Xiaofei Pan

Investigating Student Retention in Advanced-Level Chinese Courses at Duke and DKU · February 2025 - January 2026 Awarded by: Duke University Provost fund for Duke-DKU Collaborations The proposed project aims to investigate student motivation and retention in higher-level Chinese courses at Duke and DKU. As a leading program in Chinese language education, the Chinese Program at Duke has been actively addressing challenges related to enrollment and retention in advanced-level courses, mirroring a broader trend of declining foreign language enrollments across U.S. institutions as highlighted in the Modern Language Association’s 2016 report. Experience from DKU’s Chinese program indicates that an immersive language environment alone may be insufficient to sustain student’s interest in continuing Chinese courses. For example, the attribution rate from Chinese 202B to Chinese 301A was higher than 77% in Fall 2023 and increased further in Spring 2024. This project seeks to identify the key factors influencing students' decisions to continue or discontinue their Chinese studies, with a particular focus on 300-level courses at both institutions. Findings of this study will help the Chinese programs at both Duke and DKU better understand students’ motivations and challenges, refine their curriculum design, and develop targeted strategies to enhance retention in advanced-level courses. In addition, this study can offer valuable insights for Chinese language programs at other U.S. institutions and U.S.-China joint venture universities facing similar challenges with declining enrollments.