Chinese language learning Past Review
By A student (Psychology and East Asian Studies, Brandeis University) - abroad from 12/23/2011 to 06/01/2012 with
CET Beijing
Chinese language and culture learning.
Personal Information
| How much international exposure did you have prior to this program? | 2 weeks - 1 month |
Review Your Program
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* Overall educational experience
Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc. |
The CET program was very much a 'how much do you want to get out of this experience." If you applied yourself, you would get a return on your learning experience. |
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* Host Country Program Administration
On-site administration of your program |
Administration was generally very well handled, no problems here. |
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* Housing:
How satisfied were you with your living arrangements? |
Housing was dorms, and while comfortable did have occasional times where the internet was down for a night(s), and leaky showers. Chinese room mate did leave two or three weeks into the spring semester, although other roommates were extremely kind in helping me in his absence. |
| * Food: |
The cafeteria was a free source of food, while you were encouraged to go out and get breakfast and dinner. |
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* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
Again, this is one of those 'how much you put in' questions. CET's philosophy is a very 'do it yourself' approach. Outside of the program people in Beijing were pleasant to interact with, although I found that you were judged on a different scale if you were a Westerner. This though could be partially surmounted with a high level of proficiency in the Chinese language. |
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* Health Care:
How well were health issues addressed during the program? |
I had an incident where I had shortness of breath, and found that I was taken care of very well. |
| * Safety: |
Never had any incident in the city, most of the time people kept to themselves. Jogging through the city also was not a problem, although the only annoyance and/or health safety concern was the air pollution. |
| If you could do it all over again would you choose the same program? |
Yes
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Finances
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* 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) |
Surprisingly easily, most of the places are cheap to eat at. Additionally, I didn't spent much on presents (note to future students: get ready for some haggling). Although, something also worth of note was that living strictly on a student's budget meant forgoing a few activities that other groups were involved in (i.e. barhopping). |
| * Was housing included in your program cost? | Yes |
| * Was food included in your program cost? | No |
| Not including program expenses, about how much money did you spend on food and other expenses each week? | about 200 Yuan or less (>$31.75) |
| Do you have any general money-saving tips for future study abroad participants? | Go to local places to eat (don't eat Western food/go to bars), and don't buy too many souvenirs. |
Language
| * Did your program have a foreign language component? | Yes |
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How much did the program encourage you to use the language?
0 = No encouragement, 5 = frequent encouragement to use the language |
We had a Chinese language requirement. The Chinese language requirement was enforced, though largely again on a 'how much you want to get out of it' principle. |
| How would you rate your language skills at the beginning of the program? | Beginner |
| How would you rate your language skills at the end of the program? | Advanced |
| What was the highest level language course you had completed prior to departure? | I was enrolled in the 260 level Chinese language learning, although at the end we tackled 300 level readings. |
| How many hours per day did you use the language? | 10+ |
| Do you have any tips/advice on the best ways to practice the language for future study abroad participants? | Just practice speaking it, you'll screw up plenty of times, but you will improve. Besides that, study. |
Other Program Information
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* Where did you live?
Select all that apply |
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* Who did you live with?
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* Who did you take classes with?
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| About how many local friends did you make that you will likely keep in touch with? |
A Look Back
| * What did you like most about the program? |
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| * What could be improved? |
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| * What do you know now that you wish you knew before going on this program? | Ok, these are the three most important items I will write in this report. a) how to write Chinese b) that people don't understand what a learning disability is c) that successfully keeping a relationship alive while abroad (e.g. the other is in the states) is a painful experience. |
