Master of Arts in Chinese Studies Program Valparaiso University May 2006

MACS Program News

• Congratulations to all accepted MACS students!
• The MACS program received a $76,178 grant from the US Department of Education (Fulbright-Hays Group Projects Abroad) to launch a seven-week total immersion program in Hangzhou China!
• Limited space may be available for the MACS program after the May 15, 2006 deadline ¨C but applicants will have to defer the summer immersion program until Summer 2007.

Summer Immersion Program

• A total of 20 applicants were accepted into the 2006 SIP as of 5/15, which will run from June 25 to August 13, 2006. Congratulations to all!
• What to do after being accepted into SIP: Have your passport, VISA and proof of health insurance ready!
• For more information, please visit www.valpo.edu/cjsp/masters/summer.html.
• Given the late announcement, application for the 2006 after the deadline (5/15) is being accepted on a case-by-case basis. Please contact Jamie Haney, if you are interested. Application must be received by 5/25, 2006. For information or forms, visit www.valpo.edu/gce/macs.

Housing for MACS Students

Financial Aid and Student Accounts

• If you are in need of financial aid, please contact the Financial Aid Office at finaid@valpo.edu or 219-464-5015.
• To qualify for Federal loans, you must fill out the FAFSA at www.fafsa.ed.gov. Students wishing to receive federal loans must also be enrolled for at least half time (6 credits).
• The Student Accounts Office distributes financial aid refund checks and can be reached at 219-464-5101.

Fall 2006 Course Schedule for MACS

• CHST 607: Graduate Chinese
  MWF 9:05 to 9:45am and
  TR 9:45 to 11:00am, 6 Credits, Prof. Chen
• CHST 551: Readings in Chinese Literature
  TR 5:30 to 6:45pm, 3 Credits, Prof. Chen
• CHST 590 A: Public Policy in China
  MW 3:05 to 4:20pm, 3 Credits, Prof. Lin
  (This seminar examines such key public policy issues in China as education, employment, income distribution, housing, and health care system.)
• CHST 696: Graduate Seminar
  T 11:30am to 12:30pm, 0.5 Credits, Prof. Lin
  (This is a weekly lunch and seminar that will involve either guest speakers or group discussions on a particular issue.)

For All Accepted MACS Students

• Basic Plan and Health Center Privileges - $150
• Optional Supplemental Plan - $24
• Optional Student¡¯s Family Basic Plan - $120
• Optional Student¡¯s Family Supplemental Plan - $160

How much will MACS improve your Chinese language proficiency?

Speaking:
Level 2: Able to satisfy routine social demands and limited work requirements. Can handle routine work-related interactions that are limited in scope. In more complex and sophisticated work-related tasks, language usage generally disturbs the native speaker. Can handle with confidence, but not with facility, most normal, high-frequency conversational situations including extensive, but casual conversations about current events, as well as work, family, and autobiographical information. The individual can get the gist of most everyday conversations but has some difficulty social understanding native speakers in situations that require specialized or sophisticated knowledge. The individual's utterances are minimally cohesive. Linguistic structure is usually not very elaborate and not thoroughly controlled; errors are frequent. Vocabulary use is appropriate for high-frequency utterances, but unusual or imprecise elsewhere.

Level 3: Able to speak the language with sufficient structural accuracy and vocabulary to participate effectively in most formal and informal conversations in practical, social and professional topics. Nevertheless, the individual's limitations generally restrict the professional contexts of language use to matters of shared knowledge and/or international convention. Discourse is cohesive. The individual uses the language acceptably, but with some noticeable imperfections; yet, errors virtually never interfere with understanding and rarely disturb the native speaker. The individual can effectively combine structure and vocabulary to convey his/her meaning accurately. The individual speaks readily and fills pauses suitably. In face-to-face conversation with natives speaking the standard dialect at a normal rate of speech, comprehension is quite complete. Although cultural references, proverbs and the implications of nuances and idiom may not be fully understood, the individual can easily repair the conversation. Pronunciation may be obviously foreign. Individual sounds are accurate: but stress, intonation and pitch control may be faulty.

