Xi'an International Studies University

[danisha]

Hi guys,

I'm new to the site. I just got accepted at Xi'an International Studies University for a 9 months scholarship. Since they did not bother to send me any information about the school and the web site is not the best, I was wondering if anyone has some information (and advices!) to give me.

Thanks a lot

Dan

[md1101]

hi dan. finally someone else here will go to that school.

i studied there for a year in 2005. not really sure what advice you want but i can tell you want to expect.

location

the uni is about 10 km south of the main city area. there are actually two campuses. a new one way down south ages from anywhere and the older one where you will be. you will prefer this location since its surrounded by everything you need and not too far from the city where the good night spots are.

dormitory

there is a foreign students dormitory where each room has two beds. when i was there it cost US$7 a day if you want the room to yourself or US$4 a day if you are willing to share with someone else. when i was last there there were a couple of americans, 5 or so french, 1 aussie (me), a couple of swedes, and englishman and then about 40 koreans and 30 japanese. the lessons are held in a separate building nearby. the chinese students studying 对外汉语 (teaching chinese as a foreign language) share this building with you.

you'll have no problem finding anything you need that exists in the west. you're surrounded by a few big shopping centres as well.

classes

there are 8 classes with 1 being for complete beginner and 8 being for super advanced. there will be a day where everyone takes a test to get placed in a class. if you are unhappy with your placement, however, you can choose whatever class you want to go to.

if you have any more questions just ask. I also tend to go back to xi'an twice a year or so. also, maybe of interest to you, the uni is literally 95% girls. don't forget to make friends.

[danisha]

Thanks md, i'm glad that there is someone I can talk to who has been there before! Can you tell me a bit more about the classes I will have to take? How many hours, ecc... I have been told that in China they don't really know hyow to teach to foreigners... Is that true?

thanks

[md1101]

i don't remember having any real problems with the teaching method. the textbooks they use have a bit of english in them. they use chinese to teach you so it may be quite difficult at first but that exposure to chinese is valuable in itself. but again i wouldn't worry too much about the teaching method. your motivation and study methods will be more important in my opinion. the teachers were quite good at explaining things actually.

classes are monday to friday from 8am to 12pm. it's a little early but the good news is you then get the rest of the day to do what you want. there is a canteen for the foreign students which i always liked coz you can all go there to catch up and have a meal after classes.

the classes are in 2 hour blocks with a small break every hour and a larger break at 10 which you can use to grab a crappy 1.5kuai coffee at the tuck shop. the two hour blocks i mention will be either a 'tingshuo class' (listening and speaking), a 'yufa class' (grammar), a 'yuedu class' (intensive reading - i always hated this the most as the articles were pretty hard) and then one more main class but i can't remember what it was called. they offer calligraphy and taichi classes on some afternoons which are voluntary.

i remember on my first few days there since i couldnt speak anything i felt a little left out. for example a trip was organised by the school that you could sign up to that took you to some of the famous sites around xi'an. no one told me and one day everyone just disappeared and then came back on some bus all happy and loud and cheerful.. really felt like i missed out.. hehe. so look out for that trip.

also, do me a favour, when you see 'fu laoshi' --> he's one of the bosses. tell him 'mai ke' from australia says hi. he might find it interesting. im about to marry one of the chinese students from that uni so hes seen me around there a lot.

[politgetier]

你好 md1001,

did I get that right?

You were an absolute beginner concerning the language when you started to study in Xi`an???

politgetier

[Leoliu]

actually i graduated from that university. I finished my bachelor and master degrees at that university, when i was a college student there the teaching buiding was located in the northeast corner of the old campus, now there is a new, beautiful and huge campus which is actually in the southeastern outskirt area of xi'an city. you can take No. 600 of bus line or air conditioner bus (also No. 600, more expensive) to shuttle between the city center and new campus, the old cample is among the stops of No. 600. don't worry about which campus you will stay. each one has its own advantages and disadvantages.

xi'an is also a great city and living there is comparatively cheap. if china is a big tree, xi'an is the root of the tree, it is one the of cradles of chinese civilization.

[politgetier]

你好 Leoliu,

I`d like to ask you a few more questions:

Is this the University you studied at?

http://www.xjtu.edu.cn:8080/en/index.htm

Are you native Chinese? I took a look at your profile, couldn`t exactly tell though!

