Global Village (地球村) Enrollment?

[Hightop]

Hello All

I am planning on arriving in Beijing at the end of March and attending language school. I had wanted to attend a university but since I can not arrive untill the end of March I shall have to wait untill the next semester. I will arrive in Hong Kong to get an F visa then journey up to Beijing. My question is twofold. Will I have any problem going to a language school such as Global Village (地球村) and just enrolling for a few months on the spot? What is the process for enrollment and how long does it take?

I have read all this site has to offer on Global Village (地球村) but any additional information, opinions, negative/positive reports would be appreciated.

T

[xyz01]

You can register for classes anytime and then re-register every two weeks, so you can do it on a tourist visa. They have rolling start dates for courses but they will let you join in the middle, otherwise you only have to wait a couple of weeks (I think) for another to roll around. This means you can even skip a few weeks and rejoin in another class.

You pay upfront for each 2 week block. You can even start on the same day if there's a suitable class and they let you sit in on 1 lesson (2hr) before you decide. Its pretty good value (Y12-15/hr).

The school uses a variety textbooks (eg. BLCU, etc) which you can buy from them at a discount.

Most students are Korean or Japanese, and those who are Western generally speak Chinese within the school. Its also pretty rare to have a full class, but I think this may be mainly because most people are working (ie. they're in Beijing primarily to work (eg. TEFL) rather than study).

I can't remember what you need to register, maybe just a passport, but its very quick. If your Chinese is not so hot there's usually someone who speaks some English (but not a lot). They also probably won't offer you more than one class daily if you're at a beginner level. There isn't any formal assessment of your level before you start though, only what they can gauge from talking to you.

I only spent a month there but I liked it. Hope this helps a bit!

[Pengyou]

I also studied there for a couple of months while waiting to move to Tianjin. I thought the teachers were as good if not better than those I have had in "real universities". One word of caution - because most of the student body is Korean they move at a pretty fast pace. Most of my classmates had studied Chinese as their second language in high school and college. If you feel like you are not picking it up as well as you need you can always register in the same class twice, the second class being a couple of weeks behind you so that you have a chance to review.

[Pengyou]

I also studied there for a couple of months while waiting to move to Tianjin. I thought the teachers were as good if not better than those I have had in "real universities". One word of caution - because most of the student body is Korean they move at a pretty fast pace. Most of my classmates had studied Chinese as their second language in high school and college. If you feel like you are not picking it up as well as you need you can always register in the same class twice, the second class being a couple of weeks behind you so that you have a chance to review.

[Hightop]

Hey xyz01 and Pengyou thanxs a lot for you help, much appreciated.

[yonitabonita]

I've also tried out 地球村. Throughout the year, I've attended a beginner's speaking class, an intermediate level speaking class, an intermediate level comprehensive bridging course, and an advanced newspaper reading class.

I found that the quality of teaching depended on the teacher. There are lots of classes and naturally loads of teachers, many of whom have vastly different backgrounds/ teaching experience. Some of the teachers at Diqiucun are excellent. Some are very young, very inexperienced, and it showed. The same could be said of my experience at the BLCU. My jaded view is that there's no such thing as a great school, where every staff member are great teachers. (if I'm wrong, let me know) There's good and not so good at every school.

Diqiucun lets you sit in on a class for free before you commit to it so it's a matter of trying before you buy. Some of the classes are big, others may be small. I've seen classes of about 35 plus. I have also been in classes of only 6 people.

There's no requirement for you to pay a 2 week block. You can pay as you go, class by class. It's just that you get a small discount if you pay in a 2 week block. ie, 12 yuan per hour instead of 15 yuan.

Diqiucun sees millions of people come and go everyday. Enrolment is just a matter of paying up and getting a card that says as much. As I recall, it's a 5 minute process.

Good luck.

Y

[heifeng]

地球村 is not too bad. I have taken advanced HSK courses with 康珺&刘芳老师 and was happy with the quality of their teaching. The quick pace is refreshing actually. If I had to do it all over again I never would have enrolled in a "real" university...Just keep in mind that classes can be a bit full at times. The class sizes at another nearby school, 天鹰,are a bit smaller, except for their grammar course by a certain teacher whose name I can not remember right now...in any case, both of these schools have flexible courses and enrollment procedures...

[wenhao888]

Can someone please tell me, what is the address of the Diqiucun language school in Beijing and the contact information?

Thank you.