Chinese: Beijing, China


Location: Beijing, China
Dates of program: June 6 - August 8, 2012
Hosting institution: The Alliance for Global Education at Beijing Language and Culture University
Language offered: Mandarin Chinese
Levels offered: Intermediate and advanced

Program Structure

The CLS Program in Beijing, China provides an intensive 8-week language learning environment. Students in the Chinese capital city receive a minimum of 20 hours per week of classroom instruction. CLS participants also spend a few hours each week with peer tutors, Chinese students who act as study partners. Beijing Language and Culture University is one of the premier institutions for Foreign Language in China, so many peer tutors who work with CLS students in Beijing are studying to be teachers of Chinese as a foreign language. The CLS program in Beijing incorporates a language pledge that requires scholarship recipients to speak only Chinese during all program activities and with all staff.

The CLS Beijing group visits a Tibetan Buddhist monastery
in Qinghai province.

Students are housed with local host families in Beijing, who give them an opportunity to experience life in a Chinese family and develop their language skills outside of class. Students typically eat breakfast and dinner with their host families, giving them an opportunity to practice speaking Chinese, to experience home-cooked Chinese food, and to learn more about day-to-day life in Beijing.

Students also participate in a variety of excursions to explore the rich culture and history of their ancient Chinese host city. Students participate in co curricular cultural activities, such as the calligraphy and kungfu classes that were offered this past summer. These classes offer students the opportunity to practice their language skills and learn more about the local culture.

Outcomes

In 2010, the CLS Program adopted the Oral Proficiency Interview (OPI) developed by the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL) as an additional measure of the effectiveness and quality of the institutes overseas. Before the program, students take a diagnostic OPI test; at the end of their 8-week course of study, they take an ACTFL-certified post-program OPI assessment. The scores on these tests give students a concrete, widely-recognized measure of their speaking skills in Mandarin Chinese.

Student Activities

A group of CLS students in Beijing visiting the Temple of Heaven, where the Emperor of China would visit each year to pray for a good harvest.

CLS participant Shavia Westmoreland (Beijing ’11) spent some of her free time during the CLS program volunteering as an English teacher at an orphanage for disabled children. The orphanage is located in the Maquanying area of Chaoyang district in Beijing. In order to interact with the children, who ranged in age from 3 years old to 10 years old, Ms. Westmoreland sometimes utilized her Chinese skills to explain the English she was teaching. She is one of many CLS students who sought out independent volunteer opportunities in their host countries during the CLS program.

Alumni Highlights

Niclole Baden (’10) – Ms. Baden was awarded the Charles B. Rangel International Affairs Graduate Fellowship to pursue graduate She will study in Asian Comparative and Regional Studies at American University (2011-2013). She will do an internship at a US embassy during summer 2012 and will eventually work as a Foreign Service Officer at the US Department of State. You can read more about Ms. Baden here.

Program Highlights

View videos, read highlights, and more on the CLS Blog!

Alumni Ambassadors



Nicole Baden, '10	Emily Brandt, '11 (Shanghai)	Tim Ditter, ’10 (Shanghai)