you learn and if you just want to chat or practice speaking anything in Chinese, she'll help you with that as well. As for her tests, she'll always tell you exactly what's going to be on the test beforehand. I think they can still be pretty tricky to study for since they're quite comprehensive. I would focus on knowing the texts and grammar points, the translations from homework, as well as familiarizing yourself with whichever exercises she mentions. The tests do get progressively harder as you progress through the series, as she started asking us to write short paragraphs in 100B, and my test grades have been steadily dropping from the first one in 100A :( My Chinese has definitely improved since I've taken her class. Fun fact: she wrote the Barron's AP Chinese book!
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Most Helpful Review
Winter 2017 - Lovely and caring lady but very intense Chinese course. She teaches the class almost entirely in Mandarin and covers a ton of material. It's very fast-paced... You will learn a lot but will fall easily behind if you don't keep up. The exams are brutal. Make sure your schedule is flexible and dedicate much time to studying otherwise you will burn.
Winter 2017 - Lovely and caring lady but very intense Chinese course. She teaches the class almost entirely in Mandarin and covers a ton of material. It's very fast-paced... You will learn a lot but will fall easily behind if you don't keep up. The exams are brutal. Make sure your schedule is flexible and dedicate much time to studying otherwise you will burn.
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