Short term summer programs.

[eudoxus1]

Hello everyone, this summer i'll be going to china to participate in a program to teach rural children English. The program itself only lasts 3 weeks, so i was hoping to find a good place to take a summer course in mandarin from july 20~ until September. If possible i am hoping to avoid Beijing to miss the madhouse of the Olympics and what not, but i haven't had much luck finding any good information on summer programs elsewhere. For example, the Harbin institute of technology has costs for short term programs measured in weeks, but no dates.

Any possible leads on other places to learn will be greatly appreciated, this is my first time in china and thus far I've taken two semesters of mandarin at my university.

[kylemchan]

I'm studying Mandarin here in China this summer, and from what I've found, the best thing is to attend a private language school. It's very flexible, so you can pick when you want to start and stop. There will be many in any city in China. They also helped me get an apartment. It's really convenient and not too expensive.

As for Hagongda, the mandarin in Harbin is really good. I studied in Harbin last year at Heilongjiang University, but I don't think they have short term programs. I'm studying right now in Hangzhou, where there are several language schools. It's really flexible and you can pay by the week.

Good luck.