The summer vacation should be a time of leisure and fun. But a new trend on campuses across China is for students to keep themselves busy doing “social practices” of various kinds in an effort to get a taste of the outside world.

暑假本应是一段休闲享乐的时光。然而，时下国内各大高校正掀起了一股繁忙的“社会实践潮”，学生们正通过五花八门的社会实践来亲身感受一下外面的世界，

Li Ji, who works for the School Department of the Communist Youth League’s Central Committee, believes that social practices can help freshmen and sophomores improve their personal skills and competitiveness.

就职于共青团中央学校部的李吉（音译）认为，社会实践活动能够帮助大一、大二的学生提高个人能力和竞争力。

“It’s an opportunity for them to expand their horizon beyond campus life and will be of benefit in the future when they look for jobs and work,” says Li.

李吉说：“这对他们来说是一个拓展校外视野的契机，对接下来的求职与工作大有裨益。”

But some students complain that their social practice experience wasn’t as constructive as they hoped. In the following, students share their summer plans and experts offer advice on what to look out for in order to have a fruitful summer.

但是，有些学生抱怨说，社会实践经历并不像他们期待的那样有收获。下文中，一些学生代表分享了自己的暑期计划；有关专家也就如果度过一个充实的夏天给出了建议。

Internships

实习

Cao Liyuan’s summer internship was hard and smoldering hot. The 22-year-old, who studies material forming and control engineering at the University of Science and Technology Beijing, was sent to Zhangdian Iron and Steel Works in Shandong province together with his classmates for a two-week internship.

22岁的曹立元（音译）的暑期实习工作艰苦而又闷热。他就读于北京科技大学材料成型及控制工程专业，暑假里和同学们一起被派往山东省张店钢铁总厂，开始为期两周的实习工作。

For most of the day, they followed an engineer, who explained different processes and how the equipment works. The students were constantly exposed to high temperatures, loud noise and dust. But he thinks the experience wasn’t helpful at all because he will never work as a steel worker.

一天中的大部分时间里，他们都跟着一名工程师学艺，听他讲解不同流程以及设备的工作方法。学生们一直在充满噪音和灰尘的高温环境中工作。但李吉却认为这次的实习经历毫无益处，因为他将来绝不会当一名钢铁工人。

Compared with him, Tang Yao had a better summer experience. The 22-year-old German language and literature major at Fudan University worked as an intern for the German Academic Exchange Service’s information center in Shanghai in an office building.

与他相比，唐尧（音译）的暑期经历就要好得多。22岁的他就读于复旦大学德语语言文学专业。他在德意志学术交流中心上海信息中心实习，工作地点是在一栋写字楼里。

Tang was in charge of completing chores such as maintaining the company’s official website and answering questions about studying in Germany.

唐尧的工作是做一些公司日常杂务，譬如维护公司官网，回答有关德语学习方面的问题。

Many students encounter situations similar to those of Cao and Tang. They either work in an unpleasant environment or work on chores that don’t seem to make a difference. But Li Kaifu, CEO of Innovation Works, believes that even working on easy tasks is a beneficial experience.

许多学生的境遇都和曹立元、唐尧相仿。他们或者工作条件恶劣，或者是做一些看上去毫无意义的零碎琐事。但创新工场CEO李开复认为：即便再简单的工作也会是一段有意义的经验。

“Students on a two-month internship should not expect employers to assign any real work to them. But this doesn’t mean the internship is worthless. Students can learn fundamental skills, such as team work and interpersonal communication, and gain valuable knowledge of the company’s organizational structure and work culture,” Li said in an online Q&A session with student interns.

在一次与学生的在线互动问答环节中，李开复说：“实习期只有短短两个月，指望用人单位能给学生安排什么实质性的工作，这明显不现实。但是这并不意味着实习毫无价值可言。学生们可以学到团队协作与人际交流等基本技能，并对公司的组织架构和职场文化有所了解。

He thinks that an important part of an internship is asking questions. “Don’t be afraid to ask your colleagues questions. If you don’t ask, you’re wasting the best opportunity to learn,” Li says.

他认为实习的一个重要环节就是“发问”。李开复表示：“不要害怕向同事问问题。如果不问，就浪费了学习的最佳时机。”

Study tours in a foreign country

游学之旅

The saying “He that travels far knows much” is deeply rooted in the minds of Chinese people. Many students use their summer vacation to go on study tours, often to a foreign country.

