As much Chinese as possible in a very short time! Past Review

Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc.

This programme was extremely rigorous academically: we had about 5 hours of class a day, and I spent my afternoons after class doing homework. The materials and the teachers' use of these materials were perfect for my goals for the programme: the learn as much Chinese as possible as quickly as possible.

On-site administration of your program

The staff were very helpful with coordinating the different needs of students studying in a foreign country, many for the first time. This was particularly challenging since the students were split into three groups doing different things: a homestay intensive language group, a language class and Chinese social sciences class group, and an internship group. Given the challenges posed by this division of the students, I think the programme dealt very well.

How satisfied were you with your living arrangements?

I had a great, comfortable room in a really nice neighbourhood, and the family I stayed with was so welcoming and hospitable.

The Chinese teachers and programme staff would take us to fantastic restaurants most days for lunch and from time to time for dinner too, and the food my Chinese homestay made was delicious!

How integrated did you feel with the local culture?

Living with a homestay definitely gave me a great opportunity for cultural integration. I feel like I didn't take the best advantage of this since I travelled or spent time with friends on most weekends, when I would've had the best opportunities to do activities with my homestay that would've aided my cultural integration, but this was entirely my fault! If I could do it again, I would spend more time with my homestay family, because they were the perfect window into everyday Chinese society.

How well were health issues addressed during the program?

From my experience, health issues were dealt with very well. I fell ill during the programme, and the programme has a policy that if you are sick two days in a row you need to see a doctor. I was thus taken to a high quality hospital and given medicine that had me feeling better even within a day or so! Most sicknesses that befell people on the programme seemed to stem from the normal stresses of studying in a foreign country, and these were dealt with relatively easily.

We were given a briefing within days of arriving about safety issues in Shanghai, mainly about getting scammed. This information was invaluable, and my classmates and I felt extremely safe navigating the city both at day and night. I felt more safe in Shanghai than in many other cities I've been to!

(1 = not very easy/$200+ on food & personal expenses/week, 2.5 = $100/week, 5 = very easily/minimal cost)

We could get a filling meal of stir-fried rice right next to the classrooms for 10RMB (about $1.50 at the time of writing this), so it was very easy to survive economically on a student's budget!

0 = No encouragement, 5 = frequent encouragement to use the language

We had to sign a language pledge to speak Chinese all the time with our homestay families, all the time we were on-campus, and with teachers and staff members.

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• Host Family

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• Host Family

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• Americans

• The teachers
• The homestay
• The intensity of the approach to language learning

• Integration of the homestays into the programme
• Location of the homestays, since having to commute back and forth each day for classes effectively excluded homestay students from interacting with classmates during the week and also from evening activities and other such non-curricular stuff (though I acknowledge that it is really difficult to find suitable homestay families close to campus)
• The use of the some class times, particularly the "Intensive Language Class," which could've been put to better use and integrated better into the syllabus

The Academic or Linguist