High School Programs

Our Program

Our High School Programs are designed for students ages 14 to 18 interested in living with a homestay while studying Mandarin. We select only those families who both meet our standard requirements and house a resident teenager. We find that teenagers especially most comfortably converse with their peers. We always want the doors of communication open between our students and their host families so we do our best to make them feel as at home as possible. Students also can rely on our Beijing staff at any time, day or night, should they need support. These programs feature a variety of activities including extracurriculars, volunteer events, and weekend excursions organized by Lotus and our host families. The programs available to high school learners include our Small Class Program, our University Program for High School Students, One-On-One Tutoring, and the Summer Study and Travel Program.
**Please note if you would like to travel outside of Beijing we highly suggest our Summer Study and Travel Program.

High School Small Class Program

With a maximum of 5 students per class, our High School Small Class Program provides students an intensive, study-focused atmosphere for quick and effective learning. Our small class instructors hold teaching positions at renowned institutions such as BLCU, Tsinghua University, Peking University, and BNU. The program includes 20 lessons per week Monday through Friday. Students will be placed into the appropriate class according to their Chinese level. More than an academic in class learning experience, the High School Small Class Program also features a variety of activities, including cultural activities, volunteer events, and weekend excursions. This program is open to all levels over every summer.

University Program for High School Students at BLCU/BNU

Beijing Language and Culture University (BLCU) is the only university in China whose main function is to teach the Chinese language and culture to foreign students. Over the last several years, more than 20,000 foreign students have graduated from BLCU. BLCU is by far the largest and most popular university to study Chinese for foreign students. The HSK Test (Chinese TOEFL) is administered and developed by BLCU. Each weekday morning for four hours each day (with breaks), students will join a Chinese Immersion Program class at BCLU. The classes offer lectures on Mandarin as well as instruction on written and oral communication. There are no placement tests, but students will be graded according to completion of homework and attendance. Student credit transfer is available if the students' home university accepts it. The university also provides after-class electives.

Beijing Normal University (BNU) boasts 27 schools and departments, and 12 institutes. The University pioneers various kinds of scientific research and talent cultivation, authorization units for PhDs, and personal academic achievements throughout the country. The College of Chinese Language and Culture has an excellent teaching system. New students will be placed in an appropriate class after a placement test. Students will attend 20 hours per week and classes are held from 8:00 to 12:00, Monday through Friday. There are nine levels and four grades (see below). Additional information is provided upon registration.

One-On-One Tutoring

Our One-On-One Tutoring Program is flexible and held all year round. It offers participants the opportunity to learn Chinese, when, where and how they desire. Our tutors are native Chinese university graduates with at least two years experience in teaching Chinese as a foreign language. Most of them teach at renowned universities in China such as Beijing Language and Culture University, Tsinghua University, Peking University and Beijing Normal University. They will customize individual study plans based on students' Chinese levels and desired study fields. Based on the textbook, the tutor can also conduct the class outside the classroom in real communication environments. For instance, if you want to take your tutor on a trip to the supermarket to apply a lesson to grocery shopping, feel free. Your tutor is not only your instructor but also your outlet to experiencing China like a local.

Host Families

We specially select host families with resident teenagers to house our high school students. As a fully integrated family member you will eat meals, watch TV, shop, and experience daily life with your "mom, dad and brother or sister."

Though you will be living in China, you still will enjoy all the comforts of home, as all the convenient living facilities, including a TV, DVD player, computer with DSL access, refrigerator, washing machine, western toilets and hot water will be available. In addition, each student will have his/her own room, fully furnished with a bed, desk, wardrobe and air-conditioning. We choose families located in communities that have public facilities like pools, tennis courts and gymnasiums. Our families are very happy to accompany you to any of the available facilities and to help with registration if necessary. We also make sure your family is located no more than thirty minutes by bus or subway away from the campus or place of study.

For your safety, each of our host families undergoes a thorough interview and security check by our staff. Remember, the host families are there to assist you. Should you need anything from a hand with homework assignments to help buying a bicycle, your family is there to help. The Lotus staff in Beijing is also on call 24 hours a day should you request any help.

Electives, Excursions and Volunteering

In addition to in-class learning, our high school programs also feature a variety of activities, including cultural excursions, volunteer events, and free electives. We offer these options to expose students to the customs, history and currently realities of China.

Traditional Entertainment
Students visit classical performance theatres to view an array of customary spectacles including a Peking Opera performance and Chinese acrobatics.

Martial Arts
Students learnBasic positions and routines of contemporary Chinese wushu (martial arts). For instance, during our Tai Ji Chuan workshop the Master teaches his students how to hone circular motions, which mirror the shape of the yin yang. Our teachers have been practicing since childhood and deeply enjoy sharing the philosophies and hands on lessons with enthusiastic students.

