Fall & Spring Curriculum The semester 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.
Summer Curriculum The CET Intensive Chinese Language program in Beijing takes it up a notch in the summer! Students cover one year of Chinese language study in eight weeks. The curriculum is rigorous and designed to springboard students to a new level of proficiency. Language practica and other language-based activities in and around Beijing ensure that students are not limited to practicing their skills within the classroom walls. Students have lauded this summer program as a highly challenging, but highly rewarding, academic experience.
Rigor Students in all terms take 20 class hours
per week and can expect to spend at least
one hour outside
of class preparing their lessons for each hour spent in class. Class hours include individual tutorials and one-on-two classes. (Fifth year students should expect more
individualized attention and fewer class hours per week.)
This curriculum, coupled with the program's language pledge, results in an intense academic experience that students find demanding but ultimately gratifying. Students 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.
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 & 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.
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.
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
