Beijing Language Institute
| 北京语言大学 | |
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Former names
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Higher Preparatory School for Foreign Students (1962-4), Beijing Language Institute (1964-1996) |
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| Established | 1962 |
| President | Liu Li |
| Vice-president | Cao Zhiyun, Qi Dexiang, Dong Lijun |
| Chairperson of the University Council | Ni Haidong |
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Administrative staff
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1,201 |
| Undergraduates | 6,258 (4,486 domestic, 1,772 international) |
| Postgraduates | 2,216 (1,879 domestic, 337 international) |
| 338 (242 domestic, 96 international) | |
| Location |
Beijing,  People's Republic of China39°59′36″N 116°20′16″E / 39.99333°N 116.33778°ECoordinates: 39°59′36″N 116°20′16″E / 39.99333°N 116.33778°E |
| Campus | Urban |
| Nickname | Bei Yu (北语) |
| Mascot | Beiyuer (宝贝鱼) |
| Website | www.blcu.edu.cn |
Beijing Language and Culture University (BLCU; Chinese: 北京语言大学; pinyin: Běijīng Yǔyán Dàxué), colloquially known in Chinese as Yuyan Xueyuan (Chinese: 语言学院; pinyin: Yǔyán Xuéyuàn), has the main aim of teaching the Chinese language and culture to foreign students. However, it also takes Chinese students specializing in foreign languages and other relevant subjects of humanities and social sciences, and trains teachers of Chinese as a foreign language. It used to be the only institute of this kind in China. After the push for massification of higher education starting in the 90's, nowadays many other universities in almost every major city in China have a similar offer. Thus bachelor, master or post-doc degrees in, "Teaching Chinese as a second language to Foreigners", as well as bachelor's and master's degrees in several foreign languages are no longer only to be found at BLCU. Beijing Language and Culture University is often called "Little United Nations" in China because of its very large number of international students from various countries.
Early in the 1950s when the teaching of Chinese as a foreign language (TCFL) was still at the initial stage, the first generation of BLCU teachers took an active part in the pioneering work. As a result, the first school of higher education specially oriented to foreign students, "Higher Preparatory School for Foreign Students", was established in June 1962. In 1964, the school was officially named "Beijing Language Institute". In June 1996 it was renamed "Beijing Language and Culture University" (Chinese: 北京语言文化大学). Its Chinese name was shortened in July 2002 to Beijing Language University with the approval of the Ministry of Education, but the English name remained unchanged. September 6, 2002 witnessed the celebration of the 40th anniversary of BLCU, for which General-Secretary Jiang Zemin and Vice-Premier Li Lanqing wrote letters of congratulations, and the Chairman of the NPC Standing Committee Li Peng wrote words of encouragement.
The campus of BLCU is located in the Haidian District of Beijing. It takes about 330,289 m2, and total building area is about 427,342 m2. Most teaching facilities, including main building, library and gym are in teaching area, while dormitories of Chinese students are there either. The special dormitory for foreign students is Building 17, located in the living area with apartments for stuff and families. Some grocery stores are in both teaching and living area, and the only market zone is near the north exit of living area.
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