The International College of Chinese Language and Culture: Little College Big World

The International College of Chinese Language And Culture (ICCLC) is a small college with only more than 120 students, a college with fewest people and highest second-glance rate . It is a warm barmy harbor for Chinese fans from more than 29 countries and regions, as well as the most fashionable group of HunanNormalUniversity.

In order to know this special group better, our reporters interviewed professor Yang Ling and 7 overseas students from this college. They are: Li Dajing from South Korea, Kaiguo from France, Lili and Liqian from Russia, Zhou Nier from Germany, Hu Jiexiong from America and A Lading from Yemen. Their stay of learning Chinese in ICCLC vary from 2 months to a year.

A Passionate and Amiable China in Our Eyes

In 2004, our university established the Overseas Chinese Language and Culture Education Base. Since then, The International College of Chinese Language And Culture enjoyed an remarkable increase of overseas students with different colors and races. They come a long way to China to learn Chinese culture and experience interesting Chinese-styled life.

I like China because I love Chinese culture when asked about the reason why they choose to come to china, their answers are the same by mere coincidence. Because of their deep love for Chinese culture, they leave their hometown and come to this strange land, being surrounded by different cultures and different languages. They once suffered loneliness and sadness, but still remained adamant ever since the day they came here.

Why Chinese kids all wear that kind of pants (special pants made for little kids called open-seat pants)? Why Chinese old men like to play Taiji in their pajamas in the park? It is incredible! You cannot expect what kind of question they will raise the next moment. The hospitality of Chinese people has impressed overseas students here a lot either. Chinese people are all nice and helped me lot , they said.

Because they are learning Chinese in Hunan, Hunan people s character has become a window for them to have a glance of Chinese people as a whole. There are a lot of hot girls in China who are all amiable as well as curious about us , said Hu Jiexiong.

Learning in China

The biggest challenge of learning in china for overseas students is the language barrier. How to learn Chinese and communicate with Chinese people are urgencies for overseas students.
Due to geographic factors, students from Japan and South Korea enjoy an advantage in writing Chinese compared with students from western countries while lag behind them in aspect of pronunciation. Li Dajing said, It is easier to write than to read . On the contrary, western students do better at pronunciation than writing. Zhou Nier complained, It is much easier to speak Chinese because I often chat with my Chinese friends. But writing is all too hard.

Professor Yang Ling told us that The International College of Chinese Language And Culture has curricula of basic language skills including listening, speaking, intensive reading, etc. Moreover, there are courses relating to culture exclusive to senior students, namely General Introduction to China Chinese History, etc. Elective courses consists of calligraphy, Taiji playing, singing, through which overseas students Chinese proficiency as well as their understanding for Chinese culture are greatly enhanced. Hu Jiexiong said; I have special inclination for modern history of China. I often listened to history lectures and chat with history professors to improve my knowledge . Teachers give lectures according to different language levels of the students to help them learn better. More teaching methods includes One To One , namely students studying in pairs, each study pair consists of one Chinese student and one overseas student, thus their communication skill is enhanced. In this way, they can improve their friendship and share their different cultures. By now, all overseas students have made a couple of Chinese friends and their speaking Chinese are obviously improved.

Entertainment in china

In their free time, overseas students will go to the gym to do exercise or climb the mountain with a couple of friends. They also like to chat with their Chinese friends. Hu Jiexiong said, I like to eat with my Chinese friends. Here in china, the best way to communicate is to eat together . If time permitted, learning one Chinese traditional musical instrument is a good choice. I live a full life here. I write novels, do exercise and learn to play erhu. I practice erhu everyday .

The International College of Chinese Language And Culture often organizes various activities to enrich the daily life of the overseas students. Not long ago, the event called World Culture Day let them enjoyed a full feast to the eye, allowing them to experience the flavor of exotic cultures. They met new friends in the activity and their affection for their own culture is raised to a higher level.

Living in china

There is a traditional Chinese saying goes: food is the first necessity of man. How do the overseas students address the problem of eating well? Does the hot Hunan Cuisine fit their taste?

I like the spicy hot pot and barbecue here, which I cannot find in South Korea .

I like northern food such as dumplings. Southern food is too hot and too oily. Sometimes I made food myself .

I like tofu here, and egg-plants as well as the tasty shrimp, Kou Weixia of course without any pepper in it .

I like western food here, which is rather different from those in my countries and with a strong Chinese flavor .

For the weather here, they also have a lot of comments:

Weather here is rather strange and I don t like hot summer days

I think the autumn here is very cozy while winter is filled with annoying cold wind

It is much warmer than in Russia

The weather is cozy and I like spending time here .

Leading a Bright Future in China

With their deep affection for Chinese language and Chinese culture, overseas students set foot on China and start their learning here. They all have their own plans for their future. Some of them want to go back to their own country to do work relating to Chinese including education, translation, tour guiding, etc. Some prefer to live and work in China. No matter what their future plan is, it certainly has numerous links with Chinese culture. The university administration also established platforms for them to keep in touch with each other.

I want to go back to South Korea to be a trade officer so as to promote China-South Korea communication. But my Chinese skill is yet to be improved and I will study very hard.

--Li Dajing

I want to be a teacher or a tour guide.

--Kai Guo

I want to be a translator and I need to practice my Chinese constantly.

--Liqian

I have a Chinese boyfriend now and I want to live in China.

--Lili After I finish my study here I will do internship in Taiwan for half a year. I like here and I want to be in China.

--Zhou Nier

After the completion of my study, I will go back to finish my research and further my study.

--Hu Jiexiong

I want to stay in China and do business with my older brother

--A Lading