Which program has best teaching methodology??

[jychina]

There's a lot of discussion of the top tier programs: IUP, Princeton, Boomerang/BLI, CLE, Frontiers, BNU, Beida, etc.

But there are few comments about how they differ in terms of actual teaching methodology at a more DETAILED level. We know they all do a combo of small group classes and 1:1 classes and have homework,

==> but what is there actual teaching system, philosophy, methodology or pedagogy?

What makes them different or the best? Of course the term "best" is subjective, but I'd just to like to hear some discussion and more info from people who have been to these programs.

So if you have been to these or others, what makes it good? What would you suggest?

I am motivated to ask because I did a private school for 5 months, but I am not satisfied with the method. It was a mix of small group and 1:1, and we basically learned about 20 words a day, going thru each word one at a time and repeating examples, and then writing a composition for homework. Kind of dry. It wasn't conducive to helping me "THINK CHINESE" rather than english. Despite reviewing the material, it still is not easy to naturally use these phrases in everyday life.

Appreciate some thoughtful responses, not just complaints. Thanks!

[shivasprogeny]

I'm a Chinese major at Ohio State Univeristy, so I'm biased, but I think their program is quite good.

I think it is important that they split speaking/listening and reading/writing. When it comes to Chinese these two aspects have to be taught and learned differently.

Chinese 101 starts out immersed in Chinese. There format of each "unit" is a short dialogue and then the vocabulary for that dialogue and associated vocabulary (e.g., if one character mentions Germany, some associated vocabulary words could be other countries.). Following that are drills which practice the sentence structures and substituting vocabulary. I think it is this last part that is very productive. If students can memorize structures then it just becomes a sort of "fill in the blank"procedure. There are English classes to review the grammar and contents of the unit every 1-2 weeks.

I think this methodology is key because it forces students to think in Chinese for a solid 45 minute class, for 5 days a week. It is also important in the early stages to stress Chinese as a spoken language. Listening to native speakers and practicing speaking skills is paramount. You just can't learn the language by reading the textbook.

Some of my fellow students who have participated in study abroad programs have said when placed in classes with students from around the nation who have studied the same amount of Chinese, the OSU students are far more advanced than many of the other students.

[weilian]

Boomerang's methodology is this:

Beginners and Low Intermediate Chinese learners study two books concurrently since books introduce similar vocabulary and grammar structures at the same time. Since most books are dialogue based, this style allows students to absorb sentence patterns and vocabulary used in different contexts very quickly.

As to specific teaching style, Boomerang splits a student's time between several teachers per day, sometimes up to 3. Each teacher teaches only one of the books, and focuses on either grammar/writing or speaking/listening. Usually one book better explains one certain area.

Each day the student is given a worksheet with day's vocabulary and several practice sentences. Depending on the preparation done on the student's part, the class either consists of incorporating that vocabulary into a discussion about the text using the grammar introduced or a read through of the vocabulary and the examples.

Homework consists of bookwork, tingxie (around 40-60 words a day at this level) and usually an essay.

The program is one-on-one so the teaching style is really heavily based on oral communication.

Also, each week every teacher meets to discuss the progress of each student and determine which areas need work.

I studied there for several months and the best part of the course was their high expectations for me. They were able to apply a high level of pressure on me to complete my work, and then they assigned more the following day. This caused a classmate of mine to have a breakdown but I thought it helped me quite a bit. The teachers are also very willing to talk after class, which is nice, particularly from a pay per hour school.

[Duffer]

I have seen several references to "Boomerang" and they seem very promising. However, I have not been able to locate a website or similar to find further info on courses, locations etc. Can anyone help? Thanks.

[weilian]

Send them an email, it'll be a lot more informative than the website.

www.blichina.com

[mucker69]

I'm using the same method as shivasprogeny. My teacher is Taiwanese but I think she did some grad work at Ohio State so we're using their method. I really think it is pretty good for speaking/conversation. I've experienced learning a lot of languages at the beginner level and in comparison this is the best for speaking/conversational skills/gaining vocabulary.

[joyful loong]

BLI said they use the "Question Stimulation Development" method:

The QSD methodology means: Teachers ask questions to stimulate the language areas of students, in order to help students develop the new language skills based on the knowledge of the known-world.