Massy University Visiting Students Study at Peking University

12/03/2020  A Group of Massey University Visiting Students Studied at Peking University for Six Weeks in the School of Chinese as a Second Language from November to December 2019, a Study Abroad Programme Sponsored by New Zealand Prime Minister’s Scholarship for the Third Year.

A six-week immersion study programme funded by a New Zealand Prime Minister’s Scholarship to Asia has given nine Massey students a deeper appreciation that learning Mandarin is a ticket to greater cultural understanding and opportunities in the future.

The PMSA scholarship, worth NZ$7.1K, was awarded to the School of Humanities’ Chinese language programme, led by Dr Michael Li at the Auckland campus, Albany, who accompanied the group of mostly distance students on the trip last November to December. All participants are enrolled in a Humanities 300-level Special Topics course, themed around language, culture and industrial experience to count as an elective credit towards their degree study. This is the third year that the Massey- PKU programme was funded by the Prime Ministers’ Scholarship to Asia. 

Massey University Team Members Visit New Zealand Centre

Massey’s Bridging NZ and China by language learning and business experiences scholarship application provided such opportunities for New Zealand students to engage with China. “For any New Zealander wishing to undertake business and cultural activities, the acquisition of Chinese Mandarin will be vital to their success. At a time when the study of languages across the university sector is in decline, Massey University sees the PMSA programme as integral in highlighting Chinese language acquisition in New Zealand.”

The Massey-PKU PMSA programme included classes in the School of Chinese as a Second Language at Peking University, as well as cultural activities and field trips to the Great Wall of China, a tour of the Forbidden City and Olympic Centre in Beijing, Tiananmen Square, the Summer and Winter Palaces, a visit to Sanyuan Food Co Ltd, which is involved in the production of dairy products, as well as a visit to the Suzhou City, famous for its natural beauty and rich with culture and heritage. 

Associate Professor Kerry Taylor, Head of the School of Humanities, says that “The PMSA group is an important element on growing mutually beneficial links between New Zealand and China, and part of our ongoing engagement with PKU, which is generally regarded as the top university in China.” 

All participants agree that their Chinese language skills improved in leaps and bounds through the immersion experience involving language classes at the prestigious Peking University (PKU), as well as through field trips, cultural excursions and meeting locals. Several in the group, including a Marketing Innovation Executive, a wine maker, and a musician, have shared their personal experiences through their reflections written during their journey in China. 

Jack Christianson, who works as a Marketing Innovation Executive in Zespri International Limited, which is the world’s largest marketer of kiwifruit and has established a strong trade partnership with China, says that “the experience has been incredibly rewarding”, and that he found himself “understanding more and more when conversing in Chinese with native speakers”.

Victoria Kirichuk, currently a wine producer in New Zealand, who speaks four other languages, says that as well as benefitting her Chinese language ability through the immersive experience in China, the trip gave her chance to “get to know the real China.” She says the scholarship encourages people wanting to invest time in language learning and cultural engagement, so that they can bring that knowledge back to New Zealand to their own communities; “and become bridge-builders between China and New Zealand.”

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