Panel discussion
Students participate in panel discussions on domestic and global issues. Chinese and foreign students of similar ages test their understanding of the world, enhance their foreign language abilities and also deeply grasp other culture's viewpoints.

Cooking Classes
Lotus opens it kitchens to students interested in learning how to make traditional vegetarian Chinese dishes. The variety of vegetables, fruits and soy available in China makes being a vegetarian extremely easy (and delicious) here. In addition to being able to enjoy their cooking efforts after the lesson, many students bring recipes back home to give their friends and family a "taste of China".

Weekend Excursions
Students tour famous historical sites in and around Beijing. These include the Great Wall, Tiananmen Square, the Forbidden City, Wangfujing Street, the Lama Temple, the Confucian Temple and the Hutongs and Badachu Park.

Our Beijing staff does more than inform students of the relevance of these sites to Chinese history. We believe in hands-on experience and applied learning to make the most the experience. For instance, during the Lama Temple Tour we teach our students about the significance of lighting incense and then let them test it out in front of one of the many Buddhas or Bodhisattvas.

Volunteering

As a non-profit organization, Lotus sponsors and organizes a number of volunteer activities. By exercising such values as filial piety and compassion, we hope to not only raise our students' awareness of world issues, but to encourage them to become contributing members of society. In Chinese we call it 舍得 (she de), meaning you give and you get. Our ultimate mission is to bridge lasting friendships across ethnic, economical and cultural boundaries. We offer a variety of volunteering options including visits to a Senior Center in the suburbs of Beijing, as well as arrangements to teach at local schools for immigrants.

He Bei Senior Center, Beijing (suburb)
Each semester we organize a volunteer trip to He Bei Lang Fan Yang Shui Wu Xiang Senior Center in the suburbs of Beijing. Lotus arranges this excursion with two objectives in mind. First, we hope to widen the world perspectives of our students by giving them a glimpse of how others live. Second, we hope to promote the Confucian ideal of 孝道 (xiao dao) orfilial piety; that is to be dutiful to one's parents and treat elderly people with a great deal of respect, an ingrained value in traditional China.

Tai Zhou Wu Immigrant Schools, Beijing
The Lotus volunteers at the Tai Wu Zhou Immigrant Schools can be found doing anything from drawing pictures to playing music to teaching English. The kids are receptive to just about anything as seeing a new (especially foreign) face brings them great happiness. The school was established to help immigrant children of poor working families who cannot afford to send their children to government subsidized schools. Teachers and volunteers utilize the limited resources to make the place as stimulating as possible for young learners.

Schedule & Fees

University Program

Fee includes:

• Registration and all the paper work (including supporting documents for visa application) before and after you arrive in China.
• Tuition fee and textbooks
• Homestay in a family with teenager of similar age. The homestay includes a private bedroom, daily breakfast & dinner, computer and DSL service.
• Welcome dinner and other stuff prepared by the host family.
• Cultural activities, volunteer events and weekend excursions in Beijing.
• Airport pick-up and drop-off upon arrival and departure
• Welcome Package, which includes: Chinese-English-Chinese dictionary, map of Beijing, phone card of 100RMB and a mobile SIM card, etc.
• 24 hours Assistance and supervision, provided by our on-site staff.

Small Class Program

Fee includes:

• Registration and all the paper work before and after you arrive in China.
• Tuition fee and textbooks.
• Homestay in a family with a teenager of similar age. Homestay includes a private bedroom, daily breakfast & dinner, computer and DSL internet service.
• Welcome dinner and other items prepared by the host family.
• Cultural activities, volunteer events and weekend excursions in Beijing.
• Airport pick-up and drop-off upon arrival and departure.
• Welcome Package, which includes: Chinese-English-Chinese dictionary, map of Beijing, phone card of 100RMB and a mobile SIM card, etc.
• 24 hours Assistance and supervision, provided by our on-site staff.

One-On-One Tutoring

Fee includes:

• Homestay in a family with a teenager of similar age.
• 20 hours/week personal tutoring.
• Private bedroom, daily breakfast and dinner, computer and DSL service.
• Welcome dinner prepared by your host family.
• Excursions and activities organized by Lotus.
• Airport pick-up and drop-off.
• 24-hour assistance provided by our Beijing staff.
• Welcome Package: Chinese English dictionary, map of Beijing, phone card of 100RMB.

