CET Harbin Best Choice for Study in China Past Review

By (Chinese Language, The University of Texas at Austin) for

CET Harbin

What did you gain/learn from your experience abroad? Was it worthwhile?
Chinese spoken, listening, and reading ability improved a lot. Made a few real Chinese friends who I will keep in touch with after program ended. Other students are from top universities and mostly very dedicated to Chinese language study. Harbin or other second-tier cities will expose you to a side of China you won't see in Beijing or Shanghai. This really is the ideal place to study Chinese language.

Personal Information

If you took classes at multiple universities, list those universities here: Harbin Institute of Technology
How much international exposure did you have prior to this program? 6 months+

Review Your Program

* Overall educational experience

Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc.

I highly recommend this program to students who are serious about improving their chinese ability. The location and language pledge are the best aspects of this program. Even if you want to speak english, pretty much no one in Harbin can speak english, so you won't be tempted. There are no other western students, although lots of Russian, Korean, African, but they also don't speak english. Go to Harbin, live as a Chinese student, work with patient, friendly and well-trained teachers, and your Chinese will definitely improve a lot.

* Host Country Program Administration

On-site administration of your program

Very helpful and accommodating, only one problem was the academic director only spoke Chinese, so I felt if I had an academic issue, it was a little difficult to clearly express my concern, thus get the issue resolved.

* Housing:

How satisfied were you with your living arrangements?

We had Chinese students for roommates, simply some were better than others. It's hard to match people up who haven't met. Overall, if you didn't get along with your own roommate, there were always other people around you could talk to, so that was helpful.

* Food:

* Social & Cultural Integration:

How integrated did you feel with the local culture?

Great city to be immersed in. program organized lots of trips, I like some, skipped some. very busy with school work.

* Health Care:

How well were health issues addressed during the program?

* Safety:

The are overprotective about health. We were there during H1N1 outbreak, and they even canceled class. Health is number one priority.

If you could do it all over again would you choose the same program? Yes

Finances

* Money: How easily were you able to live on a student's budget?

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

Do you have any general money-saving tips for future study abroad participants? didn't need a chinese roommate, didn't participate in many activities. One or two would be fine.

Language

* Did your program have a foreign language component? Yes
How would you rate your language skills at the beginning of the program? None
What was the highest level language course you had completed prior to departure? undergraduate
If applicable, to what degree did your living situation aid your language acquisition?

Language acquisition improvement?

I didn't speak a word of english for nearly a whole year. Everyone else was pretty much the same way. That alone will force you to use Chinese naturally and become comfortable speaking.

Other Program Information

* Where did you live?

Select all that apply

  • Dorm
* Who did you live with?

Select all that apply

  • Americans
  • Local Students
* Who did you take classes with?

Select all that apply

  • Americans

A Look Back

* What do you know now that you wish you knew before going on this program? I highly recommend this program to students who are serious about improving their chinese ability. The location and language pledge are the best aspects of this program. Even if you want to speak english, pretty much no one in Harbin can speak english, so you won't be tempted. There are no other western students, although lots of Russian, Korean, African, but they also don't speak english. Mandarin in Northeastern China is very standard, so this is a good place to build a Chinese language foundation. Go to Harbin, live as a Chinese student, work with patient, friendly and well-trained teachers, and your Chinese will definitely improve a lot. There is nightlife, such as pubs and Russian discos, and other nightclubs, karaokee clubs, etc, but most students will seriously be very, very busy, so maybe only get to go out once or twice a month.

Individual Course Reviews

Course Name/Rating:

Conversational Chinese 3

Course Department:
Instructor: Zhang Laoshi (male)
Instruction Language: Chinese
Comments: Teacher seemed a little nervous, but very friendly and helpful. This was the only class I had at CET Harbin in which I felt the textbook was not too good. It looked as if it was published in house, where as all the other textbooks were purchased off the shelf from Beijing Language and Culture University Press, Peking University Press, etc.
Credit Transfer Issues:
Course Name/Rating:

Conversation Chinese 1

Course Department:
Instructor: Cui Laoshi
Instruction Language: Chinese
Comments: Excellent teacher, perhaps most experienced teacher I had at CET Harbin. Great balance of conversation speaking and using the textbook.
Credit Transfer Issues:
Course Name/Rating:

Business Chinese 1

Course Department:
Instructor: Lin Laoshi
Instruction Language: Chinese
Comments: We discussed many current business-related issues that both Chinese and foreign companies must face when doing business in China. If you don't have a strong business background, this class will be very hard. I liked that the teacher introduced so many current issues, but the topics went far beyond the textbook, so without text, it was hard to keep up and discuss the topics. I learned a lot, but don't know if it was the most efficient method.
Credit Transfer Issues:
Course Name/Rating:

1 on 1 Research Topic: Economics

Course Department:
Instructor: Tan Laoshi
Instruction Language: Chinese
Comments: Again studied academic articles about Chinese economics, but this teacher was already retired and didn't seem to know about some very current issues. A little out of touch, also not as opened minded as my previous economics professor.
Credit Transfer Issues:
Course Name/Rating:

Newspaper Reading 2

Course Department:
Instructor: Zhang Laoshi (female)
Instruction Language: Chinese
Comments: Excellent class. Teacher was very prepared. Class began using a textbook, but by the end we were reading articles from the current newspaper.
Credit Transfer Issues:
Course Name/Rating:

1-1 Research topic: Economics

Course Department:
Instructor: Shao Laoshi
Instruction Language: Chinese
Comments: Very good, read academic articles related to my major and discussed China's current economic situation. Didn't improve speaking as much as reading ability, but we also gave a lot of oral reports, so had the chance to practice formal speaking. Teacher was very knowledgeable, but also young so he could understand China's current situation very well, and was open minded when discussing very controversial issues.
Credit Transfer Issues: