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Student Experience

 

Calvin's Asian studies program offers multiple options to gain experience outside the traditional classroom setting. From various off-campus programs to internships, there are many opportunities you can take advantage of to enhance your learning experience.

Conversation groups

A significant part of studying a language is learning to speak it—which is why Calvin is committed to giving you as many opportunities as possible to practice. As a student studying Asian languages at Calvin, you will attend regular conversation group sessions with an advanced student leader. Conversation groups are held on a weekly basis and are arranged in class.

Live and learn If you're studying an Asian language, you may choose to live in an on-campus apartment with Calvin students who are native speakers of your language of study, along with advanced students of that language.

Off campus programs

The Hubers Asian studies program offers you various for-credit opportunities for travel to China, Japan, and Korea. There, you'll improve your communication skills by creating relationships with the people whose language you are studying.

Go abroad

Internships

The Asian Studies Program can arrange for any of our outstanding Chinese or Japanese Language majors to do an English-teaching experience in either China or Japan. Summer interns would have to pay for their own airfare, but we would attempt to arrange homestays with Chinese or Japanese families, so that housing and some meals would be covered. Students doing such an internship would, however, have to pay for some of their meals as well as other living expenses.

Summer interns would have to pay for their own airfare, but we would attempt to arrange homestays with Chinese or Japanese families, so that housing and some meals would not have to be paid. Students doing such an internship would, however, have to pay for some of their meals as well as other living expenses.

In the past our Japan summer interns have spent the month of August in beautiful Hikone, Japan, a castle town of around 100,000 people on the shores of Lake Biwa. Here they will do homestays with Japanese families while leading small conversation groups in English with Japanese people of various age groups.

Previous China summer interns have spent most of the month of July teaching English to groups of Chinese junior high school students in the Beijing area, where they are housed in a hotel near the school at which they have taught.

Contact us for more information. Please note that these internships are limited to students at Calvin University who are majoring in either Chinese or Japanese.

Department activities

Broaden your knowledge of Asian culture by attending one of the department's cultural events, held at various times throughout the year. For more information, check the events listed on our homepage.