The University of Massachusetts Confucius Institute

at the University of Massachusetts Boston

Programs

Weekend Classes Start March 2, 2013

The University of Massachusetts Confucius Institute at UMass Boston offers weekend Chinese language and culture classes on Saturday mornings at the following levels.  The price for ten weeks of class appears below.

  • Chinese Culture - From Past & Present: $100
  • Chinese Language for Beginners, Level II: $260
  • Chinese Language for Beginners, Level I: $260

Register by February 28, 2013 using this registration form. For more information, contact Baifeng.Sun or 617.287.7291.

Chinese Culture: Past & Present

As an ancient country undergoing massive social changes since the late 70’s, China is drawing attention from the world. This course is an introduction to 5000 years of Chinese culture and offers perspectives on how Confucianism, Taoism, Buddhism and other philosophies of life have deeply influenced Chinese culture.

PRFTRN 122 sec 01S #1645
China: From Past to Present
Saturdays, 3/3-5/11 from 9-11 a.m
McCormack: 3rd Floor, Room 130
$100.00
Instructor: Shixian Sheng

Mandarin Chinese for Beginners (Level I)

Chinese for Beginners I is a non-credit course for students with little or no background in Mandarin. The goal of the course is to teach basic oral and survival level of communication skills as well as some introduction of Chinese culture. You will learn Chinese pronunciation, tones, basic grammar, simple handwritings and build cultural awareness.

PRFTRN 124 SEC 01S #1711
Chinese Language Class Beginner I
3/2-5/11
Saturdays, 9:00-11:00 a.m.
McCormack: 3rd Floor, Room 128
Nancy Ming Yang
$260

Mandarin Chinese for Beginners (Level II)

Chinese for Beginners II is a non-credit course for students who have some background in Mandarin or who wish to learn more in reading, writing in Chinese language. You will learn more skills in speaking reading and writing in communicating in Chinese.

PRFTRN 125 SEC 01S #1712
Chinese Language Class Beginner II
3/2-5/11
Saturdays, 11:30 a.m. – 1:30 p.m.
McCormack: 3rd Floor, Room 129
Nancy Ming Yang
$260

Cultural Exchange

To deepen cultural awareness between the U.S. and China, the University of Massachusetts Confucius Institute offers students, teachers and community members many opportunities for cultural exchange: 

“The Confucius Institute has enriched the university’s growing connection with China. Our collaboration has contributed significantly to our understanding of the Chinese culture.”

Kathleen Teehan
Vice Chancellor for Enrollment Management
Director, University of Massachusetts Confucius Institute at UMass Boston

Teacher Training Programs

To meet the growing demand for licensed teachers of Chinese, The Confucius Institute and the UMass Boston China Program Center offer an annual teacher training program. More than 130 local Mandarin language teachers gathered on the UMass Boston campus to participate in the Twentieth Annual New England Chinese Language Teacher Network Fall Conference.

The conference focuses on the best practices in teaching Mandarin, American cultural awareness training, and professional development workshops for teachers of Chinese.

China Program Center

In addition to teacher training conferences, the China Program Center at the University of Massachusetts Boston provides entrepreneurs, political leaders, and academics with the knowledge of how to do business in China and specific tools needed to build successful American-Chinese joint ventures. The center offers programs for American and Chinese audiences plus trade missions, government exchanges, and joint academic ventures.

Leadership Conferences

More than 40 principals and administrators from local Chinese heritage schools gathered at UMass Boston for The First Greater Boston Area Weekend Chinese School Conference.

Heritage schools have historically provided Chinese immigrant children with Chinese language and culture instruction on weekends. In one Massachusetts heritage school, attendance has grown from 35 students to 500 students in the past several years. Over the past two decades, non-Asian Americans are also embracing the study of Chinese in growing numbers.

Chinese Bridge Speech Contests

The Confucius Institute sponsors and hosts two highly-competitive Chinese Bridge Speech Contests on the UMass Boston campus each year:

March 23, 2013  Contest for university students from the New England area from 11:30 a.m. - 5:30 p.m. Free and open to the public. Join us. Agenda.

April 7, 2013        Contest for high school students from the entire United States from 11:30 a.m. - 5:30  p.m. Free and open to the public. Join us.

To see highlights and the winners from Harvard, MIT, Brown, Northeastern, UMass Amherst and UMass Boston, see our 2012 University Speech Contest brochure.

To see our high school winners CA, MI, OH, NJ, NY, HI, and other states, see our 2012 High School Speech Contest brochure. 

Speeches are generally between two to three minutes in length on a subject such as "I Like Chinese Language and Culture." A talent show performance of no more than four minutes related to Chinese culture is also part of the competition.

 

The above video is a slideshow set to music.

High schools contestants compete in one of three groups:

  • Beginner: ninth and tenth grade students who have studied Chinese for less than two years
  • Intermediate: eleventh and twelfth graders who have studied Chinese for less than four years
  • Advanced: those have studied Chinese for more than four years or have stayed in China for more than six months

Study Abroad Programs and Cultural Exchanges

Three University College Credit Courses that include travel to China

The Confucius Institute in Boston awards scholarships to study abroad in China each summer. Course participants receive unparalleled access to Chinese leaders in business and education during visits to Beijing, Shanghai, Shenzhen and Inner Mongolia, in some cases.

The scholarships cover all expenses incurred in China including hotel, food, and transportation and are paid for by Hanban, the executive body of the Confucius Institute headquartered in Beijing. These tours of China bring students, educators, and key business people together to deepen cultural awareness through direct experience and immersion.

1. Entrepreneurship in the U.S. and China

For six consecutive summers, 20-35 College of Management MBA students have participated in this summer course. UMass Boston Professor Raymond Liu taught this course for the past three years.

2. China Today: Culture, History, and Society

For three consecutive years, UMass Boston Professor Weili Ye and faculty members for various Chinese universities have taken students to China for two weeks including visits to the Great Wall and the Forbidden City.

3. Educational Change in China and the United States

This comparative study tour is the newest in the series of summer seminars offered by University College. UMass Boston Professors Wenfan Yan and Jack Leonard compare the educational systems and educational reforms in China and the U.S.

Non Credit Courses

The Osher Lifelong Learning Institute (OLLI) at UMass Boston, a membership-abased community of mature adults, offers many non-credit courses. "Learn Modern Chinese History through Documentary Movies" is a popular course taught by Wanli Hu, director of the China Program Center at UMass Boston.