Fall and Spring The program's curriculum is both intensive and integrated. A core course gives equal emphasis to the four main language skills of reading, writing, speaking and listening while focusing on a different topic of study each week. For example, classes rotate through level-appropriate themes such as "Chinese family", "eating in restaurants" or "doing business". That theme also guides a series of supplementary courses. It may be the topic of a movie in a Chinese film class, or it may be the target of a practicum excursion that takes students outside the classroom. Advanced students also choose elective classes such as newspaper, business or literature to add further scope to their language learning.
Students take a total of 20 class hours per week of core, supplementary and elective courses, depending on their level. All students have a one-hour individual tutorial each week to review new material and practice free response conversation. In addition, each week students take two hours of one-on-two instruction that targets pronunciation, intonation and fluency.
Students can expect to spend at least one hour outside of class preparing their lessons for each hour in class. Language classes average six students; some drill and elective classes may have as few as three or four students.
CET's Beijing Chinese Language program
accepts serious students of all language levels. Classes move quickly
through new material. The
curriculum is demanding, but enriching and most students welcome the
chance to dive head first into intensive language learning. Overall,
students can expect a challenging yet very gratifying academic
experience.
Summer While the overall methodology is the same, the summer curriculum differs slightly than that of the fall and spring. Class pace is faster and instructors focus on learning efficiency so as to allow students to complete one textbook lesson per day, and one year of university-level Chinese in eight weeks.
Summer students take 20 class hours per week. This includes language practica and daily individual conversation sessions. For the latter, teachers rotate ensuring that students become accustomed to a wide range of speech styles.
Students can expect to spend at least one hour outside
of class preparing their lessons for each hour in class. Language
classes average six students; some drill and elective classes may have
as few as three or four students. Fifth year students should expect more individualized attention and fewer class hours per week.
As in the fall and spring, CET accepts serious language learners of all levels, even beginners. Students find the program demanding but ultimately gratifying. Summer applicants should prepare themselves before departure for this challenge.
Language Class Placement Upon applying to the program, all students are assigned preliminary placement in
language classes based upon proficiency as demonstrated in their
application materials. After arriving in China, they take a placement examination with both oral and written components. Placement test results are then combined with application materials to determine final level. Any student who feels that his/her placement is inappropriate is encouraged to speak with the Academic Director after completing at least one day of classes.
Language Pledge Over the years, students have told us
that the more Chinese they spoke over the course of the semester, the
more their Chinese improved! Responding to this, in 2005, the Beijing
Chinese Language program instituted a full-time Chinese language
pledge for all students. The pledge naturally complements the program's
focused curriculum and contributes to both rapid improvement of Chinese
language skills as well as increased cultural understanding.
All students uphold the
full-time language pledge (even beginners!) and can expect the pledge to be challenging yet ultimately well worth the struggle. Because the success of the language pledge relies wholly on the dedication of its participants, CET accepts only students who are excited to rise to this challenge. If you are concerned about your
ability to uphold a full-time language pledge, please contact CET for
more information.
"Every day I tried using my Chinese as often as I could, and if I did not know how to say something I either thought of other ways to say it or I asked for help... within the next week or so, I can't really explain it but I just woke up and realized that I could actually speak Chinese...!" - Matthew Bellof, Boston University, a beginning student at CET's Beijing Chinese Language program
Back to top Heritage Learners Every term CET accepts into its programs students who have acquired one or more Chinese language skills (usually speaking) from their home environment. CET has many ways to accommodate these students. In the past, we have provided additional "character writing" one-on-one tutorials or arranged special classes for groups of learners with similar needs. CET's curriculum is flexible and can be tailored to meet the specific needs of diverse learners.
January Term Based at the same campus as the Beijing Chinese Lanugage program, CET's January Term is designed for students who have studied at least three semesters of college-level Chinese and emphasizes the link between inside classroom study and outside language use. The program is an excellent way to "warm up" for the spring term. Click here for more information about the January Term.
Credits and Transcripts CET intends for students to cover one year of college level Chinese during the summer term, and over one year of college-level Chinese during either the fall or the spring term at the Beijing Chinese Language program. CET does not award credit for its programs. Instead, students are issued transcripts and must apply for credit at their home institution. Click here for more information about transcripts and credits.
Teacher Training We believe
that our faculty benefit from a variety of training programs. Our
training efforts include workshops and ongoing training by our programs' Academic Directors; special workshops offered by
guest lecturers; participation in teachers' conferences; and
opportunities for training in the US.
