2006 & 2007 China Summer Immersion Program
Photos & Quotes

 

2006 China Summer Immersion Program

The 2006 program was held from June 26, 2006 to August 13, 2006 with the support of a grant from the Department of Education (Fulbright-Hays Groups Project Abroad Program). The pilot, seven-week total immersion program took place in the Hangzhou area of China with the overall goal of helping participants to achieve an operational level of proficiency in Chinese and a better understanding of Chinese culture through a rigorous curriculum that combines intense, advanced language training in a Chinese-only environment together with an internship experience conducted primarily in Chinese.
Photo of participants of the 2006 Summer Immersion Program in Hangzhou, China


2006 Summer Immersion Program Participants during their travels


2007 China Summer Immersion Program

The 2007 program had two tracks: the Educator's Summer Immersion Program and Language Intensive Immersion Program.

The Educator's portion of the program was held from June 22 to July 20, 2007 and was supported by a grant from the Department of Education (Fulbright-Hays Groups Project Abroad Program). Participants received beginner level Chinese language training and attended a series of lectures focusing on salient aspects of Chinese culture and society. Participants also took trips to Beijing, Yellow Mountain, and four local schools, (in Shanghai, Hangzhou, Ninbo, and Xinchang county). Between the classes, lectures, and trips, participants also took part in a workshop designed to identify effective instructional pedagogy and materials suitable for K-12 schools in teaching Chinese language and culture.

The Language portion of the program included two phases with the goal of preparing students to study fourth-year Chinese at United States institutions, including students in Valparaiso University's MA in Chinese Studies program. Students were given weekly instruction including 10 hours of grammar and intensive reading, 6 hours of listening and speaking, four hours of writing, and 2.5 hours of group study (primarily for group projects). In addition, each week, students had two, half-hour individual sessions with one instructor. On the weekends, students had the opportunity to participate in home stays with local Chinese families and travel with two "language-testing/survival trips" to Yellow Mountain and Putuo Island.

The 2008 Summer Advanced Chinese Program will be similar to the 2006 Summer Immersion Program and the 2007 Summer Intensive Language Program. Undergraduate and graduate students as well as K-12 teachers are invited to apply to the 2008 program.

Photo of participants from the 2007 Educator's Summer Immersion Program in Hangzhou, China
Photo by Alice McWilliams (2007)

 

Testimonials from 2007 participants:

"I had a great time scaling the thousands of steps up Yellow Mountain while taking in breathtaking views all along the way. I am grateful to Valparaiso University and the Fulbright-Hays program for giving me that incredible opportunity...There is no better way to learn a language than complete immersion with instruction. This program really tried to achieve the ideal circumstance for language acquisition."

Mark Heiden, Indiana
2007 Educator's Summer Immersion Program Participant
Photo by Mark Heiden (2007)

 

"I was so positively impressed with China and its culture that I started the Chinese Culture Club at San Pedro High School, and had so many students respond that the membership reached its full capacity within a month...The month I spent in China changed my life forever. I loved the family dynamics I saw there and the philosophies being practiced (love for nature, respect for others, welcoming the foreigner, etc). The cultural portion of the program benefitted me the most because I can pass it on to my students. We have studied China's geography, made Chinese crafts, and tasted Chinese food, all of which I did in China. The pictures I have shown my students have made many of them consider going one day to China."

Patricia Campuzano, California
2007 Educator's Summer Immersion Program Participant


Article about the VU China Summer Immersion Program:
"Immersed in the Culture of Business: China's growing influence on world economy draws region educators there"  VU's Summer Advanced Chinese Program article in the Northwest Indiana Times, June 8, 2007.