Beijing, China

Alliance for Global Education, Beijing Language and Culture University

Chinese

Intermediate and advanced

June 16 – August 18, 2011

Dates are inclusive of travel and the pre-departure orientation in Washington, DC. Students are required to participate in the full program, including the pre-departure orientation. All travel will be arranged for participants following selection.

The CLS Program offers courses designed to develop students’ listening, reading, speaking, spoken interaction, and writing skills. Students will receive a minimum of 20 hours per week of formal classroom instruction in subjects such as grammar, listening, idioms, and spoken Chinese. In addition, students may also have opportunities to explore subjects such as Chinese society and culture, film, economic development, and the environment. Participants will also be required to take part in organized semi-formal and informal learning activities that will promote interaction with the host community and culture. These activities will support the formal classroom instruction.

Students will also participate in a variety of cultural enrichment lectures and activities. Students will have opportunities to participate in Chinese-only lunches with their teachers and peers, as well as meet with language partners to practice Chinese and learn about the city.

All components of the CLS Program have been developed as part of the language acquisition process. CLS participants are required to attend all program components, including, but not limited to, language instruction (formal/informal), cultural activities, and excursions. Absences will only be excused for medical or other approved reasons.

Students will be housed with host families and will receive stipends to cover meals not included with the home stay.

Students will study at Beijing Language and Culture University in a program arranged by the Alliance for Global Education, LLC.

Founded in 1962, the Beijing Language and Culture University (BLCU) is one of China’s premier institutions for the teaching of Chinese language and culture to foreigners, and confers degrees at Bachelor, Master and PhD levels. Located in Haidian district, home to the majority of Beijing’s universities, BLCU hosts 14,000 foreign and Chinese students and boasts a faculty with established expertise in teaching Chinese as a foreign language. The university publishes the majority of Chinese language textbooks currently used across China.

For more information about the Beijing Language and Culture University, please visit: http://www.blcu.edu.cn/blcuWeb/english/index-en.asp

The Alliance for Global Education, LLC, is a not-for-profit partnership of the College of Global Studies at Arcadia University and the Institute for Study Abroad, Butler University. The Alliance was formed with the vision of opening study abroad destinations in Asia to an ever-growing and more diverse U.S. undergraduate population. It offers stimulating, interdisciplinary study abroad programs in China and India that maintain the high academic standards, strong student services, and careful health and safety measures of its partner institutions.

For more information about the Alliance for Global Education, please visit: http://www.allianceglobaled.org/