Notice: If you join the One-On-One Tutoring Program (not in combination with any other program but rather by itself) between June 25 and August 25 you will be charged an additional USD$200 as all activities listed are guaranteed to be included. However, if you choose to hire a One-On-One tutor at any other time, though there is no additional fee, we cannot guarantee ALL of the activities listed will be included. Activity availability is dependent upon other students' participation as well as seasonal schedules. Lotus can provide the most up-to-date information regarding activity availability about 3-4 weeks prior to the beginning of the Lotus participant's program.

Student Feedback

Brent and Kyle with their host families

Brent Smith, Managing Director of Developing Bank of Singapore, joined Lotus 2 weeks summer program in 2007; his son Kyle Smith, from Singapore American School, joined Lotus 3 weeks high school program.

I highly recommend Lotus, and had an excellent experience. I found the program to be very well organized, all of the teachers both the university and through the one on one tutorial program that was set up from Lotus were excellent. The other program, the extra curriculum programs set up by the Lotus was fun and instructional. And I had a very good time; I felt the program was well put together and I would recommend it. Like many other parents of a high school student, my wife and I were apprehensive that first about our son being in Beijing, lucky I was able to be with him for part of the time, I am very happy to say that Lotus has a very safe, well-organized, and age-appropriate program for teenagers that I would recommend, I feel very happy about it. Do home stay has been an intriguing part of the program for me, living with the Chinese family not only practicing a language outside the classroom, but actually being a part of the culture, learning new words was a very exciting and very important part of the program, and I had a lot of fun doing it, and would recommend to others.

	See Video Testimonial of Mr. Brent Smith

	Jillian Schacher studies in Newton South High School, USA, joined 2-week one-on-one high school program in 2007. See video Testimonial of Jillian Schacher
	Carissa Blossom joined Lotus 2007 one-on-one high school program,study at The Taft School, Singapore.
	Jared Bard from Yale Philips Academy Andover, USA,joined Lotus 2007 Academic Year program at Beijing Normal University.

Laura & Meredith with their host family (host wife and children)

Laura & Meredith, mother and daughter, from USA, joined Lotus One on One program in summer 2006.

Dear Lotus Educational Foundation, Thank you for the wonderful experience my daughter and I had in Beijing. Being able to be immersed once again in Chinese helped Meredith speak and understand the language more fully and apply the knowledge gained from her high school Chinese classes. Meredith found her tutor helpful, responsive and knowledgeable. Meredith had specific goals she wanted to attain to help her with her continuing study of Chinese and the tutor helped her achieve those goals. On our daily wonderings and sight seeing through Beijing after her lesson, Meredith confidently spoke Chinese in all situations. It certainly was nice for me to be able to have someone about who could speak the language!   Our host family was generous and kind. Fortunately, most of them could not speak English, which was very helpful to Meredith, although having some family members have a good command of English was also helpful, as Meredith was able to receive an in situ lesson for things she did not understand. The host family was comfortable having two additional people in their house and Meredith also enjoyed playing with the children…and the opportunity to once again, use her Chinese.  To be frank, I wanted to go to Beijing to "check out" the situation regarding quality of tutoring, home stay family quality and the overall quality of the program. As you know, Meredith is a high school student and has been studying Chinese for four years. She will continue her study of Chinese for the remainder of her high school career. To that end, I was looking for a program in which Meredith could return to every summer that provided steadily increasing difficulty of mastery of Chinese, taking fully into account her steadily increasing fluency and study of Chinese during the academic year. The Lotus program provides such a structure. I am also confident that staying with a host family will also continue to be a very good experience. As an organization, you all were always quick to respond to my questions and provided information for our alternative attainment of our Chinese visas. The pick up and drop off service is terrific as well as all the extras you provide, such as the SIM chip, the dictionary, etc. Kind regards, Laura Hayward

Kevin(left) with other Lotus students at the gate of Lama Temple

Kevin Busch, USA student, joined Lotus 4 weeks One on One program in 2006.

A Thank-you note from Kevin's mother Wendy Liang: On short notice, we had to scramble to find a suitable program for our son to fill the remaining summer month with some productive activity. We did exhaustive search online and came across with the Lotus program. The program fits our need perfectly in three areas. First, the program can be individual. A tutor will be provided to tailor the program to student's schedule and pace. Second, my son did not speak nor write any Chinese, the tutor was able to start him from ground 0. When he returned from only a month long, 4-6 hour/day one on one tutoring, he could converse and comprehend in very basic Mandarin, which I think is phenomenal progress. Plus, at the end of the program, the tutor provided us with a detail study report with description of the study plan, progress, and areas for improvement. Third, my son chose the Homestay program which provided a very safe, worry-free environment especially he has never been in China before. The host mother took really good care of him. In fact, he was very ill for 3 days with fever and all and the host mother took him to the hospital for necessary medical attention and nursed him back to health. I wonder now if he had stayed in a dorm or apartment, could he have turned out ok. Last but not least, through both the Lotus program and the host family, my son was guided in various excursions to Beijing's favorite sights on the weekends. Throughout the program duration, I kept constant contact with the program office in Beijing via email for any question and concern. With the time difference, they always responded within 24 hours. This has really provided us ease of mind. I also want to comment on their expedient sign-up procedure. Although we made the decision to pursue the program on short notice, they were able to accommodate our need and got everything going in one-week time frame. I would recommend the Lotus program if you are seeking an enriching cultural experience with full language immersion. We will not hesitate to participate again in the future. Wendy Liang

