simplyolaf Posted October 24, 2007 at 01:45 PM Report Posted October 24, 2007 at 01:45 PM I have just applied for Xi'an Jiaotong University chinese course. I was a bit surprised to learn that half of the hours of tuition per day are spent doing chinese recreational activities like dancing, singing and Tai Chi.... It seems like I am going back to my old primary school days.... Is this normal in China? Are all chinese courses like this? Quote
yonglin Posted October 24, 2007 at 02:02 PM Report Posted October 24, 2007 at 02:02 PM Usually, Chinese for foreigners courses involve 4 hours of tuition five days of the week, most commonly in the morning (say, 8-12 or 9-1). It is quite common that schools arrange extracurricular activities in the afternoons, but these are usually not compulsory. If you have two hours of language tuition and two hours of extracurricular activities every day, then you have a problem and may want to switch schools. If you have four hours of language tuition and four hours of extracurricular activities, then your school is quite dedicated to arranging extracurriculars. As a comparison, you may want to keep in mind that we usually get 8-20 hours of tuition per week (depending on your subject) at an English university. Quote
md1101 Posted October 24, 2007 at 03:50 PM Report Posted October 24, 2007 at 03:50 PM what yonglin said is correct. i was in xi'an at the international studies univeristy. had 8 - 12 classes and on certain days had an extra curricular activity like taichi, dancing or caligraphy from 2 - 4 which was voluntary. so... xi'an hey? 1 + 1.... road west bar.... muslim quarters.. how i miss the place... i'll be visiting in january though *edit: in fact I'll be there in february too so we can meet up if you want Quote
simplyolaf Posted October 25, 2007 at 09:05 AM Author Report Posted October 25, 2007 at 09:05 AM I will be arriving on the 19th of Feb so I don't know if you'll still be there? I definitely want to make many friends in Xi'an as I also want to enjoy the freedom of having a social life on the cheap. Hopefully I won't start my chinese lessons at 8am... I certainly want to have 4 hours tuition a day so that I really can learn to speak chinese fluently. I don't mind extra-curricular activities as well... but not so worried about it. Quote
Hongdebo Posted October 25, 2007 at 12:37 PM Report Posted October 25, 2007 at 12:37 PM Hi, I've been studying at Xi'an Jiaotong University for quite a while (about 2 years now) and I must say, it is one of the best universities of China. Everyday, from 8:00 - 12:00 you have 2 courses. They do offer additional courses such as calligraphy, Chinese history, Taiqi, Chinese cooking, HSK preparation, etc in the afternoon, which are not obligated and free. You will also go on a "school-trip" with all your classmates and teachers for a small fee. Which again you decide yourself whether you participate or not. Since this year they also have an "International Students Day". The teachers are great!! Most of the students are Korean and/or Japanese. It's a real close community, in other words "one big happy family". I would definitely go for it. Quote
Suvlaco Posted November 11, 2007 at 08:19 AM Report Posted November 11, 2007 at 08:19 AM I'll be studying the 6 month Long-Term study course at SNU (Shaanxi Normal University) from February next year. I've already lived there for 5 months so I know the city well ^_^ Happy to help out with anything you need! Quote
simplyolaf Posted November 11, 2007 at 04:22 PM Author Report Posted November 11, 2007 at 04:22 PM cool, maybe then we can meet up at some stage. I am flying to china on the 18th of Feb. are you just starting to learn chinese? what do you think about Xi'an? Are you planning to do any work at all? Quote
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