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University of Wyoming

UW -- YNU Partnership

Yantai Normal University -- College of International Studies
University of Wyoming -- College of Education
Adult Education and Instructional Technology
Partnership

Introduction

The College of International Studies at Yantai Normal University (YNU) and the UW College of Education signed a formal agreement in spring 2002 establishing cooperative collegiate exchanges.  Both institutions agreed to promote the following:

  • Short-term academic exchanges of faculty members.
    (At appropriate times, each institution will send faculty members to the other institution to present lectures and participate in other academic pursuits.)
  • Specialty training or exchange programs between the institutions.
    (UW plans to send faculty members, alumni, and students to YNU to participate in five-week English training programs during the summer time and YNU plans to send faculty members to UW for training and guidance.)
  • Student exchanges for internships or other short-term programs.
  • Exchanges of books or other teaching and research materials.

To initiate the exchange program, Jianwei Yuan, assistant to the dean of the International Studies Department at YNU arrived at UW in March, 2002.   Jianwei is spending the rest of the year at UW interacting with faculty, staff, and students in the ALT Department and College of Education, he is the college's first visiting scholar from China.  Next, Donna Amstutz (ALT department head) plans to visit YNU in October, 2002.  But now we approach the heart of the UW YNU partnership: student (and alumni) exchanges.  The UW College of Education and the College of International Studies at YNU are currently seeking interested students and alumni to participate in next summer's five-week English training programs.  In the text that follows we first briefly introduce you to Yantai City and to Yantai Normal University.  Then, we address some specifics about the YNU English training program -- expectations, opportunities, compensation, etc., -- and provide responses to some questions you might have regarding the program.

Yantai, P.R. China

Yantai, situated in the very east tip of the Shandong Peninsula on the coast of the Bohai Sea and Yellow Sea, was established in 1398 as a communication's smoke tower.  The tower rested on one of its coastal hills and provided news of foreign threats and enemies.  Today it has a population of 6.35 million (Yantai City's populations is 1.5 million).  Visit Travel China Guide.com for some additional details:
www.travelchinaguide.com/cityguides/shandong/yantai/.

Yantai boasts of its agreeable climate, with 53.6 degrees (12 degrees Celsius) as its yearly temperature, its azure sky and limpid sea, its abundant seafood (such as sea cucumbers, abalone, and grand prawns), and its tasty local fruits (such as apples, pears, strawberries, grand cherries, grapes, watermelons, apricots, and raspberries). Yantai is the "international grape and grape wine city" in Asia -- so honored in 1987 by the International Grape & Wine Bureau because of its pioneer wine distillery "Changyu" - said to be the first and best in China.  In addition, Yantai's gold yields a quarter of China's total productivity.

Also, there are lots of historic and tourist attractions in the area: the Penglai Pavilion, the largest scale and most well-preserved Mou's Manor, and the memorial hall of Wang Yirong - who first discovered China's "Jia gu wen" (inscription on bones or tortoise shells of the Shang Dynasty, 16th - 11th C BC)

Yantai has a complete communication and transportation system of sea, highways, and airways.  It has over thirty national and international flight routes with over 160 flights per week.  Its harbor welcomes vessels from hundreds of locations both at home and abroad.

Yantai is also famous for its handcrafts, such as drawings, embroidery, stone inscription and paper-cuts.

As one of China's first batch of coastal cities open to the West, Yantai is becoming more and more attractive to visitors from abroad - it is already one of China's strongest and most comprehensive cities.

 


Yantai Normal University

Established in 1958, Yantai Normal University (YNU) is located in the coastal open city of Yantai.  As noted above, Yantai is a dynamic city with beautiful scenery and a very nice climate.  Over forty years of thoughtful development has provided YNU with broad disciplines, high standards, successful and efficient modes of instruction, wide external contacts, strong comprehensive capacity, and huge potential.

YNU has thirteen departments, including thirty undergraduate majors/programs and six Master degree programs.  It has 1,151 faculty and staff members, among whom 351 are professors and associate professors.  As far as number of students, YNU enrolls 16,000 regular (campus) students and 7,500 students who participate in correspondence courses.As a campus, YNU covers sixty-seven hectares with 250,000 square meters of buildings.  It also has a library with a collection of over 800,000 books, eight provincial and school key disciplines and key labs, and thirteen research institutes.

Finally, YNU is the state-level authorized university to host foreign teachers and international students.  Currently twenty foreign teachers and over 200 international students work and study at YNU.

YNU Summer English Training Program

An exciting opportunity exists for UW students and alumni to teach conversational English to Chinese students at YNU during a five-week summer English training program. (Three different groups of Chinese students -- senior high school or college, junior middle school, and elementary -- participate in the institute, to be held July 14-August 15, 2003.) YNU is seeking native English language speakers who have some background in or are preparing to become teachers college students are encouraged to volunteer.

