CET Greater China

Don't get me wrong, I love America, but CET may have forced me to give China a first-place rank. I started my time in China with the CET Spring Beijing Intensive Term and then I opted to continue into CET Summer Beijing Intensive. CET is incredible because firstly, my Chinese level catapulted from absolutely 0 speaking ability to being able to whole full-blown and fluid conversations with locals. In addition, I will be taking an Advanced Modern Chinese course when I start at university this fall. Secondly, through my 6 glorious months based in Beijing, I was able not only to explore a world-famous city, but also to branch out into China: Xi'an, Tianjin, Shanghai, to name a few. CET and its language pledge (which I would not change for the world) gave me the foundation of language skill confidence to be able to reach far beyond my comfort zone and venture into other Chinese cities. I am so grateful to CET for gifting me with advanced Chinese language skill and a plethora of new cultural experiences. I often question why I came home...

All in all the program was good. The environment was truly immersive. We were given many opportunities to use our Chinese, and in many cases there was no other option than to use Chinese. The majority of local places did not have a way to communicate in English, so Chinese was the only option. The teachers at CET were absolutely fantastic. They were probably the best part of the program. The Academics were very helpful and rigorous, but without the excellent teachers we had, we definitely would not have learned as much as we did. As far as what was the best part about the experience, I would say the city of Beijing in itself. Beijing is a very large and interesting city with many interesting places, so get out and explore. The homework is a lot, but you generally will have plenty of time to check out the city. So explore! When speaking Chinese, the most rewarding times were always when I was alone, exploring the city and engaging with locals in a natural way.

This program was very intense as the name suggests, especially since I was a Chinese beginner. Not being able to speak English for such a long time allowed me to be an observer, which was a very rewarding experience. Get ready for a semester of good food, great friends and going to Salintun every weekend. You will also get to see may great Chinese cultural destinations. My Chinese skills improved so much and I loved every minute of this program. I would suggest this to anyone looking to improve their Chinese speaking ability!

CET Beijing is probably one of the best programs there is in CET. I loved it. It was absolutely amazing. The dorm rooms were very immaculate because there would be someone that would take the trash out about 3 times per week and someone would come in and make your bed once a week (if you lived in zhongguofangzi). I know if you live in keyuan that they take your trash out once a day and make your bed more often than in zhongguofangzi. The classrooms were suitable to the students, and the teachers were ever so friendly and kind. The other students were just as friendly, if not more so and everyone was just all around very sweet. My best advice is to find a group of people to become friends with and do stuff with, such as exploring or shopping. But just so you know, it's okay to do things by yourself too. A lot of people might not want to go see a temple or go to this particular restaurant that you want to go to and that's perfectly fine, you can go there by yourself. But I do suggest not doing everything on your own because it would get lonely at times if you did.

I chose the CET Kunming Program chiefly because of its Language Pledge component, and its reputation as a first-tier study abroad academic institution. Individually, I was not disappointed in either respect; classes were rigorous, and the Chinese roommate kept me honest to the Language pledge as much as possible. By the end of the two-month program, I was speaking fluently and with confidence. Also, my character writing improved substantially; I struggled at first with strict standards for handwriting, but over time adjusted my habits and found success. Also, the Chinese roommate component is fantastic; every roommate (not just your own) is excited to chat and exchange with you, and most are eager to share local sights, pop-culture, and restaurants with you.

On the flip side, making friends with classmates using only Chinese was challenging in the beginning, due to varying levels of Chinese ability and the strict Language Pledge. Also, the class schedule truly keeps you working hard weekdays, which although exhilarating left me quite tired by the weekend. In short, I didn't get to travel in-country as much as I'd hoped on the weekends, and only near the end of the experience found space to bond with my American cohort.

I would recommend this program to any student who is eager to improve their Chinese ability across the board, and excited to spend a summer studying hard in a beautiful city. Opportunities for engagement with Chinese students are copious, and I have made lifelong friends on this program.

CET Beijing: Intensive Language was more than anything I hoped for. It is very difficult to even think of a single complaint I had about this program. They were very receptive to my needs, and no matter what the topic, I felt like I always had someone I could go to.

Academically, the program was adequately challenging. Although we progressed very quickly, the teachers provided us tools such as office hours to make sure we could succeed and get the help we needed. The progress every student made was evident, and we were all very happy with how much we improved during our time at the program. I especially enjoyed the daily one-on-one sessions the curriculum included, where every student was paired up with a teacher to converse for 25 minutes every day. By giving us an opportunity to talk about topics that were not strictly included in our textbooks, our language comprehension became much more versatile, enabling us to converse fluidly even with natives.

Recreationally, CET did an excellent job of keeping a balance between providing opportunities to venture Beijing by organizing trips (for example, to the Great Wall or the opera) that students could sign up for and giving us freedom. For example, if some students decided they were not too interested in the opera, they could go to an alleyway on their own and try traditional Chinese street food. And since Beijing's public transit is very easy to learn and use, many students took advantage of the freedom CET provided the students with. Some even took the bullet train and went on a weekend trip to different cities such as Shanghai!

The housing situation was very neat and comfortable. Honestly, it was better than any housing accommodation I have ever received from my university in the States. It was very spacious, came with ample furniture, and each room had a bathroom that was very convenient. Although the dormitories had an air filtration system since Beijing's air pollution is a concern to many, the CET staff additionally offered filtration machines in the rooms of those who were particularly sensitive or concerned.

All in all, this program gave me a summer I could never forget. For students who are unsure what to do during their summer, I strongly recommend this program, regardless of if they have studied the language before or not. At the program, I met students from a wide variety of majors and backgrounds, and they all took back valuable lessons and memories. It is the perfect balance of academia and fun, all while making many new friends!

I thought that the CET Harbin program was a very well organized and well-run program. One of the things that I think really stands out about this program is that you can choose two elective courses which allow you to focus on certain areas of study in Chinese (e.g. literature, classical Chinese, composition etc.) I found that all of my teachers, as well as the on-site CET staff were always willing to help and answer any questions I had.

While I think this is a very good summer program, it is also an extremely intense one, with a lot of homework. I was very overwhelmed at first, and in the end, I dropped one of my classes to lighten my work load. After I did this, I didn't really have any problems. However time management is definitely an important skill to have if you select this program. Also I would advise anyone who is planning to attend this program, do not overlook the importance of sleep. Sometimes it feels like you just have too much homework to get a good night's sleep. In this case, I would strongly urge you to not finish all of your homework and go to sleep at a reasonable time instead. Think of sleep as a part of your homework every night. Sleeping well each night is one of the best ways to prepare for class the next day.

Previously I had no Chinese knowledge which made the program difficult in that respect. I expected this to occur but as I began to learn Chinese it became more difficult because there was phrases or words I understood but not the entire meaning of the sentence. The language pledge was the most difficult barrier of all because I felt that I missed out on a lot of potential friendships because I could not communicate with anyone given my limitations. However, I still found myself around students at a higher level than me which helped me be constantly surrounded by the language and little by little I began to have some conversations with higher level students. If you are looking to begin studying Chinese abroad without any prior knowledge, prepare to be challeneged but do not give up, patience is everything.