Workshops and Ongoing Training by the Academic Directors Each academic director organizes a series of workshops, training sessions and demonstrations throughout our academic year.
For example, each semester is preceded by a three- to five-day
pre-service teacher training workshop wherein teachers view videos of
successful classes, perform demo-teaching sessions for their peers and
participate in peer-critiquing.
Once the term begins,
each academic director monitors classes daily and meets with faculty
individually and in small groups. He or she might prepare lessons with
teachers, helping them to design effective learning activities that fit
the needs of students of each level. In addition, he or she organizes
"group preparation sessions" wherein teachers of each level prepare
their class plans as a group. Finally, the academic director organizes
"idea-sharing" meetings, where instructors meet to discuss teaching
strategies and critique each other's video-taped class sessions.
Special Workshops In
1996, CET asked Dr. T. Richard Chi, then Director of the Middlebury
College Summer Chinese School, to offer a series of special workshops
to our Beijing and Harbin faculty. These four-day workshops were so
popular that we repeated our invitation the following year, and have
continued to invite Advisory Board members and other
faculty experts to conduct teacher training workshops each year since.
In recent years, workshops have been conducted by:
Ao Qun, United States Military Academic
Cui Shuqin, Bowdoin College
Li Kai, Oberlin College
Liu Xianmin, Vanderbilt University
Bai Jianhua, Kenyon College
Liu Yuehua, Harvard University
CET has also conducted week-long teacher trainings for
all of its instructors in all of its China programs. Li Kai from
Oberlin College has served as Training Director.
Conferences on Pedagogy In
1999, CET worked with the assistance of other Chinese language programs
in Beijing (ACC and IUP) to organize an annual conference concerning
teaching Chinese as a foreign language. Teachers from each program
presented papers and discussed pedagogy in formal and informal
settings. In 2001, this conference was hosted by CET. Since then, each
year, CET faculty have attended and presented papers at similar
conferences in both Beijing as well as the US (such as the Chinese
Language Teachers' Association annual meeting).
Opportunities for Training in the US CET
has actively sought opportunities for its teachers to travel to the US
to fill temporary positions at American institutions. Teaching in the
US not only allows our faculty to develop a greater understanding of
their American students, it also allows them to work closely with their
American counterparts, some of whom have served as mentors. CET has
sent faculty to teach at the Middlebury Summer School each year since
1997. Additionally, CET instructors have been selected to work at other
prestigious American institutions such as Kenyon College, Duke
University, Vassar College, Willams College, Bowdoin College and Yale
University.
Chinese Language Advisory Board The
Chinese Language Advisory Board plays a significant role in helping us
develop our language programs in China. The
Board offers expertise in teacher training, curriculum design and the
maintenance of high academic standards. Current Advisory Board members,
all of whom are experts in the Chinese teaching field, are listed
below.
The assistance provided by CET's Advisory Board includes:
Meeting
at least once annually to discuss the current state of CET's programs
and offering advice on specific curriculum, teaching and program
issues.
Visiting CET's campuses in China in order to evaluate current curricula, teachers and classes and suggesting improvements.
Acting
as the Advising Professor during the CET summer programs for the
purpose of observing CET's Chinese teachers and classes and working
with these teachers to devise progressive, "student-centered" classes
through regular teacher-training sessions.
Devising annual
teacher-training sessions for the purpose of introducing new teaching
methods and ideas to CET's Chinese language professors.
Current Chinese Language Advisory Board members are:
Dr. Madeline Chu, Kalamazoo College Professor of Chinese Language and Literature Chair, Chinese Program
Dr. Shuqin Cui, Bowdoin College Associate Professor of Asian Studies
Dr. Baozhang He, College of Holy Cross Visiting Assistant Professor of Chinese
Dr. Theresa Jen, University of Pennsylvania Director and Professor of Chinese Program, The Lauton Wharton Institute
Dr. Xianmin Liu, Vanderbilt University Senior Lecturer in Chinese
Dr. Jingheng Ma, Wellesley College Professor of Chinese Chair, Chinese Department
Dr. Scott McGinnis, Defense Language Institute Academic Advisor Professor
Dr. Claudia Ross, College of the Holy Cross Coordinator, Chinese Program Chair, Department of Modern Languages
1920 N Street, NW, Suite 200 - Washington, DC 20036 - (800) 225-4262 - cet@academic-travel.com