Jason (right) with his brother Samson (left) and their host father

Jason Cheng, 16 year old from USA, joined Lotus four weeks summer program with his brother Samson in 2006.

If you want to get even better at speaking Chinese and learn about Chinese lifestyle, you should join the Lotus program. With the Lotus program, you stay with a host family where you are forced to speak Chinese. If you decide to just stay in the university's dorms, you are constantly speaking English. The people I met there at the university all say that they aren't getting much out of the class; mainly because they only spend four hours speaking Chinese and the rest of the time talking to classmates in English. Besides that, you get to learn about how Chinese people live their everyday lives. For example, I learned that the family eats their food with much oil. It was an unfamiliar taste at first, but you get used to it after a few days. Overall, the Lotus program helped a lot and I would recommend it to anyone who wants to learn Chinese and Chinese culture. Jason Cheng

Camilla April, from Sir James Henderson School, Italy, joined Lotus 4-week High School Small Class Program from in summer, 2008. (The letter is written by Camilla's mother, Gea, April.)

Thank you very much! I've been speaking with Camilla regularly and I know she has completely enjoyed her experience with Lotus. The host family was absolutely wonderful to her, she has made great friends during her time in Beijing, and I can't wait to hear it all directly from her when she comes home. I know she will stay in touch with you all, and is also thinking of spending a gap year with Lotus. Thank you very much for looking after her and for the incredible opportunities you have offered her. I am very happy that her Chinese has improved, and am sure she will continue studying this year. Lotus, all your staff and you in particular have been absolutely wonderful. I will recommend your homestay program to everybody in Italy!

Jeff Schultz, from Laguna Blanca High School, USA, joined Lotus 4-week High School Small Program and 2-week One-on-One tutoring program in summer, 2008.

Everyone in the Lotus office has treated me as a member of his/her family and I feel so privileged. I love you all. I would like to formally thank Lotus for giving me this wonderful opportunity to study a language and culture I've always loved and get closer to some of the things I'm most passionate about. I'd also like to informally thank you and everyone else for being my friends ^__^ I still wish I could have repayed you more for everything you did for me. I really care about you guys and I know you've all got a great future ahead of you.

Miranda Chien-Hale, from Los Altos High School, USA, joined Lotus 4-week High School Small Program and 2-week One-on-One tutoring program in summer, 2008.

This past summer I spent 7 weeks in Beijing, China with a home stay program organized by the Lotus Educational Foundation. For the 1st month of the program, I was part of the "Small High school Class Program," which consisted of 2 other students--Jeff from California, and Camilla from Italy. We had class 5 days a week for 4 hours in the morning. On Saturdays Lotus organized tours around the major sites of Beijing, such as The Great Wall and Tiananmen Square. During the final two weeks of the program I was given an intensive one-on-one tutoring program. My "lotus summer" was beneficial in many ways. Firstly, I furthered my study of the Chinese Language, which I started two summers ago in Taiwan. Though I have a long way to go before I can claim fluency, I have a much better idea now of what I have to do going forward. By the end of my stay in Beijing I found myself understanding simple conversations. Both my tutors were great teachers. They taught in a way which was interesting and accommodating to my particular style of learning. I also enjoyed how they gave me a different perspective on Beijing. They and were as intrigued by different cultures as I am. The home stay aspect of my trip helped me grow as a person. For 7 weeks, I stayed with a Chinese family, the members of which knew little or no English. I learned their lifestyle and common practices. This was by far the most difficult part of my trip; I learned to truly appreciate the life I have back in California. I will never look at my bed, laundry machine, shower, bathroom, and especially air-conditioning the same way again. I will not take these conveniences for granted. The programs Lotus offers are not for everyone. However, if you are serious about learning Chinese and believe that the way to achieve fluency is to be completely immersed in Chinese culture, this program could be for you. The small classes give each student a lot of attention to improve his/her Chinese. The Lotus staff was extremely welcoming and kind. They were always there to provide any kind of assistance. I had a great time, and met some amazing people. Most of all, I am happy with how much my Chinese improved in such a short time. This past summer is one I will not forget.

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