Haikou Mandarin Study

[skaaght]

Hello all. I am currently in Shanghai and I am planning to get out of town for a week to do some 1-1 mandarin courses. I know I could do these in Shanghai, but I figure this way I can see a new place AND study Chinese some more.

I have decided that I will go during the first week of December. At this point I am not sure weather I will go to Keats in Kunming (I have seen the excellent thread on this forum about that school) or "Hainan Premier Language School (HPLS)" in Haikou. I have been in contact with both schools via email, but haven't really seen any independent comments about HPLS.

Does anyone know about the Hainan Premier Language school? Please try to limit the comments about Keats on this thread as it seems that has been covered in the other thread!

Thanks!

[Mouseneb]

I cannot recommend HPLS. I was hired as an English teacher there but fired before my first day teaching. Many of my friends here in Haikou have their own horror stories about dealing with the owner of this school, William Wang. He tends to go on psychotic crazy power trips at random times. I've known people who have studied Chinese there too, some of them had good experiences, got married to their Chinese tutors and such but last semester I know one guy got his room broken into, a laptop and digital camera stolen, and the school took no responsibility, nor tried to help in any way.

I guess I'm a bit biased but I recommend Omeca school instead.

http://www.omeca.cc/Article/Mandarin/200907/15.shtml

I'm currently an English teacher there and feel very well treated. I personally know a man who studied Chinese there and he was happy with the program. The only problem is there aren't any other students studying Chinese there right now, so you would probably just get private lessons. Last time my husband sat in on the classes since the paying student wanted a classmate. Anyway, if you come to Haikou, whether it's HPLS or anywhere, I'd love to meet you and show you around! Let me know.

Nicki

[skaaght]

Thanks for your thoughts Niki. Also, thanks for being honest about your working at another school! Anyone else have thoughts on the subject?

[saku88]

Hi skaaght,

I'm currently considering the same options that you were weighing a year ago. I'm curious to know: What did you decide to do? How did you make up your mind? And what are thoughts now?

I'm especially curious about HPLS, since I can't seem to find any reviews from students.

Cheers,

Scott

[skaaght]

In the end I selected Keats, and I had a really great experience. I would go back again if I can find a time to do so. One thing to know - Kunming is not exactly a bustling metropolis. So, if you are able to keep yourself busy with studying then it is a great choice. I was there for a week and feel like I saw pretty much all the sites. There are plenty of people there (most were college aged, I was one of only a couple people 30+ years old). Still, everyone is friendly, and I feel like if I had been there for longer than a week I would have found some hangouts, etc in the city.

[youtreatmesobad]

I just wanted to reply to this topic, since when I was looking for advice on the school there weren't any helpful comments from previous students online or on message boards. I was previously a student at the school, I studied there from January - April 2010. The course itself is ok. Some of the teachers are very good, but they have a high turnover of staff, and if you find a good teacher there now, they will not be there in a couple of months time. During my time there I went through 3 teachers, the first was good, the second was awful; inexperienced and immature, and the third was fairly good. The main attraction to PLS is the low cost for many students, and, if you're trying to study on a budget, then it's definitely an ok option. If you're travelling by yourself, it can be nice to go there since they are an established school with plenty of experience in dealing with foreigners, so if you don't have good Chinese knowing that they're there can provide peace of mind.

My main complaint however is with the schools integrity. The prices quoted online are very low, and this draws a lot of students in, who are all presented with the same response upon asking about the prices; "That is our old website, here is our new website with the new prices". Looking to the school as a budget option is also not necessarily a wise move, since as I've said before, the school has a lot of experience dealing with foreigners, so every price you're charged is inflated from twice to nearly 3 or 4 times what it should be. (e.g. I asked for help in getting from the airport to the school on my first night, and was recommended the airport collection service for a quoted 80RMB, on arrival I was told not to worry about money, but the following day was landed with a bill for 120RMB (the driver was a middle aged man who couldn't speak any English and didn't offer to help with my bags), a taxi from the airport costs 40RMB for the same run and service). If you have any issues (either with your course, or your accommodations, or indeed anything else) the school will not be very helpful (in my experience and in that of the other students that have attended from that time to now) (My own personal experience was with the accommodations, I'd lost a number of fairly expensive clothing items due to a mold infestation I could not overcome, and was told to like it or lump it or find my own place)

If you're set on Haikou as a destination I can only recommend Hainan Daxue (the university) they do monthly Chinese courses for foreigners, and they deal with their students with dignity, respect and professionalism - none of which you will get at PLS. From what I understand the course costs much more but is fairly intensive and good. If you're looking for one to one, there are a lot of experienced teachers around here that will teach you one on one for a very resonable 30kuai an hour. Some will ask for up to 50 and some will go as low as 20 or free. These teachers have the same level of experience and qualification as any teacher from PLS, all you need to do is contact any one of the expats living in Haikou or anyone on couch surfing who is located in Haikou. They are all very friendly and will do their best to help you out and hook you up - most are contactable online.

