TLI or BLI or Taiwan?

[ashwell]

Hi people,

I hope someone could help me. I am currently studying Chinese at Shenzhen University, and the teaching is of a pretty poor standard. My class is really big which means that I don't get the opportunity to practice speaking in class. I gather this is the case with most University courses in China. Therefore I am thinking about opting for a training center where classes are small.

I have checked out both TLI and BLI's websites. I am more impressed by BLI. Their tutors are listed on the website along with their background and experience. Many used to teach on the Tsinghua IUP programme which is very highly regarded. However, the major drawback is tuition costs. At 120 RMB per hour for a group of 2-3 students, and 200 RMB for 1 to 1 tuition, I would say that it's quite pricey. But often you get what you pay for. Is this the case with BLI? Has anyone studied there, I would really appreciate some feedback.

I don't know a lot about TLI. The fees seem very reasonable. However, I am not sure whether their teachers are good. I am looking to vastly improve my all round Chinese (writing and reading as well as speaking and listening). Does TLI focus on one particular area or do they help you cover all areas of Chinese?

Oh and why are BLI's fees so high compared to TLI? They both seem fairly similar institutions. I doubt anyone has studies at both places, but if you have, and you are reading this thread, then I would really appreciate some feedback.

Finally. I have done a lot of research into places to study in Taiwan. Taiwan seems an excellent option. Small classes, experienced teachers, and very reasonable fees. The big drawback for me is the use of traditional characters in their teaching. I am a beginner student in Chinese but I have already learnt a few hundred characters (simplified), and to change would be really difficult for me. I don't want to learn traditional characters - just too difficult! If anyone has studied in Taiwan, I would love some feedback, regardless of whether you studied traditional or simplified characters. Also, does anyone know any places in Taiwan where I could study Chinese using pinyin and simplified characters?

Thanks people for any feedback - much appreciated

Tom

[shanghaikai]

Some random thoughts:

1. How big is your class in Shenzhen? What are the class dynamics like? Who are the other students and what are they like?

2. Are you a reactive student or a proactive student? In other words, do you wait to be called on or do you actively participate in the lessons? Understandably, different teachers may run their classes differently but learning oral Chinese is pretty much about jumping straight into it and not worrying about how silly you look or sound.

3. How long is class each day? What do you usually do with the rest of your time? No matter what, if you're serious on maximizing your Chinese speaking time, you have more hours outside of class than in it. The conversations are usually much more interesting too.

4. I can't comment on whether a smaller class would be better. Everyone is different and every situation has so many factors to influence how effectively you may learn. I chose to use a university program because I simply needed a formal class/school structure to keep myself accountable. I'm not inclined to stay disciplined if I have a one on one tutor so a pseudo authority figure helps me. You may be different but I don't have enough information about your current situation to hazard a recommendation.

5. Complex characters really aren't that hard and keep in mind that only some Chinese characters have traditional and simplified variations. There are plenty that are the same in both systems. Rent some interesting DVDs or soap operas that have complex character subtitles and you should be able to make the jump between the common simplified characters and the complex characters. Hell, I watched a series with Japanese audio (which I don't understand) and complex Chinese character subtitles (which I wasn't familiar with) and I survived well enough to enjoy the storylines. Then again, we may be different. Just know that the jump from simple to complex is negligible next to the jump between the roman alphabet and chinese ideographic characters.

6. Taiwan is great, but I really don't see any major advantages with regards to learning Chinese there instead of China unless you hate simplified...maybe something silly, like the Chinese students having less Communist programming.

[gato]

See this earlier thread on TLI.

http://www.chinese-forums.com/showthread.php?p=66706#post66706

Taipei Language Institute - Beijing (Dongcheng) - Query