In the morning of the 2nd July, over 180 students from 29 countries completed their registration in room B101 of the School of Chinese as a Foreign Language, ready to begin their journey of learning Chinese and deepening their understanding of China.

The 2018 PKU Chinese Language Summer School offered four programmes: two four-week programmes, a six-week programme and an eight week-programme. The students of the first four-week programme, the six-week programme, and the eight-week programme all registered in the morning of the 2nd July. Afterwards, the International Students Division gave the students a detailed introduction to studying and other aspects of life at PKU, and reminded them to be careful of their health and safety.

To help the students get used to life at PKU as quickly as possible, the ISD selected a group of outstanding students to act as language partners for the international students and created small language partner exchange groups, to raise their language level through study and exchange. Together, the students can practice their communication skills to enhance mutual understanding, to allow them not only to learn Chinese more comprehensively but also to gain a deeper understanding of Chinese culture.

This year, the Chinese Language Summer School placement test was optimised and improved. Students of the programme can remotely complete the online self-evaluation in Chinese. The test, which previously took one and a half hours to complete, has been shortened by around 15 minutes. The test system has been made easier for students to use, while the scoring system has been optimised and the workload of the teachers who process the results reduced. At the same time, the accuracy of placement has improved.

During the programme, the “Dialogue with Experts” lecture series also took place. This lecture series invites leading teachers from study-abroad programmes in China, and well known professors from Peking University, to give a series of 16 lectures in English for international students. The content of the lectures covered language, literature, art, history, politics, economics, international relations, transcultural exchange and other subject areas. These lectures enrich the students’ experience of PKU and increase their understanding of Chinese and Western culture. On the 11th July, the PKU Summer Festival was held for teachers and students from all over the school to enhance mutual understanding among the members of various summer programmes. The title of the festival was “From the four seas to one home, study abroad at PKU”.

As a short-term study abroad programme under the brand of Peking University, each year the Chinese Language Summer School programme is expanding, and the structure is improving. This year 332 students in total enrolled in the Chinese Language Summer School. Among them were many students from Harvard University, the University of Oxford, Princeton University, Columbia University, the University of Melbourne, and other world famous universities.

“International exchange relies on interpersonal exchange”. The success of the programme has been widely recognised by the students and teachers. They say that through participation in the Chinese Language Summer School, their Chinese language level has improved, and their understanding of and affinity to China has deepened. The PKU International Students Division will continue to improve the management of its Chinese Language Summer School programmes, and enrich the course content. This will allow foreign students to learn and succeed, and have a fulfilling time at Peking University.