Beijing Language And Culture University Q&A (2014): Gloria Xu

In this BLCU Q&A (2014), we speak with local Chinese student Gloria Xu who was deeply involved in the university's Student Senate. Be sure to also check out our previous question and answer sessions with BLCU students for more insights into life at the university.

Please tell us your personal background (age, first language, nationality, previous education, etc.) and how you ended up studying at BLCU.

I'm 24 now (turning 25 this August, but let's leave it as 24). I was born and raised in China. My first languages are Wu dialect (if you've never heard of it, Shanghainese is a branch of Wu), and Mandarin.

Language learning has always been my biggest inspiration and BLCU is among the best institutions in the country in teaching foreign languages to Chinese students. The large population of international students and the diverse community has also attracted me. I don't know if you know of the higher education system in China or not, I guess I'll explain a little here.

In China, there are two types of colleges and universities, state funded (public) and privately funded. Unlike a lot of western countries, in China, state funded schools are much better than private schools. Public school are divided into three tiers. BLCU is among the tier-one universities. Every year high school seniors need to attend the once-a-year national college entrance exam, the score of which would be the only criteria universities base their admission on.

Depending on the policies of the province where one attends the exam, a student has the opportunity to choose 1-3 schools from tier one schools, 1-3 from tier two and 1-3 from tier three. And if one's score meets the first tier one university he/she chose, he/she gets in (I don't think there is an opportunity for one to reject an offer because basically the schools you put on the top of your list are the schools you want to go the most. Plus I think in some province, if you reject, you fall to tier two or tier three. Anyway it's very inflexible and different).

However, even if one gets in, if his/her score is lower than the admission score of the major he/she chose at that university, he/she would be reassigned to another major, and this is usually not optional either. Pfff, that's quite a long introduction, isn't it?

Anyway, I really wanted to study Spanish and Spanish Literature at BLCU. But my college entrance exam score was only high enough to get me admitted into the university. I was reassigned to study Computer Science. That's how I ended up there.

You mention having been in the BLCU student senate for three years (also as vice president). Could you explain to our readers what this is and what your role was, and how they could get involved if they were interested? What was your role as Chief Director of the International Student Communication Centre?

I'm putting these two together because the International Student Communication Centre is one committee of the Student Senate. In BLCU, we have a senate for the whole school, and within the school, in different academic departments, they have their own senate as well. The Student Senate is composed of eight (I think? If they haven't changed it much) departments, administered by mainly Chinese students.

Unfortunately, I don't think there is an international student senate. However, I know one of the vice presidents last year (or the year before) was from Russia (the first ever!). So maybe now they are trying to get more international students involved in the administration as well.

During my “term of office”, the main mission was to engage international students in campus life and in communications and interactions with Chinese students. As you may have noticed, although BLCU claims to be "an international institution" and has a rather diverse community, the interactions between Chinese language learners and Chinese students are not always so good, the main reason being that we go to different buildings for class, we belong to different academic departments, and we are managed by different administration offices.

So we really sought to organize a lot of events that could intrigue both groups and foster a fun and productive environment conducive to better intercultural communications. This was mainly what I did when I was in the International Student Communication Centre.

This committee, together with the other departments under the Student Senate, started, plans and holds the annual BLCU Culture Extravaganza (Or World Carnial/World Culture Festival as it was initially called), during which we would usually invite students from over 50 countries and their embassies and/or culture centers/galleries/language institutes to put up a big exhibit where you can find exotic arts and ethnic foods, dance and play with all BLCU students.

This event started in 2009, and it's getting bigger. The closing ceremony is usually a singing competition (Sing-A-Holic) that's open to international students as well! The Student Senate also holds cultural exchange tea talks and other activities. We also get a lot of invites to events held by other schools and Beijing Municipal Government.

So if someone wants to find language exchange partners, participate in these events, get volunteer/social opportunities, all they have to do is to pay attention to the posters along the main walk in BLCU for events update, and contact the number/email that's on the posters. The International Student Communication Center's email is blcuiscc2013@163.com. They may change it in the upcoming semester though.

Why would you recommend BLCU as a university and language institution?

I really love the diverse culture of BLCU. Where else would you find such an amazing institution in China where there are so many cultures in one place? In which other university can you find such legit cafes and restaurants on campus? The experience at BLCU has been a turning point for me. It opened my eyes and brought me new perspectives on life.

But really, to everyone who is reading this post, both Chinese students and international students, if you want to make the most of your BLCU experience, come out of your own culture group, step out of your comfort zone, and blend in, because to learn a language well, you really need to hang out with the natives, and be connected to the culture.

One last thing...

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