The goal of the program is to raise the students\u2019 proficiency level from novice to intermediate, which program director Wayne He also describes as \u201csurvival Chinese.\u201d The students should be able to communicate successfully when they study abroad in the country next year.<\/p>\n
Fifteen of the students are in 溏心vlog免费B站\u2019s Chinese Language Flagship Program. One student is from a university in Georgia. The students, mostly sophomores, are majoring in Chinese and a variety of other fields like marketing, engineering, computer science, business and biology.<\/p>\n
Students sleep in the International Engineering Program\u2019s residence halls on campus and have a rigorous schedule. They rise at 7 and eat breakfast. Then, they take Mandarin Chinese language classes from 8 a.m. to noon.<\/p>\n
After lunch, they get one-on-one tutoring with a language instructor and participate in cultural activities: kite flying; tea ceremonies; tai chi; Chinese chess; mahjong; and lectures about Chinese history and the economy, among other events. In the evening, the students are required to study for two to three hours.<\/p>\n
If students have questions about their homework they can visit with one of the two instructors also living in the residence halls.<\/p>\n
Field trips are an important part of the experience. The students recently went to Chinatown in New York, eating in a Chinese restaurant and participating in morning exercises with Chinese-Americans in a local park. Later this week, they plan to visit local Chinese families to prepare traditional meals.<\/p>\n
Smith says when he started the program May 30 his Chinese was \u201cnot so good.\u201d Now, he says, he can carry on a seamless conversation, and his pronunciation is better too.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou work so hard here and then you see the results,\u201d says Smith, who is also majoring in electrical engineering and German. \u201cWe have classes and homework and activities every day. It\u2019s always with you. That\u2019s a great way to learn the language.\u201d<\/p>\n
Chinese is a challenging language to learn. It has different characters than English and four tones in pronunciation. For example, \u201cma\u201d means different things depending on how the word is pronounced. A flat tone means \u201cmother,\u201d and a tone that goes from high to low then back to high means \u201chorse.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOur goal is to bring our students to a superior level in four to five years,\u201d says He. \u201cThat means they should be able to use the Chinese language in their professional work.\u201d<\/p>\n
Emily Hadfield, of Philadelphia, Pa.<\/strong>, who is also studying international business management, says her skills went from \u201c0 to 60 very quickly.\u201d She\u2019s so engaged she\u2019s singing in Chinese in the shower, and even dreaming in Chinese. The other day, she sang \u201cHappy Birthday\u201d in Chinese to her grandmother on the phone.<\/p>\n \u201cI love the community here,\u201d she says. \u201cIt\u2019s supportive and encouraging.\u201d<\/p>\n Salita Daraphet, of Northbridge, Mass.<\/strong>, feels the same way. Studying, eating and living with other students pursuing the same dream creates a close-knit community.<\/p>\n
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