Please feel free to contact me here if you've any questions about Haikou in general.

[sandydoggy]

I felt I just needed to respond to the previous post.

I am currently a student there, signed up for 3 months, extending to my 4 month now, and have been very happy at the school. When I first came and speaking with other students, the school has been more than helpful in helping us find accommodations, visa issues, getting us adjusted. My chinese has improved greatly, class sizes have ranged from 2 to 4 people using a mix of textbooks, articles, tv shows, movies, essay writing. It's very intense and barely have time in the afternoon to review and absorb it all. My only critique is that Haikou, the city, was in some ways not what I expected, ie, still has heavy pollution in some parts, a lot of development still going on, lots of rats, cockaroaches, all the usual stuff you find in the mainland. Also, it gets too hot midday, so the best thing to do is take a long nap.

I guess my experience has been very different than the previous poster - ie, I have had my teacher for the entire 3+ months, who's been there for close to 2 years. The prices were higher than I saw on the website as well but just slightly, I would say the school ripping foreigners and charging 3-4 times higher is an exaggeration, my dealings with them have always been honest and straightforward. I did meet william, but it seems that sharon, his wife runs the school now, everything that has come up, she has dealt with and she's been very responsive.

Don't want this to get negative but just wanted to say that being foreigners, this is china, it's still developing in some regions, things go wrong, especially when you don't speak the language, you can't just assume everyone's out to get you or expect services like in a 1st world country. That said, I think the people here at the school really try and help despite the cultural/language gaps. I don't let people run over me, but at the same time, I am in a foreign country and I give people the benefit of doubt.

Hope this gives some balance for people considering this school, I think it's a great place to learn. Every student that I've met here have been happy, not a single one would not consider returning. Also, when I was looking for schools, I did a search on-line for reviews and didn't find much, so hope this would help people trying to decide.

[mrobertson]

Does anyone have any recent experience at HPLS? I am looking to go there for 4 months and stay with a host family - any thoughts?

[MartinYYZ]

Hello all,

 

I just arrived in Haikou, will be here for about 2 months (Dec and Jan), and really really need to learn some Chinese!  I cannot take on full courses as I'm here for work, so looking for a flexible basic course...

 

It's an old post (2009), but if there's anybody still here in Haikou, we're looking for the expat usual coffee/beer hangout place so we can find info on courses, what to do in Haikou, etc...

 

Thanks

 

Martin

[Mouseneb]

The main expat hangouts currently are

 

The Banana Hostel (for pizza and beer) in Haidiandao

Gusto Coffee (in Guomao)

 

I also meet a lot of expats at Corner's Deli but of course that's an import grocery store, not a hangout

 

Search online for Haikou Dining Club as well, the location is different every month but also an excellent networking opportunity.

 

Online there is a nice community forming at the "Haikou (in English)" facebook page, full disclosure - I am an admin there.

[JimmyJones]

Hi there,

 

Does anyone have any recent experience of this school? It seems a mixed set of review above so would be good to know if anyone has been there recently and what their experience was like.

 

Many thanks in advance

[BigMax]

I have lived in Haikou for 6 months now and am studying at Hainan University, I love this city, just finished a blog post on it, have a look to find out more about Haikou

 

https://followmorris.wordpress.com/2015/04/15/haikou/

[Massi]

Hi everyone!

I recently build a guitar and I was wondering if in Haikou there's any opportunity (music school, private class, forum users) to learn how to play it, preferably in English, at least for the basics. It would be nice to come back home knowing how to play and surprising friends and family! 

Thank you!

[sarah1993]

Someone has recently experienced Hlps in Haikou? I've planned to go there this July, and I would like to know something. I hope you let me know recent opinions. Thank you!