CIEE Summer Intensive Chinese Language Program in Bejing, China

  China

• Beijing: 
Beijing

Term: Summer 
Dates: 8 weeks: late June - mid August

Description: The goals of the Intensive Chinese Language summer program are to increase the language ability of intermediate and advanced students as well as their knowledge about China and Beijings important role in modern Chinese society. These goals are achieved through intensive Mandarin language training at Beijings premier learning institution of Peking University and in addition to interaction with peer tutors and group excursions throughout Beijing.

Academic Program
Established in 1982 as the first study abroad program at Peking University, the CIEE summer language program offers intermediate and advanced students an opportunity to improve their fluency in spoken and written Mandarin Chinese while gaining insight into life in China's capital city.

Students applying for this program must have a minimum of two semesters of Chinese or the equivalent. Equivalency may be based on a language professors evaluation or a language proficiency exam score. Students with superior-level Mandarin language skills (using the ACTFL scale) may not be appropriate for this program.

Academic Culture
Students attend morning language classes Monday through Friday with daily homework assigned. In China, teachers are accustomed to being treated with the highest respect. Students should be prepared to arrive to class on time, dress with care, and not eat while in the classroom. In addition, students need to be aware of the differences between U.S. and Chinese teaching styles. The Chinese educational system is based on a system of tests in which students are expected to memorize characters and long passages. Depending on the instructor, there may be less discussion involved and more lecturing. Although many of the instructors have experience teaching international students, some may be more accustomed to teaching in the Chinese teaching style.

Highlights:

• Intensive Mandarin training for intermediate to advanced students; individualized teaching methodology.
  
• Peer language tutors and target language group meals help students improve their Chinese outside the classroom.
  
• Cultural and educational activities such as visits to the Beijing Opera, classical and popular music concerts, and an acrobatics performance.
  
• Excursions to sites of cultural importance such as the Great Wall, Ming Tombs, Tiananmen Square, and the Temple of Heaven.

Cultural Reimbursement
As a means of encouraging students to enrich their study abroad experience in Beijing, CIEE offers a Cultural Reimbursement Program, allowing students to be reimbursed for their participation in local cultural activities such as tickets to Chinese movies, theatrical performances, traditional music concerts, visits to local museums, and historic places of interest.

Special Lectures
Students are invited to meet with locals and expatriates including journalists, diplomats, educators, and business people to gain ideas and views on living and working in Beijing and China. Past speakers have included a U.S. Embassy officer, the vice president of the American Chamber of Commerce, and a former CIEE participant who owns a business in Beijing.

Immersion
Target Language Meals
To encourage students to utilize their Chinese, CIEE arranges for students to eat meals with their tutors or Chinese friends. Students participating in the language meals are required to only speak Chinese while learning more about the Chinese culture through their tutors and friends.

Peer Language Tutors
Program participants are paired with Peking University students for weekly one-on-one Chinese language tutorials. These tutorials provide students with extra conversational practice in Mandarin, help with homework assignments, and offer students an opportunity to see firsthand the lifestyle of their Chinese peers. Language tutors are an integral part of the program and are considered a students best link into the nuances of the Chinese language. Past students have stated that their peer tutors were one of the best and most unique aspects of the CIEE program. In addition to the tutors, students may be paired with a local Chinese buddy that assists the student adapt to and understand student life in China.

Degree Level: Bachelors Degree (Undergraduate)

Cost in US$: Please check the CIEE website for current program pricing

Experience Required: yes