Harvard Summer Program in Beijing, China
(Harvard-Beijing Academy)
Shengli Feng and additional faculty members
(8 units: UN, GR) Limited enrollment
Program dates: June 17–August 19
Application deadline: February 1
Program cost: $4,500
Deposit due: April 15
Full payment due: May 15
Beijing, the cultural and political center of China, is a 3,000-year-old city that has been the national capital for most of the past 600 years. The Harvard Summer Program in Beijing (Harvard-Beijing Academy) gives students of Chinese the opportunity to explore this richly historic city while participating in intensive language instruction. The program offers four intensive courses in modern Chinese at the intermediate and advanced levels. The language training is embedded in the Chinese setting, with speakers from many sectors of Chinese society joining the participants to discuss their lives.
Students have the opportunity to spend time on weekends with host families so that they can experience everyday life in Chinese society. Students also conduct individual, weeklong fieldwork studies during the middle of the program. This school/society nexus gives the Harvard-Beijing Academy its unique participatory flavor, with language instruction continually related to its Beijing setting. Beijing is quickly becoming a modern city and important center for international business, while maintaining its deep historical roots. Among the historical riches students may experience are the Great Wall, the Forbidden City, the Summer Palace, the Lamaist Temple Yonghegong, ancient teahouses, and Beijing opera theaters. The Harvard-Beijing Academy provides students with full linguistic and cultural immersion.
The program includes:
- The weekday schedule includes 2 hours of classroom instruction, 2 hours of drill, and one-on-one afternoon meetings with tutors.
- Students spend week five conducting a field study in a choice of locations (such as a factory, village, or school). This is a practical extension of the classroom experience that requires each student to write a report in Chinese on his or her fieldwork project and develop it into a paper for an academic conference.
- Pairs of students are assigned host families with whom they may visit on weekends in order to experience the daily lives and customs of Chinese families.
- A variety of guest speakers from various strata of Chinese society (for example private business owners, workers, peasants, and scholars) are invited to share their experiences and thoughts with the students in a lecture setting.
- An important requirement of the program is that every student must speak only Chinese during the entire program, barring emergency situations where English may be necessary. Students sign a language pledge stating their commitment to speaking only Chinese. This commitment is considered a valuable and critical step in learning the language and developing fluency.
- The program offers weekly faculty/student luncheons so that students can get acquainted with their teachers and practice Chinese in relaxed social situations.
- The faculty of the Harvard Chinese Language Program (CLP) writes the course texts.
In addition to these experiences, students are encouraged to take lessons in various Chinese arts, such as taiji, martial arts, calligraphy, cooking, or learning to play an instrument. Weekend excursions to historic sites outside Beijing city, such as Chengde Summer Palace, Longqing Valley, and the Ming Tombs enhance and broaden students' perspectives on Chinese culture.
Course of Study
The Harvard-Beijing Academy is designed for intermediate to advanced students. Students enroll in one of the four courses listed below. Students are placed in a course commensurate with their level of fluency, which is assessed based on their written and oral application materials. Since all language progress is relative and student strengths vary, applicants should be assured that every effort is made to ensure a placement that most benefits them. Prerequisite: One year of college-level Chinese, or the equivalent.
CHIN S-120 Study Abroad in China: Intermediate Modern Chinese (31796)
Xuedong Wang and Lei Yan
In this course, students work on developing their conversational and narrative skills using carefully selected vocabulary and grammar. The textbook is based on authentic conversation, moving gradually from casual to formal styles. The text covers the most important communicative skills needed by American students studying in China and provides a deeper understanding of cultural and intellectual differences between US and Chinese societies. The CLP text for this course is When in China.
CHIN S-130 Study Abroad in China: Advanced Modern Chinese (31797)
Haohsiang Liao
In this course, students study contemporary China and develop their speaking and writing skills by constructing new compounds, using idiomatic expressions, and mastering formal and informal styles. The third-year curriculum is designed to further improve listening and reading abilities through texts geared specifically to the understanding of Chinese media. The CLP texts for this course are Understanding the People and the World, An Introduction to Chinese Films and Television, and An Introduction to Chinese News Broadcasts.
CHIN S-140 Study Abroad in China: Advanced Readings in Modern Chinese (31803)
Yu Feng
Students read authentic articles, novels, and newspapers emphasizing social and cultural issues in contemporary America and China. Through the readings, students learn speed-reading strategies, rhythmic writing rules, and stylistic transformations (casual and formal), in order to develop a solid foundation in the four skills—listening, speaking, reading, and writing—in formal Chinese. The CLP text for this course is On the Present and Past.
CHIN S-150 Study Abroad in China: Advanced Writing in Modern Chinese (31799)
Lulei Su
This fifth-year course is designed to enable students to speak and write formally, preparing them for future research and engagement in all fields where Chinese is used professionally. Students read academic articles from different genres and classical stories from different periods, which are compiled in the textbook. Students learn a complete set of written grammar, including formal vocabularies (about 300 monosyllabic and 300 disyllabic), formal sentence patterns (about 200), and rhythmic rules that govern sentences as well as words. The CLP text for this course is Writing and Truth.
Course Credit
Harvard College Credit. For Harvard College students, this program counts as 8 units (one full-year course) of Harvard College degree credit.
Harvard Summer School courses and credits are accepted toward degrees at most colleges and universities. Since degree requirements vary at different schools, students are advised to obtain transfer credit approval from their home institutions before registering for Harvard Summer School courses.
