Summer Chinese Language and Culture Program
China or Taiwan
This six-week program (mid-May to the end of June) has been
designed for students who have completed two or three years of
college-level Chinese. It has traditionally been held at
Nankai University, Tianjin, China or National Chengchi University,
Taipei, Taiwan, ROC. Students have attended small group
classes led by experienced language instructors for two hours each
morning (Monday through Thursday). On four afternoons each week,
each student has spent three hours in one-on-one tutorial
sessions with a Chinese college student. Each student-tutor pair
travels around the city by foot, bus, subway or perhaps taxi -
using only Chinese as a medium of communication - to a
predetermined site of social, cultural, economic, or political
significance. These "roaming tutorials" are intended to build
verbal fluency and socio-cultural competence at the same time.
Successful completion of the program will earn six academic
credits.
Three cultural workshops have been chosen from the
following -- Chinese martial arts, Chinese painting, paper cutting,
dough figuring or Chinese musical instruments. These COOL hands-on
activities were the favorite of many previous students.
Excursions have been an integral part of the academic
program, as they give students the opportunity to experience a
wider range of social contexts and to visit sites of historical
significance. Three excursions are arranged - three days in Beijing
(including Tiananmen Square, the Forbidden City, and Temple of
Heaven, and the Great Wall), three days in Xi'an (including the
terracotta warriors, the Drum Tower and the Bell Tower) and three
days in Chengde, a city of considerable historical importance and
scenic beauty.