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Program Highlights -
Curriculum
 Yes, learning a new language takes effort, time
and inspiration. But we help you in every step of the way. Our
courses are designed to be innovative, exciting and highly
practical. Minds Abroad’s
tailored curriculum aims to make courses as exciting
and educational as possible We frequently employ
multi-media, regular short
trips off campus to shop or arrange you to talk with locals. This
will give you the chance to practice Chinese in a real-life
situation. Our goal is to
help students develop the skills they
need to converse in Chinese and have a more complete interactive
experience with Chinese people and Chinese culture. Naturally,
this drives us to design courses which can produce tangible
results and cultivate people who then will be able to apply their
language skills to practical purposes. In addition, comfortable
and homelike classrooms will make you feel very much at ease.
Minds Abroad’s High
School Summer Programs
Our summer programs are open to high
school students between
13-18 years
old. We have an Early Summer Program
between June 27 - July 18
and a Late
Summer Program between July
26 - August 14 2011. Program duration
for both is
3 weeks. In these programs we
try to strike an ideal balance between language learning,
extracurricular activities and travel.
We take care of everything from accommodations to meals to
chaperoning students in excursions.
 Highlights of our High School Summer
Programs:
Ø
3 weeks long, visit 10
cities in China
Ø
Held twice a
summer:
o
Mid-June à Mid-July
o
Mid-July à Mid-August
Ø
Students can attend
both sessions or only one session
Ø
$ 2800/session
Ø
Language immersion
Ø
Educational tours
around Yunnan and Beijing
Ø
Culturally immersive
activities like:
o
volunteering or
o
extracurricular
activities like Tai Chi, Calligraphy and Cookery
Ø
We take care of
everything from accommodations to meals to chaperoning students in
excursions.
 What
Will It Be Like
Your high school summer break can be as
colorful as an exotic festival. Yunnan province in Southwest China
with its temperate capital of Kunming will surprise you with its
fantastic geographical location and diverse ethnic composition.
Picking up Mandarin Chinese in Kunming, you will come to discover
a modern city built on ethnic cultures that spread across UNESCO
approved world heritage sites like the ancient water city of
Lijiang where the "river winds through every house and willows
weep before every family", or Tibetan retreats in Shangri-la
County on the Old Tea-Horse Caravan Road.
We take you through paths less travelled, where
you can tour a wondrous landscape of snow capped Himalayan
mountains, verdant tropical greenery and a few of China’s biggest
lakes, all in one province. In addition to developing "survival"
Chinese skills or expanding Mandarin skills you have already
developed, you can cruise on Erhai lake or hike alongside the
massive Tiger Leaping Gorge, eat a Naxi hotpot or watch the
popular Dian opera, learn Chinese calligraphy or Tai chi boxing —
the options are novel and endless.
Through our language immersion, you will gain
fluency in one the most popular languages of today while
experiencing a unique culture preserved in the life and practices
of 26 ethnic groups that call this part of the world,
home. But if you long for a piece of home during your stay, you
will not have to go far. Like all of China’s rapidly modernizing
cities, Kunming has nearly all the modern comforts we have come to
expect in the West. There are large indoor and outdoor shopping
centers, art galleries, quiet cafes to sip coffee and read a book
in, and even a few jazz bars here and there. If you want to, you
can get a hamburger and fries for lunch, shop at Luis Vuitton in
the afternoon and then stop by Haagen -Dazs for an ice cream cone
afterwards. Learn
more
in our sample program.
During 4 Weekdays (Mon-Thurs), Study Chinese, Volunteer and
take part in Immersive Activities
Classes (Mon-Thurs) are held
for about 4 hours in the morning and in the afternoon, we arrange
for students to interact with the local community through
volunteering activities like teaching English to underprivileged
children or taking part in nature conservancy projects in Yunnan.
In
the evenings we arrange for Chinese extracurricular activities
like tai chi boxing, calligraphy, cookery classes all of which is
part of the same class schedule. Learn
more.
 During 3-day Weekends
(Thurs afternoon - Sunday night), Explore Yunnan
and its
Neighbors:
- Weekend 1 -
Visit the ancient towns of Dali and Lijiang, hike to Tiger Leaping
Gorge, and visit a small Naxi village Nuoyu nearby. Return flight
to Kunming on Sunday night.
- Weekend 2 - Fly to Tengchong/Heshun, a
traditional Han Chinese village, experience traditional Chinese
life and culture by staying with a rural homestay family, then to
Dehong/Ruili to get an experience of Dai villages. Return to
Sunday night Kunming
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Weekend 3 - Fly to Beijing and visit
landmark sites of Tiananmen Square, the Forbidden City and the
Great Wall. Visit Taoist temples, royal palaces and then fly home
to the US. Check more details in the sample itinerary.
Programs Include:
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Comfortable apartment or homestay
accommodations
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All 3 meals of the day (Breakfast, Lunch
and Dinner)
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24/7 emergency service
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Cultural activities and excursions
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Beginner to advanced level classes
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Lively and varied teaching techniques
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Qualified and experienced teachers
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Airport pick-up and drop-off
Programs exclude:
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