IUP Midterm Report

Disclaimer

This is a midterm report for the Inter-University Program (IUP). I’m writing with potential fall, spring, or academic year applicants in mind. I can’t promise that any of what I say here applies to IUP’s summer module (although I would assume most academic features are the same). I’m also writing with the assumption that the potential fall/spring/academic year IUP applicant has probably studied at least three years and/or already studied in China. I also make lots of comparisons to PiB, just for perspective.

Classes

IUP will tell you – and they are correct – that the most prominent feature of their classes is class size. They are tiny. Really tiny. Most of my Yale Chinese classes probably had about 13 or more students. At PiB, the larger classes had eight students, the smaller four. In comparison, the largest classes at IUP have a maximum of three. Yes, three students. I think in studying foreign language, class size makes a huge difference. I’ve found that in larger classes, your best chance to speak is generally if the teacher is drilling – i.e. everyone forms one sentence using some new sentence structure. With classes of only three students, however, there is more opportunity for a conversational teaching style. Not only is this dynamic more effective and closer to a natural linguistic environment, it is more enjoyable. There’s more opportunity to engage with ideas. The structure of class is pretty flexible, too, but in a positive way. I remember one of my classmates telling me that one day in one of her classes, all three students decided they were not interested in that day’s subject. They asked to talk about a different topic, to which their teacher responded “Sure, as long as we can find a way to incorporate today’s vocabulary.” Because of class size, you’re also placed with classmates who are at a very comparable level. In addition, at least one hour of class every day is completely one-on-one. This is great because, even though your teacher is still presenting a certain set of material, you can ask questions unlimitedly, which I think is a really efficient way to learn.

Placement and Curriculum

IUP is a relatively high level program. Even though the stated minimum requirement is two years of college Chinese, in reality, the vast majority of students have had the equivalent of three years. Most have also spent time in China before, whether at a summer program like PiB, a school year study abroad program, or just living and working.

IUP has a series of core textbooks, and core listening textbooks. The former is intended to improve skills in all areas – reading, writing, listening, and speaking – and the latter is more focused on just listening and speaking. Placements for these two core classes, although strongly correlated, are independent. Thus, there really is no notion of “third year, fourth year, fifth year, etc.” at IUP. Having completed fourth year Chinese at Yale (CHNS 154/155), I placed into the top textbooks of IUP’s “intermediate level,” 思想与社会 (“Thought and Society”) and 实话实说 (“Frankly Speaking”). At the end of each eight week module (there are two modules in fall and spring, each), everyone graduates to the next level of textbooks. Generally speaking, the academic quality of the textbooks is very good, and I enjoy learning from them.

Even though IUP’s textbooks have a set sequence, there is a certain amount of flexibility within the core, especially towards the higher levels. In the first few years of Chinese, everyone studies the same general-purpose vocabulary and grammar. After a certain point, though, the scope of what one can formally study in Chinese opens up really wide, and there’s no longer a clear hierarchy of vocabulary, i.e. the frequency of appearance in Chinese of the words you are learning is sufficiently low that importance is determined by what you are personally interested in and what you want to use Chinese for, rather than frequency. In this sense, the higher level IUP textbooks are somewhat independent of one another. For instance, the core textbook I am studying now, 参与 (“Participation”), is very literary. I’m learning a lot of words that I already know general-purpose synonyms for, but that have a more narrow and subtle usage. Assuming the student already knows words like “big,” this textbook goes on to teach words like “immense,” “colossal,” and “vast.” For some people at IUP, this kind of vocabulary is lower priority than, say, business, law, or economics-related vocabulary. In such cases, students can request to skip this textbook and go straight to the next “level,” which focuses on more direct, academic vocabulary. And some people might choose to skip that textbook in favor of studying some specialized set of vocabulary relevant to their work. The point is that, even within the core set of IUP textbooks, there is a certain degree of flexibility and academic independence IUP is willing to grant students if they seek it.

Apart from the core, all academic year students will get to take a few elective classes, including Chinese newspaper, business Chinese, Chinese 口语 (very informal, spoken Chinese), and two levels of classical Chinese. I had room for my first elective this semester and am taking the first level of classical Chinese (which is excellent and highly recommended, for the record.) In addition to these electives is the option to take another one-on-one class focusing on any topic, material, textbook, or aspect of Chinese one would like to study. I haven’t taken any of these individual electives yet, but I know people who have used them to study anything from vocabulary in their academic field, to reading a Chinese novel, to just focusing on their specific weaknesses in Chinese. Some people might even study something different every week in their individual elective. With these classes, the general agreement is that you get out of them precisely what you put in to them.