“读万卷书不如行万里路”这句老话已经在中国人心中根深蒂固。许多学生利用暑假参加游学活动特别是境外游学团。

Qi Di is one of them. In order to experience American culture, the 21-year-old energy engineering major at Zhejiang University visited the University of California, Berkeley, US, on a two-week summer study tour organized by her university.

21岁的戚迪（音译）就是他们中的一员。为了体验美国文化，就读于浙江大学能源工程专业的她参加了学校组织的的暑期游学活动，为期两周，并参观了美国加州大学伯克利分校。

“I’m considering studying abroad after my graduation, so this tour allowed me to see the US from inside,” she says.

她说：“我正考虑毕业后出国留学，所以这次旅程让我可以从内而外地感受美国。”

During her tour, Qi had classes at the university and the experience strengthened her resolve to study abroad. “I enjoyed the open and free academic environment there. The approach to teaching encouraged me to think creatively,” Qi says.

在旅行期间，她亲自到加州大学听课，这段经历使她更加坚定了出国留学的决心。戚迪说：“我很喜欢那里开放自由的学习环境。那里的教学方法也激发了我的创造性思维。”

According to Sun Yang, marketing officer at Imagine Education, an educational consultancy and institution based in Australia, a good tour experience relies on good preparation.

亚谊明教育学院是一家总部位于澳洲的教育咨询机构。该校市场专员孙阳（音译）认为，一次良好的旅行经历取决于充分的准备。

“It’s wise to do a little research in advance. Familiarize yourself with the university’s basic information, the type of classes you are going to have — whether it’s a seminar or a lecture and how many students will attend,” he says.

他说：“事先稍作调查实属明智之举。自己先去熟悉大学的基本信息以及将要学习的课程类型——弄清是研讨会还是讲座，并要了解听课人数。”

“Knowing the neighborhood in advance also helps you to integrate into the local community.”

“事先了解街道四邻，也可以帮助你更好地融入当地社区。”

Sun also suggests that students prepare some questions. “Think about the purpose of your tour and ask questions accordingly. Even if you don’t speak the local language perfectly, as long as you try to communicate with the locals, you will find them easy to get along with,” Sun says.

孙阳还建议学生事先准备一些问题。他说：“想想你旅行的目的，提出相应的问题。即便你并不擅长当地语言，只要你尝试与当地人交流，你会发现他们很随和。”

Volunteering in remote and rural areas

偏远山区支教

Xiong Wenyuan, 21, is an English language and literature major at Tsinghua University. During her freshman summer vacation, she spent one week in Shangluo, Shaanxi province, supporting a local elementary school as a teacher.

21岁的熊文华（音译）就读于清华大学英语语言文学专业。大一暑假，她在陕西省商洛市的一所小学当了一周的支教老师。

“I think among all the summer social practices I’ve done, supporting this school was the most challenging and meaningful one,” she says.

她说：“我想在我做过的所有暑期实践中，支教是最具挑战，也最有意义的。”

Not only did Xiong have to cope with the heat and simple conditions of the countryside, she also needed to learn teaching and communication skills. “This experience really improved my personal skills,” she says.

熊文华不仅需要克服偏远山区的酷热与艰苦环境，同时还要学习教学和沟通技巧。她说：“这次经历的确提升了我的个人能力。”

Xiong’s view is echoed by Liu Lixiao from the Youth League Committee of Beijing Normal University. “Supporting the education cause in rural China is a good opportunity for personal improvement since most of the work is done by students themselves,” he says.

来自共青团北京师范大学委员会的刘立晓（音译）十分赞同熊文华的看法。他说：“农村支教是自我提升的绝佳时机，因为大部分工作都由支教学生亲力亲为。”

Liu attaches great importance to personal safety and provides some advice for staying safe. “Students should stay away from reservoirs and never walk alone in mountainous areas. Female students should stay in groups and never go anywhere without male company,” he says.

刘立晓认为个人人身安全十分重要，对此，他也给出了一些安全建议。他说：“学生们应当远离水库，避免独自在山区行走。女生应结伴同行，在没有男生陪伴的情况下，不要独自出门。”

Liu further points out that it is important for students who work in schools of ethnic groups to familiarize themselves with local customs.

刘立晓还指出：对于那些前往少数民族学校支教的学生们来说，熟悉当地风土人情十分必要。