My experience at SIAS International University (in Henan, China)

[haoyu]

大家好,

By way of introduction, I was active on Chinese-forums back in 2013-2014 (mostly on the CSC forums).  I had applied for a CGS (Chinese Government Scholarship), which in the end I did not get.  In mid-2014 I dropped off the internet due to a broken heart at not receiving the CGS (and due to some personal/family circumstances).

 

Nevertheless, in the fall of 2014, I was able to get some financial assistance to attend a university in Henan, where I spent two semesters as a language student.  When I returned in 2015, I promised Roddy that I would do a write-up for my university in China.  Much to my chagrin, I am just now posting this, over a year later.

 

My time at SIAS

In 2014, I enrolled as a language student at SIAS International University.  SIAS (not an acronym) is part of Zhengzhou University, but is located outside the city of Zhengzhou in Xinzheng.  Boasting a population of 600,000 people, Xinzheng has a "small-town" feel, with a friendly local population.  Being outside a major city, Xinzheng is also free of some of the major city amenities (no subway, train stop, etc.).

 

I was told that SIAS has one of the highest ratio of foreign English teachers to student ratio of any university in China. 

All freshmen and sophomores are required to take oral English, which is almost exclusively taught by native English speakers.  (There are over 150 foreign faculty and over 30,000 students.)

 

SIAS is a private university with a unique value-proposition for Chinese students - students enrolled in one of their programs can earn both a Chinese degree and an American degree (through a partnership with Fort Hays State University in Kansas).   (The only catch is that those students pay American tuition prices.)

 

Of course, I was there for Chinese, not English.  To be honest, I didn't pick SIAS because of language rankings.  I hadn't heard of them  until a friend who knew a friend… told me.  However, after enrolling and going through the first year of their language program, I became very impressed with the quality of their teachers and instruction.

 

Teachers and Education

My teachers were pretty amazing.  Most of them had a master's degree in how to teach Chinese to foreigners.  This was useful in how they could help beginning students from different countries.  (For example, they could tell, based on what country you were from, what initials, finals, or tones you would struggle with.)  It also seemed that they had a constant awareness of what words we had and hadn't learned yet - and that they adjusted the their oral vocabulary to match.  When I arrived, I tested halfway between the beginner and intermediate level, so I started in the absolute beginner class.  The first few weeks consisted of pinyin review and basic vocabulary, but by the second month, I had to work hard to keep up.  Classes started off in English at the beginning of the semester, with Chinese vocabulary mixed in as we learned it.  By the third month, most of the class was taught in Chinese, and by the second semester, English was very rarely heard.

 

We had a typical schedule of 口语，听力，阅读，汉子 and a couple 文化 classes.  Class sizes were around 15 students for the core classes and maybe 30 students for the culture classes.  The culture classes, which were mandatory, included Kung-fu, calligraphy (fall semester), folk songs, and Chinese painting (sprint semester).

 

Dorms and International Students

There were about 200 international students at the school: 4 from the US and UK with the rest from Asia (mostly Kyrgyzstan, Indonesia, Mongolia, Laos, Bangladesh, etc.).  My first semester, I lived in a 4-person room in the International Dorm.  The second semester, I received special permission to live in immersion housing with Chinese roommates.  (This really helped me with my language learning, not so much because I was speaking more Chinese, as because I was listening to less English in the dorms.)

 

All foreign students were required to participate in various activities.  This included the annual week-long international culture week (with performances, ethnic food, crafts, games, etc.), school floats for homecoming, etc.  Since each country was expected to be represented, this meant a higher burden on those students with fewer classmates from their country.  Outside of required activities, I also joined a couple different student organizations (although dropped out of a couple once the course load became heavier).  In the second semester, I participated in a Chinese speaking competition (得了第二名）, and a non-free HSK class.  I took the HSK IV in May, after a year of study, and scored 262/300. 

 

Language Outcome

I mentioned earlier that I had tested between the beginner and intermediate level.  My language background prior to arriving at SIAS consisted of 3 different language classes in the US (all native teachers), and a little bit of Rosetta Stone.  Despite learning pinyin and some basic vocabulary, when I first arrived at SIAS in the fall, I had trouble forming a sentence or understanding very simple instructions.   So for me, my Chinese education really began at SIAS.  After just one year of education, I can say that I met or exceeded all of my expectations for language learning in this period.

 

Here are a couple videos:

Annual candlelighting ceremony for incoming freshman - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fZHJxGTk6_Y

Promotion video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QfXCdsJH0Yk

 

Here are some photos of the campus:

 

西班牙区： (Dorms)

 

Some fountains that would play to synchronized music.

 

The administration building (back view)

 

Rush-hour traffic on the street outside the school gate:

 

The international dorm (also housed Chinese students since there weren't enough Int'l students)

欧洲街 - European Street (small shops and some dorms)

 

Administration Building (front side)

International Dorm (inside view)

bathroom in International Dorm:

[roddy]

Thanks, Haoyu! I've added this to the index. If you can't get the photos uploaded email them to me and I'll do it. 

[murrayjames]

I spent a week on the SIAS campus back in 2010. Some American colleagues of mine organized a music camp for the SIAS students. I flew to Zhengzhou and participated.

 

I had a good impression of the school. Nice campus. Teachers were friendly and the event was smoothly run. The music students had great attitudes, too, and really appreciated having us there. They spoke decent English—unusual for Henan.

 

One thing I distinctly remember... the dorms only supplied hot water at certain times of the day, so students had to plan their showers ahead of time.

[haoyu]

That seems to align with my experiences.  And yes on the hot water.  When I was in the dorms it was on 5/6-8am and 5-11pm.  (So you don't sleep in too late if you want a hot shower in the morning!)