Program Introduction
With a history of over 30 years, Chinese Language Program of Sichuan University has had more than one thousand students from over 60 countries across the globe, earning itself a good reputation and fruitful achievements. In addition to the main course—Chinese Comprehensive (6-12 class hours per week), the Program provides targeted and focused courses for specific language skills (about 8 class hours per week) such as listening, speaking, reading, and writing. Besides, there are specialized Chinese language courses for students of intermediate and advanced levels, including Chinese grammar, vocabulary, phonetics, and ancient Chinese. The Program is committed to getting students a systemic understanding of the Chinese language system and helping students grasp the right way to learn Chinese. Meanwhile, learning Chinese is not only about the language itself. Students need to get an in-depth understanding of China’s national condition, culture, history, etc. Therefore, as students’ Chinese competence continues to improve, the Program also offers a wide range of elective courses. A total of more than 20 elective courses await students’ exploration: Overview of China, Chinese Culture, HSK Course Guide, Business Chinese, Second Foreign Language (Korean, Japanese, German, etc.), Ancient Chinese Literature, Modern and Contemporary Chinese Literature, Chinese Economy, Chinese History, Ancient Chinese Philosophy, Arts of Chinese Ethnic Minority, Chinese Folklore and Tourism Culture, Translation, Chinese Audio-Visual Course, Journals/Newspaper Reading, News Listening, Calligraphy, Tai Chi, etc. Through enriching courses and demanding training, students of the Program will be able to, along with solid knowledge of the Chinese language, dive deep into the culture and national conditions of China and rapidly improve their Chinese level within a short time.
The Program is divided into nine stages in three levels, covering the learning needs of students at different levels. Chinese-level exams will be arranged at the beginning of the semester. With due consideration to students’ personal will, learning purpose, and learning targets, the Program will ensure that students get enrolled in the most suitable class for Chinese learning.
Course Overview
Courses in the Program consist of key and elective ones. Key courses are mainly delivered in the mornings with approximately 20 class hours each week. Elective courses are mainly scheduled in the afternoons. Students can select courses based on their Chinese level and interests.
Class classification and course arrangement are explained below:
1. Primary class (Primary 1/Primary 2/Primary 3)
Key courses: Primary Chinese Comprehensive, Chinese Reading and Writing, Chinese Listening Comprehension and Speaking, and six other courses;
Elective courses: Calligraphy, Tai Chi, Ping Pong, and two other courses.
After systemic learning of the primary courses in the Program, students will be able to conduct daily conversations in Chinese fluently and possess a certain level of reading and writing ability. Students attending Primary 2 and Primary 3 can generally reach the requirements of HSK Level 3 or Level 4 after the Program.
2. Intermediary class (Intermediary 1/Intermediary 2)
Key courses: Intermediary Chinese Comprehensive, Chinese Listening Comprehension and Speaking, Basics of Chinese Writing, Chinese Reading, Chinese Culture, and seven other courses;
Elective courses: HSK Intermediary Tutorial, Overview of China, Sichuan Dialects, Art of Chinese Ethnic Minorities, Folk Custom of Ancient Ba and Shu State, Tourism and Culture, and eight other courses.
After systemic learning of intermediary courses in the Program, students will be able to speak fluent Chinese for communication and possess relatively proficient Chinese reading and writing abilities. Students also acquire a deeper understanding of the national conditions and culture of China, establish a knowledge structure covering a wider range, and indicate significant improvement in their Chinese level. After finishing the study in the Program, students can generally reach the requirement for HSK Level 4 or Level 5. Intermediary learners can also pick selective courses at primary and intermediary levels at the same time if they feel confident in completing them.
3. Advanced class (Advanced 1/Advanced 2/Advanced 3/Advanced 4)
Key courses: Advanced Chinese Comprehensive, Advanced Chinese Speaking, Chinese Writing, Modern Chinese Pronunciation, and ten other courses;
Elective courses: HSK Advanced Tutorial, Advanced Chinese Audio-video Teaching, Contemporary Chinese Literature, Chinese Newspaper and Journal Reading, and sixteen other courses.
After systemic learning of advanced courses in the Program, students can use Chinese fluently in communicating various topics, possess professional levels of reading and writing abilities, have an in-depth understanding of the national conditions and culture of China, establish a knowledge structure covering an even wider range, and demonstrate significant progress in their Chinese level. Students can generally reach the requirement of HSK Level 5 or Level 6 after finishing the study of the Program. Students can pick elective courses at primary, intermediary, and advanced levels at the same time if they feel confident in completing them.
Evaluation, Credit, Grade, and Certificate
Evaluation of the Program: 50% final exam, 30% mid-term exam, 20% class performance. Students of the Program are required to realize full attendance. Students with absences of over one-third of courses are not eligible to attend the course evaluation exam.
Students passing course evaluation exam can obtain the course credit. Sichuan University can issue academic transcript of the course and study certificate.
Qualification
1. Applicants should be over 18 and under 60;
2. Applicants must be foreign citizens with good physical and mental health and good conduct;
3. For applicants who were Chinese citizens and are now foreign citizens, their applications will be handled in accordance with the Notice on Standardizing Acceptance of International Students at Chinese Higher Education Institutions by the Ministry of Education.
Application Documents
1. A photocopy of the first page of the passport (at least six months before expiration from the date of application). Applicants currently living in Chinese mainland need to provide a photocopy of valid visa page or residence permit certificate；
2. Certificate of applicants’ highest degree or pre-graduation certificate (Chinese or English)
3. Applicants who are living in China and have records of studying in China need to provide the document illustrating their performance at school issued by their previous Chinese schools;
4. Applicants need to provide documents demonstrating their funding sources (or financial guarantee by the guardian). Applicants applying for full scholarships are exempt from such documents;
5. Foreigner Physical Examination Form (The examination results should be no more than 6 months from the date of application);
6. Non-Criminal Record Certificate. Applicants should provide a Non-Criminal Record Certificate issued by the local public security authority, which should be no more than six months before the date of application.
Note: Applicants should upload the scanned copy of all application documents online. All documents must be in Chinese or English or notarized translations. Originals of application documents and funding source certificates (or financial guarantees) will be required for review purposes during enrollment at Sichuan University.
Tuition
8250 yuan/semester
Length of Schooling
The length of schooling is one semester at minimum. If the student needs an extension, an application should be filed at least one month before the end of the current semester to SCU Overseas Students Management Office.