Where do i go in China to learn intensively Mandarin?

[muyongshi]

I agree with fireball on this...

In terms of mandarin the variation of accents does make the possibility of not being understood in certain regions very HIGH! In general no it doesn't have a huge effect but I know people that complain that Sichuan people can't understand their accents (I'm talking native chinese from xi'an and some dong bei places). I can understand the local accents of many places now due to the fact that I can understand the sichuan accent (hainan, shaanxi, taiwan are just a few where there are many similarities of the sound- with a lot less of an accent though than sichuan). In english I have never encountered an accent I couldn't understand (unless it's one that is chalked full of odd word usage but that has to do with understanding there meaning not what is coming out of your mouth). I think in terms of studying mandarin it is better to study in a place with a generally neutral accent and not somewhere like beijing (wait a minute why am I in Sichuan??????? it's not neutral....). But that is just my opinion.

[littleknight23]

I agree with fireball on this, too

One of my colleges got much trouble when he traveled to Beijing on business, he found it’s somewhat difficulty to understand the people there- and the other side found that too. He is well educated, a guy with a bachelor degree, but he have never traveled to North China before that trip... Of course the number of this kind is small

Sorry for my poor English. I am a native Chinese speaker.

[daliantli]

Hi pdsola:

wo kan jian ni zai " chinese-forums" shang shuo de hua,suo yi wo gei ni fa zhege e-mail.

I am the director of TLI Dalian Chinese Language Center.

wo hen xiwang ni neng lai Dalian. Dalian shi yi ge hen piaoliang de chengshi.

wo xiang jieshao yixia women xuexiao:

Our school is one of the eighteen TLI Group branches located worldwide.With TLI’s expertise in teaching Chinese language to foreign students since 1956, excellent location and facilities, this new program provides an outstanding cross-cultural environment for students from all over the world.Class sizes and course content are flexibly offered at TLI Dalian, including different levels of courses for individual classes and group classes (2 or more students).we can make the courses according to the student in different level.

Maybe you don't believe me,because I'm the director of this school,not a student.You can ask other students who know TLI. And you can get more informations from our website:

www.tlichina.org or www.dltli.com.There're something wrong with our Email.So please send the e-mail to us according this address:dltli@yahoo.com.cn .

Thank you very much!

Best regards!

Dalian TLI

Jan,8,2008

[tongjistudy]

In Shanghai, Tongji University International School JBC offers full-time and part-time Mandarin courses. Our students study from 12 to 36 weeks. www.tongjistudy.com

Students like Shanghai because it's an international city and of course there are many choices for entertainment. It's convenient also a great starting point for travel around China.

Our students who are most successful in learning the language are very determined to practise wherever and whenever they have the opportunity. One of our best students gave a presentation on his learning experience in China.

He emphasized reading, listening, speaking, writing as much as possible in any daily situation as well as the classroom. It's important to make Chinese friends and even say you don't speak English if you're from Europe etc. Maximize your opportunities to speak Mandarin and find your best methods to learning the language.

It is possible to learn Mandarin successfully in Shanghai in addition to enjoying the attractions and conveniences.

[jiaoshou]

With all the talk about Xi'an on this thread, does anyone have a recommendation for an intensive Mandarin course, or Institute offering individual or small group courses in Xi'an?

[monto]

In my opinion,

Han Language is not a fast food. If not pressed by the way of life, don't take any intensive one.

[scott-chen]

You are right! It depends on your effort and how much time you are gonna dedicate to the program.

You need to know that Chinese has lots of dialect. For example, I live in Beijing, to some extend, I can't understand many dialects, like "cheng du" or "zhe jiang". Consequently, pay attention to what Chinese you are going to learn. If you want to learn intensively Mandarin, come to big city, like Beijing, Nan jing.

[katarina]

as for accents, well, maybe it is better to get used to different accents, because you rarely meet a Chinese person without any accent...

as for teachers, they usually speak very clear standard Mandarin - or most of them, so that is no problem.

I studied one year at Beijing Language and Culture University and I can fully recommend it. they have done much research on teaching Chinese to foreigners and most universities use their textbooks. moreover, most teachers are very good, the composition of classes is balanced, they have first-class equipment and you can meet people from the whole world. But if you are afraid to be hanging out with foreigners only, well, this is up to you. you can always make some chinese friends. many students in Beijing seek language partners...

Now I study at Yunnan University and I have to say that their system is not so efficient as at BLCU. Be sure to choose a very good university. You can always find Chinese friends to practise with, but classes are important as well, make sure you will not waste your time and money on inefficient and boring courses. moreover, most foreigners don´t have SUCH perfect pronounciation (when you listen to some people, you are tempted to tell them that here are things called "tones" in Chinese), so I would say that the question of accent is marginal.

[njoy78]

Not something i had considered that extensively.I`m now a little concerned.Can anyone tell me if learning Mandarin inYangshuo would not be a good idea?I enjoy the outdoors and in particular rockclimbing.Is there a better option for me to do these pursuits whilst learning in a more benifical enfiroment? Any infomation would be greatly appreciated.

[smunion]

I am living and teaching English in Taiyuan and I'm thinking of studying Chinese at Shanda or Ligong daxue. Have you had experience learning Chinese at either of these universities?

[lameri]

Katarina,

I am consiering BLCU, but I've heard complaints about many students attending one class, so no chance to speak. Is that so?

Thanks.

[边斌同学]

as for accents, well, maybe it is better to get used to different accents, because you rarely meet a Chinese person without any accent...

I agree wholeheartedly with this. I'm currently living in 徐州 a city in Jiangsu. The accent here is definitely thick, but still understandable to native Mandarin speakers. After a half a year hear I've found I've become much better at understanding not only the native accent but also other accents from around the county. Obviously there is a different between an accent and a dialect though, I wouldn't recommend anyone to go to Guangzhou to learn Mandarin.

I think the benefits of studying in a small city far outweigh the benefit of a slightly better Mandarin environment in a big city. It's much easy to envelop yourself in a nearly entirely Chinese-speaking environment. At larger schools where you are taking classes with lots of other foreign students this is going to be next to impossible.