Highlights

* Advance your Mandarin ahead one year on this Chinese language-only program through small and one-on-one classes with other advanced language learners
* Enroll in area studies courses related to business, international relations, and cinema taught in Chinese
* Learn outside the classroom by living with a Chinese host family or Chinese roommate and through weekend and weeklong excursions "off the tourist track" to practice Chinese in authentic situations

Culture
Cultural Activities and Field Trips
A variety of field trips complement classroom work, including visits to local Chinese companies and factories, government agencies, museums, art exhibitions, and plays. Weekly group cultural activities include an acrobatics show, river cruise along the Bund, bike ride through the French Concession, a Chinese and CIEE student talent show, international student sporting events, and group meals with Chinese roommates and families. Co-curricular activities specially designed for students on the Advanced Chinese Studies program are conducted in Chinese.

A number of optional, extracurricular classes are available to program participants, including Chinese cooking, calligraphy, martial arts, music, mahjong, and Shanghai dialect.

The program exposes students to locations outside of Shanghai with a day trip to nearby traditional cities, such as Suzhou and Wuxi or small "water towns" like Wuzhen and Tongli.

Weekend Field Trip
A weekend trip takes students to third tier cities and county towns in neighboring provinces that are off the "tourist track,"giving students an opportunity to use their advanced Chinese to engage with local residents in authentic contexts and learn about parts of China where few foreign students visit. These field trips are facilitated by the Chinese Language Director and full-time language instructors.

Weeklong Field Trip
The weeklong field trip is led by the Chinese Language Director and full-time CIEE Chinese language instructors and is designed to take students off the tourist track and into the interior of China. Students have the opportunity to put their language skills to the test in authentic learning situations and under the guidance of instructors. These trips may include living with host families in small towns.

In the fall semester, the weeklong field trip is to Jiangxi Province with possible visits to Mt. Jinggang, an important site in the history of the Chinese Communist Party. The trip also includes a visit to a scenic place to escape from foreign tourists, or to Wuyuan, known as one of the most beautiful villages in China and famed for its organic tea production. In the spring semester, the weeklong field trip is to the Three Gorges in Sichuan and Hubei provinces, to explore life in small towns and villages along the Yangtze River.

The weeklong field trips are intended to go beyond tourism and its goals are both educational and cultural. Students are expected to complete pre-departure readings; attend classroom lectures, films, and discussions; and conduct fieldwork assignments during the trip

Immersion
One-On-One Classes
In addition to daily classes, program participants meet for one-on-one class with their language instructor for thirty minutes twice weekly.

Peer Language Tutors
Participants are paired with ECNU students for structured, one-on-one Chinese language tutorials for a minimum of one hour, twice weekly. Additional tutorial hours are available upon request. Tutors are undergraduate or graduate students who major in teaching Chinese as a foreign language.

Chinese Language Clinic Full-time
Chinese language instructors assist students with special or unique problems in language study by arranging an optional language clinic that meets for one and half hours four evenings per week from Monday through Wednesday and on Sunday in the campus residence hall.

Target Language Activities
CIEE head teachers organize group meals and other activities for the students, their language teachers, peer tutors, and Resident Staff to encourage students to utilize their Chinese in an informal setting. Students attending the optional activities are expected to speak only Chinese.

Degree Level

Bachelors Degree (Undergraduate)

Cost in US$:

Please check the CIEE website for current program pricing.

Cost Includes:

Cost Include Description:

The CIEE program fee includes an optional on-site airport meet and greet, tuition, full-time program leadership and support, housing, orientation, cultural activities, local excursions, transportation and accommodation during the week-long academic field trip, peer language tutors, Chinese Language Clinic, guest lectures, pre-departure advising, visa fees, and a CIEE iNext travel card which provides insurance and other travel benefits.

*Students placed in homestays will receive breakfast and dinner during the week and most weekends.

Credit Available

no

Experience Required

yes

• Overall GPA 3.0
• 4 or more semesters of college-level Mandarin Chinese or equivalent. Also appropriate for heritage learners who speak Chinese at an advanced or superior level.
• 1 Chinese area studies course on transcript
• Note:East China Normal University does not accept students who are citizens of the People's Republic of China (PRC), Taiwan ROC, Hong Kong SAR, or Macau. This includes those who are U.S. permanent residents. Students of Chinese ancestry who hold U.S. passports are welcome.
• Students with three semesters (15 semester/22.5 quarter hours) or less of college-level Mandarin Chinese should apply to another program at the CIEE Study Center in Shanghai. Please see the Business, Language, and Culture program or the China in a Global Context program.

This Program is open to

Worldwide Participant.

Typical Living Arrangements

• Home-stays

Participants Travel to China

Independently

Application Process Involves

• Letters of Reference
• Other
• Transcript
• Written Application

CIEE's Mission Statement

Since 1947, the Council on International Educational Exchange, known as CIEE, has been in pursuit of its mission, "to help people gain understanding, acquire knowledge, and develop skills for living in a globally interdependent and culturally diverse world. Our services to young people studying, working, teaching, and traveling abroad are more important than ever.

Year Founded

1947