#  Harvard Chinese Language Curriculum 

 



   ![CLP Roadmap](/sites/g/files/omnuum11311/files/styles/hwp_1_1__720x720_scale/public/2026-03/CLP%20Roadmap.png?itok=9vn94Hm8) 

 

This **Harvard Chinese Language Curriculum** website provides important resources that go along with the 14 textbooks in **Harvard Chinese Language Series (HCLS)**. HCLS is built on a ground-breaking, multi-year work that incorporates the latest research in language pedagogy and aims to transform the practice of Chinese language teaching and learning in the U.S. and abroad. The series is informed by a coherent, overarching pedagogical framework, focusing on systematically moving students from one level to the next, covering five levels of Chinese instruction and ultimately helping students reach the ACTFL “Superior” (near-native) level of proficiency

Each volume covers materials that can be studied intensively over **one semester** or over **the course of a year**. The textbooks are designed for learners with diverse interests, backgrounds, prior exposure to Chinese, and motivations for learning the language. For this reason, the series provides a variety of resources for teachers and students to select based on their specific needs. Given the intended broad audience, **both** **traditional and simplified** characters are provided throughout for texts, vocabulary, and grammar examples. This allows students and teachers flexibility in choosing the type of characters that meet their needs. To help students better understand characters’ etymology and lay a foundation for reading traditional characters, the elementary-level volumes focuses primarily on traditional characters while the other volumes prioritize simplified characters.

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The design of this website is an ongoing project initiated by Prof. [**Jennifer Liu**](https://ealc.fas.harvard.edu/people/jennifer-li-chia-liu) (Director of Chinese Language Program) and operated by [**Yuxiao Du**](https://ealc.fas.harvard.edu/people/yuxiao-du) (a Preceptor in Chinese) at Harvard University. Gratitude extends to **Xiaoshi Yu, Linlin Xiong, Fangzheng Zhang,** and **Ying-Chieh Wang** for their valuable contribution in early planning of this site.