is it too old to study in beijing?

[dys31]

hi there..need some help..

my aunty wants to study mandarin in beijing but she has no confident because of her age. she's already 40 now. is it allowed for her to study in beijing university or others? what univ will be appropriate for her age?i'm affraid she will have no friends there...please tell me more ur experience in beijing..and what univ u suggest for my aunty..she really needs it. and for u who intend to join univ at beijing and have the same age with my aunty u can share with us which univ u want to apply.thx.

[adrianlondon]

I'm sure any of the main universities would be fine. 40 isn't so old.

BNU might be better than BLCU, as the campus is smaller and it has less of a party atmosphere, but shouting in a loud American accent while getting drunk on cheap beer isn't compulsory there, even if it sometimes seemed that way to me when I cycled through their campus ;)

[liuzhou]

I wouldn't call your auntie, "it"! You'll be struck from her will!

As others have said, 40 isn't old.

[billiardsmike]

I'm 48 and in the middle of my second year studying in Beijing. The first was as BLCU and I'm now at BeiWai. Granted, her classmates will mostly be in their early twentys, but I know of many people over 40 that are very comfortable doing the same thing. As long as she has a little taste for adventure, she'll probably love it.

Adrian: are your sure of your ability to identify a Yank accent or are we blamed for all non-British pronunciations? I personally knew only two other Americans at BLCU and neither of them had another American in their class. However, BLCU does have a high proportion of beginner level students, the majority of whom speak English as a second language. Since their Mandarin capabilities don't lend themselves to long conversations, most of the discussions do tend to take place in English, but rarely with one of the many American accents.

[adrianlondon]

are your sure of your ability to identify a Yank accent

Yes, in this particular instance. I cycled through the campus twice (a couple of days apart), and both times there were a group of approaching 30 Americans, standing near the south gate, drinking beer and generally having a fun, loud time. I assume they were on a short-term exchange type program.

It could well have been just the one groujp, ever, and I've used that to make huge assumptions about BLCU ever since.

[dys31]

hoho..my mistake..i mean 'she'..

[aeon]

Not too old. I was 37 when I went and wasn't the oldest in my class by a long way.

[md1101]

I wouldn't call your auntie, "it"! You'll be struck from her will!

lol. i was sure you were referring to the age '40', dys31. but then you just corrected yourself so i guess not.

i know your aunty wants to study in beijing and i haven't been there but i can say my uni in xi'an had a few people studying over 40. and one japanese bloke who was over 60.

in fact one of my best mates there was 40. he's still there actually. 42 now i suppose.

there were a couple of women that looked over 40 but i never asked they're ages. one was japanese and one from germany.

[billiardsmike]

Yes, in this particular instance. I cycled through the campus twice (a couple of days apart), and both times there were a group of approaching 30 Americans, standing near the south gate, drinking beer and generally having a fun, loud time. I assume they were on a short-term exchange type program.

It could well have been just the one groujp, ever, and I've used that to make huge assumptions about BLCU ever since.

Just taking the p*** Adrian. If I made my assumptions based on that criteria, I would tell people that everyone at BLCU spoke Russian!

[adrianlondon]

If I made my assumptions based on that criteria

Oh, I can make them on less. Life's too short to think about stuff

I'm nearly 40; this is what happens.

[zozzen]

Life expectancy is over 80 years old in many developed economy. Spending two years to make a change for the rest of 38 years, that's good investment.

[zoelowey]

i'm in my mid-40's. i don't feel old, BUT... i must admit, i am having a hard time learning. it's not the same, when i was younger. i'm heading to BLCU next spring.

HEY!!! life is too short to say, "i'm too old." the longer she waits, the harder it will be. practice makes perfect. once i get my brain cells introduced to chinese, it's only a matter of time.

if i can scale mountains, i can learn chinese. it's the power of, "i can"

-young at heart

[Madot]

I studied at BLCU last year and celebrated my 60th birthday while in Beijing. Of COURSE she is not too old at 40. The language teaching methodology-- straight memorisation of translations and characters-- was a bit daunting but at 40??? Goodness, what an old-fashioned idea!

Mado

:-)

[billiardsmike]

And let me tell you, Madot was out enjoying the sights and the nightlife as much as anyone.

How are things back in Aussie?

[Jamoldo]

No.

[Radial]

I am 40+ and have enjoyed going the BCLU... because I cannot go full time... I go for teh short term session during the winter... 5 weeks of intensive chinese stufy while others are on holiday... Am getting ready now to leave warm SZ for cold BJ...

You actually get a lot of attention from the teachers... because you are older and have much more exprience... they can relate... particularly for the older teachers...