Learning Chinese through a self-found tutor or a school in Beijing/Nanjing?

[ZhenL]

Hi,

I'm Zhen and I’m new to these forums. I've been trolling posts on this subject but am yet to find a post that answers my dilemma adequately. So any input and feedback would be greatly appreciated!

I'm looking for a Chinese tutor, or school (depending on which is better for my situation) during the month of November through to February/March in either of the aforementioned cities (This rules out any university courses). Just a brief factual background of myself, I'm an Australian born Chinese, I have a grasp of spoken Chinese but I can only read/write a few characters. I'm sincere about this effort to learn Chinese; as such I would prefer a program that has 4-6 hours of face time per day. I am not too concerned about issues of price (but obviously a ridiculous amount won’t be acceptable) and can provide for my own transportation/accommodation. The reason I wish to learn Chinese is strictly for employment prospects but I still want a full bodied education in the Chinese language.

So there you have it, my priorities as succinctly as I can convey them. I’m sorry if by chance I’ve glanced over a post that has exactly the same points as I have put forward but I did search =). Anyway thanks again for reading this and any feedback would be most welcome.

Kind Regards,

Zhen.

[abcdefg]

My personal experience is that when you have well-defined specific goals and needs such as those you stated, it's much more efficient to have one-to-one classes whether they are with a private tutor or in the setting of a school. It's highly unlikely you'll find a class of other learners with the same baseline background and educational goals and you'll waste lots of time while the teacher assists your classmates.

I realize this is fairly obvious, and has probably already occurred to you. Please forgive my stating a second obvious point which many language learners forget: tell your teacher clearly what you expect from him or her. If you just show up and expect to be taught what you need to learn, it isn’t going to work out well. The teacher cannot read your mind and the teacher works for you.

I’m not suggesting behaving impolitely or disrespectfully, but it’s essential to keep focused on getting what you are paying for. No one else will do that for you.

I think six hours a day is too much "face time," or at least it is for me. I need time to assimilate the new information, review and preview, plus interact with and enjoy my new environment and all which that entails.

[stoney]

but it’s essential to keep focused on getting what you are paying for. No one else will do that for you.

good advice!

How about something like one of these places?

http://www.chinaledu.com/

http://www.1on1mandarin.com/index.php

[ZhenL]

Thanks alot , I was weighing up that issue as well. Whether to be involved in a group, with a quality assured tutor (possibly at a slower rate of progress), or finding my own tutor (who's quality i can't guage effectively), but I guess learning ultimately comes down to the individual. It's really reassuring to have feedback from someone who has had personal experience, absolutely no animosity felt.

Also thanks for the links, I've been browsing them but there a quite a few of these schools and personally i feel quite lost browsing through all of them.

[Scoobyqueen]

I have spent some time researching and trying out different schools in Beijing. I am currently with one that is very good called BLI (Boomerang Language Institute) located in the embassies quarters. They also teach quite a few diplomats and professional people and will accommodate your needs. The common room is cosy and the teachers are very enthusiastic. The school is managed by someone who used to be involved in a prestigiuos programme at Tsinghua. They normally recommend four hours a day as you will need to spend one hour per lesson preparation time (plus review). However, you could just choose ad hoc conversational lessons to make the two hours less intensive.

You can find reviews here on the forums by searching BLI.

[imron]

Depending on how strong your grasp of the spoken language is, if what you want to do is improve your reading and writing, then you might find that all you really need is a newspaper, a good dictionary and a flashcard program like Anki. A class/tutor can help provide structure and discipline, but ultimately character acquisition is an individual endeavour that comes down to the time you spend learning them, and no-one can really help you with that. If you don't need someone to explain grammar and vocab, 4-6 hours a day face time is time taken away from learning characters.

[gato]

I'm an Australian born Chinese, I have a grasp of spoken Chinese but I can only read/write a few characters. I'm sincere about this effort to learn Chinese. The reason I wish to learn Chinese is strictly for employment prospects but I still want a full bodied education in the Chinese language.

The biggest obstacle for heritage learners is motivation. A number of overseas Chinese learners such as yourself have come here for similar advice over the years, but the dropout rate is very high. So motivation and the time commitment needed to learn Chinese are what you need to be prepared for. Coming to China and being immersed in a Chinese environment can help with the motivation, but in the end, you still need to do the work.

See here for a few other threads on the same topic:

http://www.chinese-forums.com/showthread.php?p=59858#post59858

learning chinese for ABCs

http://www.chinese-forums.com/index.php?/topic/293-teaching-english-in-china32

Chinese Learning Strategies for Heritage Students

http://www.chinese-forums.com/index.php?/topic/8325-educational-advice-for-frustrated-student&highlight=flashcards

educational advice for frustrated student

Edited August 31, 2009 at 03:21 AM by gato