A new program brought to Ball State by President Blaine Brownell will give students the opportunity to travel overseas for an internship in Shenzhen, China.
"This is a fantastic opportunity for Indiana students," said Ronald Warner, chairperson of the Department of Modern Languages and Classics.
Warner has been teaching German for 37 years. According to him, Brownell brought the idea of travel to China from the University of Memphis.
The program involves teaching English -- both speaking and listening skills -- to Chinese students for a year. Each intern will teach 15, 45-minute classes a week with an average of 55 students per class. According to Warner, there is no need to worry about the large number in each class, since no written work is assigned and the school provides the necessary books and lesson plan.
The internship lasts from Aug. 23, 2002, to June 30, 2003.
During the internship, each participant will gain a total of 12 credit hours, half in Chinese and the other in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL). Students must take at least one course in TESOL before they leave.
"TESOL brings a student up to date on grammar and subject case within the English language," Warner said. "They will learn how to teach our language to others."
In conjunction with earning credit in TESOL, each participant must be a senior by September 2002 and be in good physical and health condition to attend the program.
A student does not need to have any experience with the Chinese language, but must be a native speaker of English, Warner said.
Besides earning credit overseas, interns receive one round-trip ticket to China, $360 a month, a single apartment, e-mail access, a paid three-week break during the Chinese New Year and an additional $480 is given at the end of the internship.
The total cost of the program is $350 plus the cost of Ball State tuition for two classes each semester.
Many jobs today are becoming more international and integrative to lead their business in the right direction, Warner said.
"This opportunity will make students more aware and more independent of themselves, regardless of what their major may be," said Warner.
Warner himself decided to become a German professor after being stationed in Germany for three years.
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