The academic structure of IUP seems to work well both for people who have a specific Chinese language agenda and want to direct their own studies, and for those who would just like to achieve all-around advanced abilities in Chinese. The solid and well-planned curriculum works well for the latter, while the flexibility to depart from it enables the former.

Workload

The difference between PiB and IUP is the difference between sprinting and long-distance running. The daily work load is significantly less at IUP, but with good reason. I was surprised by this initially, but gradually came to realize there is no way anyone could possibly maintain the level of focus and energy required from PiB-like programs for an entire year without burning out. With a slower pace, there is also time for review, and I find my retention is generally higher. In the first module, I had about three to four hours of homework per night. With the addition of classical Chinese this semester, it’s closer to five or more hours of homework per night. Some people put in more time, some people less. The immediate incentive to take the work seriously (besides learning Chinese, of course) is not grades, which are neither harsh nor terribly important. Rather, it is being well prepared for class. At IUP, your teachers and classmates are always well-prepared. When classes range in size from one to three people, if you don’t prepare, it shows. It’s a good implicit incentive structure. At the same time, the amount of time and effort it takes to be well prepared for class is very reasonable. Although at IUP, you can and should spend a majority of your time studying and practicing Chinese, there is also enough free time to pursue on your own all the cultural activities you didn’t have enough time for your first time around at PiB (or HBA, ACC, etc).

Social Independence

IUP doesn’t arrange your life outside of class. This might seem unfortunate, but you can really use this fact to your advantage.

For one thing, IUP doesn’t arrange housing. Most people live in apartments off campus. Living on campus is possible, as is living with one of the host families associated with IUP. Finding a place to live can definitely be stressful. The good news is that the IUP Google group connects IUPers, current and future, so there is a network of information and people to help you find a suitable housing arrangement. I’m living with a young IUP teacher (and another Chinese woman who works at Google) who sent out an email to the group looking for a third apartment mate. Other people live in apartments former IUPers have moved out of. Some people find other IUPers to live with through the Google group and then search for an apartment together once in Beijing. There’s really no limit to the possibility of living arrangements, it just takes some extra time and effort to arrange.

Because everyone lives in different places, IUP mostly leaves your life outside of class up to you to determine. There are three or four field trips throughout the year (including one or two overnight weekend trips) that IUP arranges and a social organization that has activities about once a month to foster friendships between IUP students and Tsinghua/Beida students, but apart from that, you are mostly on your own. A lot of other Light Fellowship approved programs seem to take a more active role in students’ free time, arranging field trips on most weekends and providing extracurricular activities, which I think works great for a first-time experience in China. Though IUP differs from these programs in this respect, this is actually a great opportunity to find activities on your own. In Beijing, it is easy to make your own Chinese friends and get involved in whatever activities you would like to. I’ve audited a few Tsinghua courses, participated in a translators’ club at Tsinghua, and been making some Chinese friends in my free time. There are lots of other activities IUPers have dedicated their spare time to, but you have to take the initiative.

Language Pledge

This section really ought to go under “Social Independence.” IUP has a language pledge within the academic building and at all IUP-sponsored activities. Of course, this only amounts to about four hours of your day on weekdays and not at all on weekends. All encompassing language pledges make a lot of sense at all-encompassing programs, like PiB. IUP is a different story. Because everyone lives in different places, and is involved in their own activities outside of IUP, IUP doesn’t try to control what language you speak outside of the program. As with any of the freedoms IUP allows its students, it is up to the student to find a way to speak Chinese outside of class. It is not hard find ways to do so in Beijing, whether through living with Chinese people, making Chinese friends out of class, making your own pledge with IUP friends (probably the hardest), etc. But as always, it is a matter of initiative.

Final Recommendation

For anyone with a similar background and level in Chinese (i.e. previously spent a summer at a language program in China and has studied through third or fourth year Chinese), IUP fall/spring/academic year is a great choice that you really can't go wrong with. I am very happy with my decision to return to Beijing to study at IUP. 

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