Beijing Language and Culture University (BLCU) is known as the Mini-United Nations; it is the only university of its kind in China that specializes in offering Chinese language and culture courses to foreign students. In the area of Teaching Chinese as Foreign Language (TCFL) and the promotion of Chinese culture, BLCU has the longest history, the largest size and the most well qualified academic faculty. Since its founding, the university has trained some 200,000 foreign students who are proficient in Chinese language and familiar with Chinese culture from 183 countries and regions. Many alumni have become celebrities in various fields such as education, politics and business.

BLCU has kept its distinguishing features and advantages in the field of Chinese international education since the 1990s; meanwhile, new and related disciplines have been developed as well. BLCU’s current disciplines are composed of eight categories: literature, economics, law, engineering, history, education, management and fine arts. It has a well-structured training system,  not only offers high-quality Chinese courses for international students, but also offers specialized master's and doctor's degree courses for Chinese and international students.

Along with the expansion of China’s international cooperation and exchanges, BLCU has also built tighter and broader connection with the world. BLCU has established partnership with over 365 universities and educational institutions in 72 countries and regions. It has formed an international education pattern with omni-directional, multi-level and wide-ranging features. Working with Harvard University, BLCU built the Harvard-Beijing Academy. It established BLCU Bangkok College in Thailand and Tokyo College in Japan. BLCU conducts Sino-foreign joint programs in various forms. It conducted joint-degree programs in undergraduate and graduate levels with over 10 foreign universities, such as Webster University and George Mason University in the U.S., Konstanz University of Applied Sciences in Germany and University of Manchester in Britain. BLCU has co-established 18 Confucius Institutes and 2 independent Confucius Classrooms.

北京语言大学是中国唯一一所以对来华留学生进行汉语、中华文化教育为主要任务的国际型大学，素有“小联合国”之称，从事汉语国际教育和中华文化教育历史最长，规模最大，师资力量最雄厚。迄今为止，学校已经为世界上183个国家和地区培养了近20万名懂汉语、熟悉中华文化的外国留学生。其中很多校友已经成为学界、政界、商界的知名人士。

建校50多年来，北语一方面保持在汉语国际教育领域的特色和优势，另一方面积极发展相关学科，现有学科涵盖文学、经济学、法学、工学、历史学、教育学、管理学和艺术学等八个门类。学校培养体系层次齐备，不仅有面向留学生的汉语类优质课程，而且提供中外同学同堂上课的专本硕博学历课程。

目前北语与世界上72个国家和地区的365所高校及教育机构建立了合作交流关系，形成了全方位、多领域、深层次、富有成效的国际教育格局。学校与哈佛大学合作设立哈佛北京书院，在泰国设立了曼谷学院，在日本设立了东京分校。学校采取多种形式开展中外联合办学，与美国韦伯斯特大学、德国康斯坦茨应用科学大学、英国曼彻斯特大学等十余所国外大学开展联合培养本科生或研究生项目。同时，学校承办了18所孔子学院和2所孔子课堂。