Bad luck in college. Post-college options?

[Language Guy]

I'm a college senior at a Washington, D.C. university, and I've just finished taking my first semester of Chinese. Overall it was quite a disappointment, unfortunately. It's not because of the language, however. I love Mandarin. Instead, it's because of the class. I'm a lover of language, so this is far from the first foreign language that I've studied. Using my past language experience, I can say that just about everything was taught poorly in my Chinese course, and since the next semester of Chinese 002 is taught by the same teacher and with the same curriculum, I've decided not to take it, so as to save my money.

But my rant about the class can be saved for another thread. Here is my present question at hand: After I graduate in the Spring, I'd like to continue studying Chinese. I can either do this by taking another class at another University or institution, or I can get a private tutor. I was wondering if, keeping in mind my low level of proficiency, if anybody had any suggestion as to which to choose? I'm willing to do either one, because I realize their benefits and drawbacks. The price of a private tutor doesn't scare me, however the thought of getting enrolled in a class with a crappy teacher and unrealistic workload (again) does.

Thoughts?

[shibo77]

I think tutors are better, because the lessons are "personalised", and I think one feels more comfortable studying in one's own room or dormitory.

-Shibo

[leosmith]

Yeah, tutors are great. You might want to pick out a text that you really really like, and use it as a guide for yourself and the tutor (maybe buy her a copy too). Or you could just use her for conversation, like I do. I also self-study in the US, and I like to learn everything short of conversation on my own.

[roddy]

If I remember correctly (and your username isn't an idle boast ) then you've got quite a bit of language learning experience. I think in that case you'll probably know quite well what works for you and you'll be in a much better position to tell a tutor how you want to learn and to get the additional benefit over a one-size-fits-all classroom approach. So clearly you should stick with the course and send me the money saved.

[onebir]

The FSI chinese course might suit you. Since it's available free from here, you could use it and donate the saving (several thousand dollars saved relative to list price ) to that site...

In which case, it wouldn't be used to buy doughnuts and gadgets