INRTU student Anastasiia Alikina shared her impressions of a six-month Language Program at Shenyang Normal University in China

INRTU student Anastasiia Alikina finished a Chinese Language Program at Shenyang Normal University. She immersed herself in the world of linguistics and Chinese language. Upon returning home, she gave prospective exchange students advice on how to adapt quickly in China.

Shenyang Normal University (SNU) is located in Liaoning Province in Northeastern China. The university was founded in 1951. It has 25 thousand students, including foreigners. Several disciplines are taught at SNU: natural sciences, humanities and arts disciplines.

Anastasiia is studying at the Baikal School of BRICS, majouring in the English-taught program «Linguistics and Business Communications». Her fellow student Kirill Zhotin also hass been to Shenyang fr om August to the end of December 2024. The students studied in Chinese language only. Over the course of the semester they mastered advanced writing, modern grammar and basic translation.

Anastasiia Alikina was inspired by the Chinese language and culture as early as 11th grade. After entering INRTU, she began to study Chinese, and last May she passed the HSK certificate exam (third level). She considers the exchange program in Shenyang to be one of the brightest events in her life.

"I have greatly improved my language skills. I gained valuable experience for a future career in linguistics or teaching. My motivation to learn Chinese has also increased. The teaching system at SNU is not too different fr om the Russian. However, I noticed that in the host university teachers prefer to conduct team-based classes, involving all students.

For those who are starting to learn Chinese, I would like to advise you to work more on tones, because this is the most difficult part of the language. If you don't learn the tones right away, it will be very hard for you to learn the material later on. Listen more to Chinese speech, so you can train your ear to hear tones," said Anastasiia.

The host university provided the students with free accommodation. The students paid three thousand roubles for a visa. The flight (Irkutsk - Beijing - Irkutsk) costed almost 45 thousand roubles. Tickets fr om the capital to Shenyang and back costed 20 thousand rubles. 3,200 yuan was spent on paperwork at the university (registration, insurance, medical examination, etc.).

"The prices of public transport were the following: a bus ticket costed two yuan on average and a metro ticket costed 6 yuan. I spent about 3,000 yuan a month. To cut costs, it is better to eat in the canteens at the university.

I advise you to get a Chinese SIM card (e.g. from China Unicom) on the first day and, if possible, get a card from one of the Chinese banks, which will make it much easier to pay in shops and other places. There are places wh ere you can only place an order via Alipay or WeChat apps. Therefore, you need to download them to your phone while still in Russia.

Remember that the office of the host university does not always have people who can explain everything to you clearly and concisely. So try to get acquainted with foreign students straight away. At the beginning of the semester, they will tell you how to get to the police station for registration, what documents you need to bring to the office, wh ere the canteens, post office, etc." the student advises.

Anastasia highlights that Shenyang was the first city she visited in the PRC. It is a developing tourist and economic center wh ere many high-rises are being built. Here you can immerse yourself in the history and culture of the country. However, those who want to admire ancient Chinese architecture should also consider other cities for travelling.

Note: Shenyang Normal University has been a partner of INRTU since 2023. INRTU and SNU successfully implement a double-degree master's program ‘Specialized Translation’. Polytechnic students started the program 1.5 years ago. In the summer of 2024, SNU, INRTU and the Irkutsk Regional Branch of the All-Russian Public Organization ‘Union of Designers of Russia’ signed a memorandum of understanding. In the previous semester SNU students He Ye and Zhang Junjiao participated in INRTU exchange program.