Director
Harvard-Beijing Academy Director Shengli Feng is Professor of the Practice of Chinese Language and Director, Chinese Language Program, Department of East Asian Languages and Civilizations, Harvard University. He is a leading Chinese linguist who received his PhD from the University of Pennsylvania. His publications include The Prosodic Syntax of Chinese; Interactions between Morphology, Syntax, and Prosody in Chinese and numerous articles. He has been teaching Chinese for 15 years and has served as a field director of Associate Colleges in China (ACC).
Faculty
Yu Feng is Preceptor in Chinese, Chinese Language Program, Department of East Asian Languages and Civilizations, Harvard University. His background is in Chinese history and philosophy, and his teaching and research focus on advanced courses in modern Chinese. His publications include A Learners' Handbook of Modern Chinese Written Expressions and A Concise Encyclopedia of Chinese Heritage.
Haohsiang Liao is Acting Preceptor in Chinese, Chinese Language Program, Department of East Asian Languages and Civilizations, Harvard University. He received his MA from the Graduate Institute of Teaching Chinese as a Second Language at National Taiwan Normal University. He has taught Chinese at Williams College and Columbia University in the Beijing Summer Program.
Lulei Su is Teaching Assistant, Chinese Language Program, Department of East Asian Languages and Civilizations, Harvard University. He is a graduate of Beijing Normal University and has extensive experience teaching Chinese in Beijing.
Xuedong Wang is Preceptor in Chinese, Chinese Language Program, Department of East Asian Languages and Civilizations, Harvard University. She is an experienced teacher of Chinese and an expert in Chinese pedagogy. She has published many well-received Chinese textbooks for second-language learners and has taught in leading summer Chinese language programs.
All the other faculty and teaching assistants are experienced teachers of Chinese from Harvard and other leading US colleges and universities, or from universities in Beijing.
Application
Students should submit the Harvard Summer Program in Beijing, China application form*, a $50 nonrefundable application fee, and other required materials to Professor Shengli Feng, Director, Chinese Language Program, Department of East Asian Languages and Civilizations, Room 25, 9 Kirkland Place, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138 USA, Attn: HBA. Students must be 18 years of age or older. All application materials must be received by February 1.
In addition to the application form, students must send:
- An official transcript, either sent directly to Professor Sheng from students' school registrars or included in their application packets. Unofficial copies of transcripts will not be accepted.
- A sealed teacher recommendation.
- A personal statement written in both Chinese and English that discusses both travel experience abroad and reasons for choosing the Harvard-Beijing Academy.
- An audiotaped statement in Mandarin Chinese. In the statement, students should introduce themselves and explain why they would like to study Chinese in Beijing. Please limit the recording to 5 minutes and label both the cassette and the case. (Do not send microcassettes.)
Students will be notified of admissions decisions by mid-March.
Note. Students should be advised that obtaining the proper visas for travel to China may be a lengthy process. They should apply as early as possible to avoid delays obtaining the necessary travel visas.
* Application forms may be downloaded from this website. (To download PDFs students must have Adobe's Acrobat Reader installed on their computers.)
Cost
The cost of the program is $4,500, plus a nonrefundable $50 application fee. The program fee covers:
- tuition
- room and some meals
- all course materials
- all scheduled local excursions and extracurricular activities in Beijing
In addition, students are responsible for most meals, laundry, a $110 health insurance fee (which is waived if students have US insurance coverage), transportation to and from Beijing, and all costs relating to fieldwork (undertaken during the fifth week of the program). Note that rooms at the academy will be covered for students doing their fieldwork in the Beijing area.
A nonrefundable deposit of $450 must be received by April 15 to ensure the admitted student's place in the program. Payment in full is due by May 15. A $100 late fee will be charged for payments received after this date.
Students who do not purchase health insurance through the Harvard Summer School should confirm that their insurance provider offers coverage outside the United States.
Harvard College students are eligible for financial assistance through the Harvard Office for International Programs (OIP). Students may download a study abroad scholarship information sheet or contact the OIP for more information. Other Harvard students may be eligible for financial assistance through their Harvard financial aid offices. Students enrolled at other institutions should consult their respective financial aid offices.
Accommodations
Beijing Language University, located in northwest Beijing, is the host institution of the Harvard-Beijing Academy. This is a well-known university situated in a high-tech region of the city. Students are provided with well-equipped modern dorm rooms at the university's International Conference Center. Each student has a single room with a private bath, AC, TV, and other amenities. The dorm is just steps away from the classrooms. There are also many restaurants and shops within walking distance.
Additional Information
Contact Professor Shengli Feng, Director, Chinese Language Program, Department of East Asian Languages and Civilizations, Room 25, 9 Kirkland Place, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138 USA, Attn: HBA; HBA@fas.harvard.edu; (617) 384-9222; fax (617) 495-2247. Please send faxes to the attention of The Harvard-Beijing Academy. Information is also available on the Harvard-Beijing Academy website.
For information about accommodations, students with disabilities should contact Joanne Eno, Disability Services Coordinator, at (617) 495-0977 or (617) 495-9419 (TTY) as soon as possible. Request for accommodation forms and supporting diagnostic documentation must be submitted by April 29, 2006. See Disability Services.
The Harvard Summer School is aware of the risks associated with international travel. Should the US Department of State issue a travel warning for any of the countries in which a study abroad program is planned, the program in that country may be cancelled.