While at YNU, the volunteers will only be expected to teach approximately twenty hours of conversational English classes a week and will have ample time to explore Chinese culture - a special language and culture class will be provided.  Though volunteers are expected to pay transportation costs to and from Yantai (at the time of this writing, round trip fares to Yantai from Denver are approximately $1,000 American dollars), lodging will be free and YNU will pay each volunteer instructor a salary of 2000 yuan RMB which will cover allowance and meals (monthly cost of meals is about 500-600yuan RMB).

Volunteer instructors may be expected to teach two or three different groups of students (30 to 40 students in each class) but instructors shall co-teach with other volunteers so both group size and teaching responsibilities will be shared.

Recruitment for the program begins in the fall (2002) and we strongly encourage anyone interested in participating in next summer's 5-week English training program to contact the ALT Department (Kris Brewer can be reached via email at kbrewer@uwyo.edu, via the mail at UW, ALT Department, Rm 3, College of Education, Laramie, WY 82071, or via the telephone at 307-766-3247) ASAP.

Frequently Asked Questions (responses to questions directly pertaining to volunteer expectations while at YNU are provided by professor Xinshan Ding, Director of Foreign Affairs Division and Dean of International Studies Department at Yantai Normal University)  

Q: How many volunteers are we looking for?  And how will they be selected?

A: Approximately six.  During the fall semester (2002) a number of orientation sessions to the Yantai program will be held in the UW College of Education providing an opportunity to gauge interest and answer questions.  It is then expected that brief interviews with each prospective volunteer will be conducted (this can take place on the telephone) and that selections will be made by December 2002.

Q: If accepted as a volunteer for the 2003 five-week summer English training program at YNU, will UW provide some guidance and training to help me be a successful conversational English instructor and traveler in China?

A: Yes, this training and guidance will be provided by the ALT department and done in cooperation with staff at YNU dates for the guidance and training sessions will be held during Spring term, 2003, and be determined after consultation with volunteers.

Q: How many classes will volunteers be expected to teach? At what levels? And what do the classrooms look like?

A: Volunteers may teach students from three different group levels (addressed above, elementary to adult level) with classes meeting three hours a day, Monday through Friday; volunteers would not be expected to teach more than twenty hours a week.  Each classroom can hold 30-40 students, with rows of chairs and desks.

Q: How much flexibility is there to design curriculum? Is there a textbook?  Who selects the textbook?

A: Volunteers can design their course delivery as they see fit, but the curriculum should mainly follow material covered in the textbooks (available to volunteers during the UW training sessions, spring 2003).  YNU selects textbooks that have a strong emphasis on communication capability; the purpose of the summer English training program is to enhance the listening and speaking ability of the students.  YNU will provide textbooks to volunteers and they should be available during the 2003 Spring training session.  Volunteers will be expected to prepare some teaching material before arriving at YNU also addressed during the Spring training sessions.

Q: How are the English training program students evaluated?  Are they graded?  Or is it a Pass/Fail system?

A: YNU encourages volunteer instructors to test students during each course in a comprehensive way.  Volunteers can either grade the students or not.  It is not a Pass/Fail system, but students strengths and shortcomings should be noted and suggested areas of improvement identified.

Q: How much English As a Second Language preparation to teach are volunteer instructors expected to have?

A: It is great if volunteer instructors have such a certificate but it is quite OK if they do not.  YNU is seeking native English language speakers and College of Education students are strongly encouraged to volunteer and participate in the program.

Q: What will the Department of Adult Learning and Technology, the College of Education at UW, and YNU staffs do to help a volunteer instructor be successful at YNU?

A: To help make this is a successful experience for the volunteer instructor, for UW, and for YNU, it is essential that clear expectations of all responsibilities are identified and followed both in preparation for the visit and while at YNU.  All volunteers should be selected at least six months prior to their arrival at YNU; each volunteer shall receive textbooks and be provided an opportunity to participate in a training program overseen by the Department of Adult Learning & Technology and ideally provided by a Chinese graduate student or visiting scholar at UW familiar with the YNU program. 

Q: When would I need to arrive at YNU?

A: At this time, it is anticipated that volunteers will depart the US on Wednesday, July 9th, arrive in Yantai on Thursday, July 10th, participate in an orientation session at YNU on Friday, July 11th and begin teaching on Monday, July 14th.

Q: Will I have an opportunity to study Chinese language and culture.

A: Yes, YNU has over 200 international students on campus and has a summer Chinese intensive course focusing on Chinese language and culture. A special class of Chinese and culture will be designed for the six UW volunteer instructors in the afternoon and will be free of charge.

Q: Will volunteers have an opportunity to travel about some while in China?

A: During their stay in Yantai, YNU will organize two free local one-day tours including to the Penglai Pavilion and there will also be a Yantai City sightseeing tour shortly after arrival to YNU.  Volunteers will also have a few days to travel prior to departure from China to the US at this time planned for Wednesday, August 20th.

Q: Will I have much free time?

A: Yes, weekends and most afternoons.

Q: How do I get to Yantai City?

A: It is suggested that volunteers travel as a group and fly initially into Beijing, then fly from Beijing to Yantai; someone from YNU will meet the volunteers at the Yantai airport.

Last Updated: August 26, 2003