Listening:
Level 2: Sufficient comprehension to understand conversations on routine socialdemands and limited job requirements. Able to understand face-to-face speech ina standard dialect, delivered at a normal rate with some repetition and rewording, by a native speaker not used to dealing with foreigners, about everyday topics, common personal and family news, well-known current events and routine office matters through descriptions and narration about current, past and future events; can follow essential points of discussion or speech at an elementary level on topics in his/her special professional field. Only understands occasional words and phrases of statements made in unfavorable conditions, for example through loudspeakers outdoors. Understands factual content. Native language causes less interference in listening comprehension. Able to understand facts; i.e., the lines but not between or beyond the lines.

Level 3: Able to understand the essentials of all speech in a standard dialect including technical discussions within a special field. Has effective understanding of face-to-face speech, delivered with normal clarity and speed in a standard dialect on general topics and areas of special interest; understands hypothesizing and supported opinions. Has broad enough vocabulary that rarely has to ask for paraphrasing or explanation. Can follow accurately the essentials of conversations between educated native speakers, reasonably clear telephone calls, radio broadcasts, news stories similar to wire service reports, oral reports, some oral technical reports and public addresses on non-technical subjects; can understand without difficulty all forms of standard speech concerning a special professional field. Does not understand native speakers it they speak very quickly or use some slang or dialect. Can often detect emotional overtones. Can understand implications.

Reading:
Level 2: Sufficient comprehension to read simple, authentic written material in a form equivalent to usual printing or typescript on subjects within a familiar context. Able to read with some misunderstandings straightforward, familiar, factual material, but in general insufficiently experienced with the language to draw inferences directly from the linguistic aspects of the text. Can locate and understand the main ideas and details in material written for the general reader. However, persons who have professional knowledge of a subject may be able to summarize or perform sorting and locating tasks with written texts that are well beyond their general proficiency level. The individual can read uncomplicated, but authentic prose on familiar subjects that are normally presented in a predictable sequence which aids the reader in understanding. Texts may include descriptions and narrations in contexts such as news items describing frequently occurring events, simple biographical information, social notices, formulaic business letters, and simple technical material written for the general reader. Generally the prose that can be read by the individual is predominantly in straightforward/high-frequency sentence patterns. The individual does not have a broad active vocabulary (that is, which he/she recognizes immediately on sight), but is able to use contextual and real-world cues to understand the text. Characteristically, however, the individual is quite slow in performing such a process. Is typically able to answer factual questions about authentic texts of the types described above.

Level 3: Able to read within a normal range of speed and with almost complete comprehension a variety of authentic prose material on unfamiliar subjects. Reading ability is not dependent on subject matter knowledge, although it is not expected that the individual can comprehend thoroughly subject matter which is highly dependent on cultural knowledge or which is outside his/her general experience and not accompanied by explanation. Text-types include news stories similar to wire service reports or international news items in major periodicals, routine correspondence, general reports, and technical material in his/her professional field; all of these may include hypothesis, argumentation and supported opinions. Misreading rare. Almost always able to interpret material correctly, relate ideas and "read between the lines," (that is, understand the writers' implicit intents in text of the above types). Can get the gist of more sophisticated texts, but may be unable to detect or understand subtlety and nuance. Rarely has to pause over or reread general vocabulary. However, may experience some difficulty with unusually complex structure and low frequency idioms.

For more information regarding the MACS program, contact Jamie Haney, Program Coordinator, at 800-821-7685 or email Jamie.Haney@valpo.edu; Professor Zhimin Lin at Zhimin.Lin@valpo.edu; or the Graduate Studies Office at graduate.studies@valpo.edu or www.valpo.edu/gce/macs.

* This newsletter is prepared by the MACS program. We welcome your comments and/or suggestions.