I was reading a few of the Light Fellowship blogs from previous years, and some seem to have a very no-nonsense style: information about the program curriculum, neighboring area, etc. Not that I won't have my own say about that sort of thing, but I hope that my blogging style won't come off as completely useless or uninformative either when I write about what seems to be less "practical." At least I'll be honest about whatever real issues I find myself dealing with, and anyone who reads this blog will find a reasonably thoughtful perspective related to living/studying abroad.
For that reason, in case anyone is actually reading this blog to learn about IUP or studying/living in East Asia, I'll try to keep my entries fairly coherent and tag them properly.
In particular, I hope that I can give a nuanced account based on my own background as a Chinese American and a Ph.D. student in literature.
During my phone interview, I was told that IUP has had very few heritage speakers as advanced as I am. They may be wrong about that, or perhaps the interviewer was being kind, since I have really shoddy writing skills and talk with the vocabulary of an elementary school student. However, since heritage speakers seem to end up being a minority in these programs, I'm interested in seeing how things will work out--how successfully IUP can manage training heritage speakers with a language background skewed very differently from that of total non-native speakers.
Also, as a Ph.D. student in Japanese literature, I'm interested in seeing the composition of students (undergraduate, graduate, and professional). Are there many crossover students such as myself who come from an academic background NOT centered around Chinese studies? How much hand-holding is there when it comes to dealing with living arrangements, etc.?
Not surprisingly, I'm currently most concerned about the placement exam during the first week at IUP. (T_T)
I would really appreciate placing into 4th- or 5th-year Chinese. Please don't make me sit through basic Chinese classes where it's 50%+ review--I'm sure filling in gaps is important, but right now it's most important for me to increase my vocabulary so I can actually read modern literature. I would love being able to speak impressive Chinese with perfect pronunciation and grammar, but unfortunately, I can't make it first-priority right now. I have to admit that I'm rather relieved to hear that there isn't an emphasis on tingxie 听写, since I think writing characters is a lost cause unless you're actually going to do it regularly on a long-term basis (which I will not be doing in grad. school). Another issue I need to figure out is how I will balance learning traditional/simplified characters, since I'm told that both are used at the program. I'm more familiar with traditional, but of course I would like to be able to at least read simplified fluently.
My plan? I have three weeks for: a copy of 社会与思想 from the ICLP program in Taiwan, which seems to be a 4th-year textbook (I believe they have the same one at IUP, but modified to fit a program being taught in China?), as well as the textbook in simplified from Chinese 153, a dictionary of the most basic 1,000 characters, and light reading that I've picked up. I also should just watch the news while I'm in Taiwan and start reading the news online, but there lies my weakness, since even in English I only go so far as to skim the NYTimes headlines. At an advanced level, language learning also becomes hard because you can get by reasonably well with what you already have, and it's difficult to push yourself to constantly be on the alert to pick up new vocabulary and pay attention to what's going on around you.
Right, I definitely don't obsess over language classes or anything. :) Hmm...I suppose after 5 or so lengthy years of Japanese language instruction, I'm even more determined to get the most out of my classroom time. I definitely do not want to be spending more time than necessary at language programs in the future, since I have enough to do with learning about literature!
For that reason, in case anyone is actually reading this blog to learn about IUP or studying/living in East Asia, I'll try to keep my entries fairly coherent and tag them properly.
In particular, I hope that I can give a nuanced account based on my own background as a Chinese American and a Ph.D. student in literature.
During my phone interview, I was told that IUP has had very few heritage speakers as advanced as I am. They may be wrong about that, or perhaps the interviewer was being kind, since I have really shoddy writing skills and talk with the vocabulary of an elementary school student. However, since heritage speakers seem to end up being a minority in these programs, I'm interested in seeing how things will work out--how successfully IUP can manage training heritage speakers with a language background skewed very differently from that of total non-native speakers.
Also, as a Ph.D. student in Japanese literature, I'm interested in seeing the composition of students (undergraduate, graduate, and professional). Are there many crossover students such as myself who come from an academic background NOT centered around Chinese studies? How much hand-holding is there when it comes to dealing with living arrangements, etc.?
Not surprisingly, I'm currently most concerned about the placement exam during the first week at IUP. (T_T)
I would really appreciate placing into 4th- or 5th-year Chinese. Please don't make me sit through basic Chinese classes where it's 50%+ review--I'm sure filling in gaps is important, but right now it's most important for me to increase my vocabulary so I can actually read modern literature. I would love being able to speak impressive Chinese with perfect pronunciation and grammar, but unfortunately, I can't make it first-priority right now. I have to admit that I'm rather relieved to hear that there isn't an emphasis on tingxie 听写, since I think writing characters is a lost cause unless you're actually going to do it regularly on a long-term basis (which I will not be doing in grad. school). Another issue I need to figure out is how I will balance learning traditional/simplified characters, since I'm told that both are used at the program. I'm more familiar with traditional, but of course I would like to be able to at least read simplified fluently.
My plan? I have three weeks for: a copy of 社会与思想 from the ICLP program in Taiwan, which seems to be a 4th-year textbook (I believe they have the same one at IUP, but modified to fit a program being taught in China?), as well as the textbook in simplified from Chinese 153, a dictionary of the most basic 1,000 characters, and light reading that I've picked up. I also should just watch the news while I'm in Taiwan and start reading the news online, but there lies my weakness, since even in English I only go so far as to skim the NYTimes headlines. At an advanced level, language learning also becomes hard because you can get by reasonably well with what you already have, and it's difficult to push yourself to constantly be on the alert to pick up new vocabulary and pay attention to what's going on around you.
Right, I definitely don't obsess over language classes or anything. :) Hmm...I suppose after 5 or so lengthy years of Japanese language instruction, I'm even more determined to get the most out of my classroom time. I definitely do not want to be spending more time than necessary at language programs in the future, since I have enough to do with learning about literature!
I look forward to your aims for the blog. IUP is generally very flexible (with little hand holding), and the two on ones will really let you interject yourself.
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