Program Overview

The CLS Program in Changchun provides an intensive 8-week language learning environment designed to cover the equivalent of one academic year of university-level Chinese study. Students receive a minimum of 20 hours per week of formal classroom instruction that focuses on intensive reading, writing, speaking and listening practice. Formal language instruction is supplemented with additional cultural activities and classes, such as calligraphy and Chinese leisure activities. The CLS program in Changchun also incorporates a language policy, which requires scholarship recipients to speak only Chinese during all program activities, with one another, and with all staff.

Additionally, students meet with a language partner several hours each week to practice language skills and engage in learning outside the classroom with native speakers through activities such as going to the movies, visiting a bookstore, singing Karaoke and trying local food. On weekends, students in Changchun participate in a variety of cultural excursions to explore the rich culture and history of their host city and surrounding areas, such as practicing Taichi with locals in the park and visiting local enterprises. These activities are designed to deepen the students’ understanding of Chinese culture and language through interaction with local Chinese people.

CLS students in Changchun live on-campus in dorm rooms that they share with Chinese roommates. Living with a Chinese native speaker gives each student yet another opportunity to use their Chinese language skills outside of class, as well as providing them with cultural learning opportunities and insights into day-to-day life in Changchun.

The CLS Program in Changchun is hosted at the College of Humanities and Sciences of Northeast Normal University (CHSNENU), an independent undergraduate institution approved by the Chinese Ministry of Education. The College has 12 schools with a faculty of 650 and 11,000 students in 42 programs. In 2009 it started its Master’s degree programs in cooperation with the Northeast Normal University in the fields of language, literature, economics and arts.

Aiming at worldwide development, CHSNENU has established collaborative programs with many educational institutions in countries such as Japan, Denmark, Russia, the United States, Korea, Canada and Singapore, and since 2005 more than 500 students from other countries have studied Chinese at CHSNENU.