COURSE DESCRIPTION
A three-week culture and language immersion course designed so students will achieve a basic conversational level of Mandarin in addition to an understanding and appreciation of the China’s past and present. Students will experience different aspects of China by hiking to and camping on the Great Wall, living in a home stay while attending language school in Yunnan Province, and finally working with orphaned children from the Tibetan community. During their 6 days of intensive language instruction, students will participate in three hours of formal language instruction in the morning and then hands-on workshops (cooking class, conversation class, Tai Chi lessons, calligraphy etc.) in the afternoon.
“My daughter had a wonderful experience – from the language school to working at the orphanage, it was all very positive!” — Allison Tally, Jamestown, NC
COURSE OBJECTIVES
- Students will be able to use basic grammatical structures and intonations
- Students will be able to communicate in basic social situations (e.g., making acquaintances, ordering food, asking directions etc.)
- Students will be able to improve their listening, speaking, and script recognition skills
- Students will understand basic cultural terminology and ideas (e.g., “the people,” “Communism,” “China,” ‘Yin and Yang,” “Wen and Wu” etc.)
- Students will be able to identify major time periods of the last 100 years
- Students will be exposed to different aspects of the Chinese culture through home stays, museum visits, music concerts, and general lectures.
- Students will be exposed to the Tibetan culture while working with children at an orphanage for three days.
LECTURE TOPICS
- This course has been designed for the first time visitor to China and beginning speaker of Chinese.
- Every morning each student will be in language class for approximately three hours, and will have a morning break for Tai Chi lessons.
- In the afternoons, various workshops of cultural significance such as cooking class, conversation class, and indigenous ceramics class, etc. will take place.
- Other general lectures and outings to introduce students and familiarize them with aspects of Chinese history and culture (China’s economy, urbanization, social customs, political history, religious history, minority nationalities, etc.) will be delivered regularly.
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At a Glance
Contact Hours
- 45 Hours
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