Thirty students from the People’s Republic of China are at DSU increasing their fluency in the English language while at the same time learning about American culture.

 

The Chinese students are enrolled as visiting exchange students at DSU as a result of agreements that were signed over the summer between Del State and several universities in that Far East country.

 

The students are majors of various different disciplines, but all are getting an emersion crash course in the English language to build on the English they took in school.

 

“I am making a lot of friends here,” said Pei Wang, an English major from Changchun University of Science and Technology. “But sometimes they have their own dialect, and it is sometimes hard to understand.”

 

Pei said he has tried to bridge the language comprehension gap by learning English songs and rap music lyrics.

 

Yilin Yuan, another English major, has aspiration to be an interpreter. “It is difficult to get a (interpreter) certificate in China,” she said. “Here I am trying to make every minute count.”

 

Haoru Nie, a sport administration graduate student from the Ningbo University, has made a dramatic change from the bachelor’s degree in English to sports. “It is a new field for me,” Haoru said. “I like administration and management.”

 

Jiafu Zhang, who is pursuing a master of business administration, said he thinks DSU has a superior program. He added that he enjoys his interaction with the students. “We share ideas with each other,” said Jiafu, who is from Yunnan University of Economics and Finance. “The students are very helpful.”

 

Di Zhu, an optics major, said he finds it interesting how Americans will go out of town for activities only to return the same evening.

 

“I have an American friend who drives to Georgetown (in Washington, D.C.) to play basketball for an hour and a half, and then come back that same night,” Di said.

 

The 20 Chinese exchange students will return to their country after 2010 fall semester.