[Leoliu]

politgetier

actually I am a chinese native living in xi'an ,china, I gratuated from xi'an international studies university. the former name of this university is xi''an foreign langages university which mainly provides cources of foreign languages including english, german,french,italian, spanish, portugal language , thai and korean, the web site in your message is xi'an jiaotong university which is one of the top 10 universities in mainland china. xi'an jiaotong university enjoys high repuatation and prestige in chinese students who, if they like sciences, will consider it a holy palace of study. while xi'an international studies university is one of the eight foreign languages universities, despite the fact that almost all quality universities in china provide some foreign languages courses. I also chose german as my second foreign language, but the case and gender problems in german grammar are very complicated, they are challenging barriers in learning german. however I think your language is one of the core reasons for which your country has produced so many brilliant philosophers

[md1101]

hi politgetier. sorry if this reply is late. no i wasn't an 'absolute beginner'. i had done a couple of years at sydney uni first. though i did feel like a knew nothing the first couple of days.. couldn't understand anyone. but as i slowly got used to the pace and slightly different accent i picked up things fast.

leoliu, i know about the new campus you're talking about.. its beautiful but so far from the city centre! i'm glad they didn't make the 汉学院 move.

one more thing.. how long ago did you graduate? surely your english wasn't as good then as it is now?? if it was.. my girlfriend would be very jealous.

[politgetier]

你们好,

sorry that I do reply a little later!

给 Leoliu:

First of all, thank you for your information! I am looking for political Programs though. Just saw that Xi`an is more a technical University. Second of all: I am impressed by you studying german. I know how hard it must be especially for a chinese person, because of the complicated german grammar!

By the way, that is a very interesting thesis you made up here: That the german "language is one of the core reasons for which (...) [Germany] has produced so many brilliant philosophers". Never thought about that from this view.

给md1101:

Did you "just" study chinese language or also for a B.A. e.g?

[Leoliu]

Hi politgetier,

actually I have learnt that you want to have some learning programs of politics taught in english in China from other sections of this forum. what you said is right that xi'an international studies university is a technical one instead of a comprehesive and versatile one. If mainland china is your choice, probably Beijing University , Qinghua University, or Fudan University and Nanjing University are more suitable. this four universities are top ranked ones in china. to be frank, I think that some universities in Hongkong, such as Hongkong Chinese University are very good choices for you. most of mainland universities have no ability to profoundly and all-roundly teach you such courses in English.

to md1101, your impession that my English is better than before is correct, I receive my B.A. in 2001 and my M.A in 2007 and now I am a librarian. last year I had a very short tour in Austalia. the country is beautiful and the hotels in golden beach area are impressive. the sky is so clear, clean and blue! if i have chance and time I surely will re-visit Australia to enjoy the air, scenery and the life style of your country and your people.

of course I hope that you also have some fun and pleasure in xi'an

[politgetier]

你好 Leoliu,

thank you for the hint concerning the choice of the Universities, I will consider that!

祝你顺利

[npmontgomery]

Hey Guys,

From what I have seen in all these helpful posts and the information on the website, Xi'an International Studies University seems like quite the place. I do have some questions though, and of course they are things that I could not really find on their website.

First, I am currently an English teacher in China and independently working on improving my Chinese. I haven't ever formally studied and have realized over the last few months as an English teacher that the only way I will progress is to learn to read, and subsequently the only way to do this in a time efficient manner is to study at a university. On their website they said that you needed an HSK certificate to enter the program. Apparently you can start as a "complete beginner" (which I am not) if you do not have this. Do you think they would let me attend higher level classes if they insist on placing me in the "complete beginner" course?

Second, is it obligatory to live on campus? I'm working in China right now so my income isn't great enough to easily support the 30 kuai per day places they offer. Is there any wiggle room here?

Finally, the international focus of the university seems like it would create a very conducive learning environment. Any comments?

Thanks for your help!

[demoizelle]

Hi!

I am a French student going to Xi'an from next september for a year and I would love to talk to people who have been/are there, I have MANY questions I would like to ask!

One of them is about the accomodations: our school told us that we can live on campus but they rather recommand us to share an appartment off campus... What do you think is the best?

I think i would prefer to be on campus, or at least not sharing an appartment with people from my school since I don't want to be speaking French all the time... do you think the dorms are a good option? Or is it easy to find chinese roomates?

Other than that, if you have any advice, any information you think could be helpful for me to prepare my trip, any contact there.... please tell me!

Thanks in advance for your help!

[adma]

Hi! Next year I'm going to China for a year. I can choose between three universities: 南开大学、上海外国语大学 or 西安外国语大学. I have to choose my first choice by now, and decided to choose XISU. Yet, There's little information about that uni or even the city. My colleges were all a bit abhorred about my preference (although most are quite ignorant about this). Some colleges from the year ahead are currently studying there, and had to rent an apartment because the dormitory was quite bad.

I want to go to China mainly to improve my (Mandarin) Chinese, I don't necessarily want a busy night life, but of course I'd like to develop some good friendships there. I also don't want to go to a big city due to the high number of foreigners and the cost of living.

Thanks!