CityU students from Beijing study abroad at the Bellevue campus
By Melissa Hoyos
Communications Specialist, City University of Seattle
Imagine moving to a new country with little knowledge of the area or spoken language. With the bare essentials covered - food, shelter, clothing - other questions pop into mind: “Where’s the closest store? How do I find a bus? Where should I open a bank account?”
Student Lin Sun
Now imagine being a college sophomore.
Nine Chinese exchange students face this challenge as they begin their first year at City University of Seattle’s Bellevue campus. The students - all visiting for three years from the University of International Business and Economics (UIBE) in Beijing - wrap up fall quarter this month in their new city. They are the first group of UIBE students to enroll in the new program and move to the United States to pursue degrees.
Together, they’re learning English, bicycling around Bellevue and making personal connections they hope to maintain when they return home to China. For them, the experience is a priceless lesson in American culture.
“The people (are) very warm,” said Student Wenrui Fang, 19, of her American teachers.
ESL teachers Susan Spencer and Abram Bergstrom with Student Wenrui Fang (center).
Fang and her UIBE classmates recently attended a special breakfast organized by ESL teachers Susan Spencer and Abram Bergstrom as well as Lana Zaher, CityU of Seattle English Language Programs Faculty and Interim Director. CityU staff and faculty mingled with students, in part, to help them practice their English conversation skills. Students shared their experiences and adjustments they’ve made since moving to Bellevue.
“They are on their own, away from their parents for the first time and doing pretty well,” Zaher says.
According to the program agreement between CityU and UIBE, the students will spend most of their three years here solidifying English skills and take courses to earn their Bachelor of Science in Business Administration (BSBA) degrees. The bachelor’s program, also known as the 1+3 exchange program, may choose an emphasis in International Management, Project Management or General Management. Prior to moving here, the students completed 45-credits at UIBE.
UIBE and ESL students along with their teachers gather at a recent breakfast group meeting.
Yanan Xu, CityU China program director, says the university also helped students secure their temporary visas from the Embassy of the United States.
Student Lin Sun, also known as Michael, says he enrolled in the program to learn about a different culture and “the American way to solve problems.” The 21-year-old hopes to move back to Beijing when he’s finished with school and possibly work in a management position with the Chinese government.
Sun lives with other male UIBE students in a Bellevue apartment that CityU helped them rent. Fang and her female UIBE classmates have the same arrangement. All the students use bicycles to get around the city.
Hills often a present challenge for grocery shopping and other errands, says Fang with a giggle, who limits her supermarket trips to once a week.
While on campus, students spend several hours practicing their English with Spencer and her assistant Bergstrom. The two work as a team, encouraging students to improve their reading, speaking and listening skills through current events, theatrical skits and random vocabulary oral quizzes. Lessons keep in line with the university’s School of Management format and curriculum, Spencer says.
The teachers recently divided the UIBE students and their other ESL classmates into families of four or five for a budget exercise. Students then created a list of fixed and flexible expenses that they had to balance, which included mortgage or rental payments and groceries allowances among other items.
“The whole point of it was to think of money in America…how to budget their money in this very difficult economy,” says Bergstrom, who enforces English-only dialogue.
Says Spencer: “There was active conversation from each group. Then when he (Abram) put them into families, they had a ball, arguing about issues just like real families do.”
Outside of the classroom, some students say they miss their families but they hope their time abroad helps them land a profitable job back in Beijing.
Says Zaher of the transition: “They are just happy kids…trying to get adjusted.”