The Associated Colleges in China program, which will conduct two sessions in1996, is being administered at Hamilton by Hong Gang Jin, associate professorof Chinese. Professors Neil Kubler at Williams College and Der Lin Chao atOberlin College will serve as advisors. Additional liberal arts colleges alsohave expressed interest in ACC, although the program is open to any collegestudent who has completed at least one year of Chinese language instruction.
"We are pleased to offer American students a rigorous, highly individualizedand highly interactive program for the instruction of Chinese," said HamiltonDean of the Faculty Bobby Fong. "Increasing student interest and demand forsuch a program, coupled with the expertise we have on staff, encouraged us totake this step now."
The Associated Colleges in China program will be hosted by the CapitalUniversity of Business and Economics in Beijing. Course content for thesessions will focus on issues in China, but the teaching methods and materialsused in the program will be developed primarily in the U.S. Additional facultyfor the program will be native Chinese instructors who successfully complete ateaching training workshop administered by ACC.
A summer (June 28-Aug. 23) and a fall (Sept. 2-Dec. 9) program are scheduledfor 1996. The deadline to apply for either or both sessions is March 1, 1996.Enrollment is limited to 30.
The ACC's standard curriculum will focus on studying Chinese throughindividualized instruction with a high level of participation and interaction.In addition to language instruction, students will explore Chinese society andculture.
Jin said the ACC program offers several unique features, including small-group drill sessions of no more than five students, two one-hour individualsessions for each student every day, a weekly language practicum for studentsto use their Chinese with local citizens, and a pledge to speak only Chinesewhile enrolled in the ACC program. Students will be housed at CapitalUniversity and will be matched with the families of university faculty memberswho have agreed to serve as host families.
Much of the ACC program, which awards Hamilton College credit, is modeledafter several highly regarded programs, including those run by Hamilton since1957 in Paris and since 1974 in Madrid.
"This program builds on the experiences we have gained over many years ofadministering our distinguished language programs in France and Spain," Fongsaid. "Like those long-time programs, we expect ACC will become thepre-eminent language instruction program in China."
The cost for the program, which includes registration, tuition, room,textbooks and weekend excursions, is $3,950 for the summer session, $5,900 forthe fall session, and $9,500 for both sessions. Fong said the program will beself-supporting financially.
For more information about the Associated Colleges in China Program contactHong Gang Jin at 315-859-4778 (office) or acchina@hamilton.edu (e-mail).
