By Xia Yu

Amid the crisp and vibrant autumn air, the International College of the University of Chinese Academy of Sciences commenced the first week of classes for its international students of 2025 on September 22. The sounds of Chinese teachers leading pronunciation drills—"a—", "o—", "e—"—along with the students' earnest, though initially hesitant, repetitions frequently echoed through the classrooms in the Humanities Building.

For the 2025 autumn semester, the International College welcomed over 400 new international students. In addition to those exempted from Chinese language courses, the college has opened 11 Chinese language classes for other newcomers. The biggest feature of this year's Chinese language classes is that they are no longer called " Chinese language classes for beginners".

To strengthen the promotion of Chinese language, enable international students to learn Chinese more quickly and integrate into Chinese culture, the International College has launched a pilot program for Chinese preparatory education for the first time among international students of 2025. During the summer vacation, through online courses, students will self-study basic Chinese courses before enrollment, thereby laying a foundation for systematic Chinese learning after admission.

May Myat Noe Tun from Myanmar shared, "The preparatory education was very useful. The online Chinese course videos provided by the college were vivid, making learning Chinese relaxing and fun." Daniel Oyebode from Nigeria added, "The preparatory learning courses were lively and easy to understand, which made learning Chinese much simpler." "Those videos are fantastic and extremely helpful. I love watching them again after our face-to-face Chinese classes; it's very effective!" exclaimed GHULAM AKBAR from Pakistan enthusiastically. Many students were even seen reviewing these learning resources on their phones during Chinese class break.

Chinese language instructors unanimously observed that, compared to previous years 'new students, this year's new international students noticeably improved capabilities in learning Chinese, particularly in listening comprehension and pronunciation.

In the future, the college will systematically promote the Chinese preparatory education for international students on the basis of this pilot.