Best universities to learn chinese?

[esroh]

Hello,

I'll be applying for the chinese scholarship program and I want to know the best universities where I can learn chinese for 1-2yrs?

I have to write down 3 options and I don't even know which university has good chinese learning program. Can anybody suggest me some good university with good chinese learning program?

[Brian US]

Is there a particular part of China that interests you the most?

Is there a dialect you want to focus on?

Do you want a big or small city experience?

I can only speak from experience of Beijing Language and Culture University as a student. You are limited to public schools and those listed on the scholarship. Throwing in the idea of general consensus that the North will have putonghua, I have seen Beijing Normal University, Tsinghua, Peking University, and as mentioned BLCU listed as good Beijing schools. It also depends on how many foreigners you can tolerate as BLCU is a popular spot.

[daofeishi]

What university you go to is probably not as important as what place you decide on, as most of your learning is going to happen outside of a classroom setting anyway.

I myself went to Yinchuan in Ningxia, which I thought was a fantastic place. There were practically no foreigners there, so people are not used to dealing with tourists and I had more of a motivation to speak Chinese all the time. The accent didn't throw me off, the place had all the amenities you'd want and expect from a modern Chinese city, people were friendly and the culture that had sprung up there was intriguing (check out the history of Ningxia if you're interested in details on that).

Yinchuan is probably a place few other people would choose to go, and that made the whole experience for me. The point is, find a place that works for you, and don't necessarily go to a place that is 'popular' or considered 'good' by other learners. Making a choice among the unpopular/unknown places can turn out to be the best choice you ever made.

[esroh]

Well, I'm looking for someplace not too cold because my parents don't want me going somewhere too cold in case I can't adapt as I've been living my whole life on an island with tropical climates. I want somewhere where it is not too cold (above zero degrees), with some clean air if possible and where there are some foreigners (not too many and not too few too ). I think I will apply to sun yat-sen university in Guangdong.

But:

1) I don't know if they accept students through chinese government scholarship scheme.

2) I still have 2 more choices to put on the scholarship form. My parents don't really want me to apply to BLCU (Beijing) and Shanghai Jiao Tong Uni. as they say it will be too cold there.

[JonBI]

Honestly, if you aren't willing to try something new, you probably won't have a good time anyway from what I hear. The weather will hardly be the hardest thing for you, I am sure, so you should just tell your parents to buy you a warm jacket. I understand what you're saying, but you shouldn't base your education, in my opinion, on your parent's idea of climate - the air will be fresher in a colder climate anyway. Just my two cents, but really, in the south they speak a whole other language, and as the game goes, if China is going to become the so said superpower or whatever, it would make sense to speak the language of the North.

[daofeishi]

I agree with JonBI. If you are the one putting time and effort into a project in China, why should your parents overrun the project with something as irrelevant as their concerns about the weather? Assuming you don't have any medical conditions that force you to stay in temperate climates, you should let other criteria decide where to go. Getting through a winter in northern China won't be a problem for anyone with a good jacket. It's not like you are going to Siberia.

[esroh]

Thanks a lot!

BTW what do you guys think about zhejiang university in Hangzhou?

[Helios]

I'm in a similar dilemma. I am trying to decide between popular schools and smaller schools. Being in a big city like Beijing and Shanghai sounds nice, but I'm worried that the sheer quantity of foreigners and Chinese who can manage in English will hinder my Chinese learning.

Can someone recommend to me smaller schools (good schools with less foreigners in and around the school)?

Thank you!

[Meng Lelan]

I myself went to Yinchuan in Ningxia, which I thought was a fantastic place.

Really, it's time for the smaller and less popular schools to get recognized for good Chinese learning experiences. I've been wondering about non-Beijing-Shanghai-Harbin schools, especially in Hunan province, I've always wanted to take on some two or four week summer study somewhere there.

[anonymoose]

Perhaps another place to consider is Kunming. It doesn't get too cold, and they speak mandarin (of sorts) there. I can't say I was overly impressed by Kunming itself, but Yunnan overall is a fantastic province.

Also Xiamen might be worth thinking about. It is relatively clean and orderly. The local dialect is Fujianese, but as far as I recall, it seemed most people on the street were speaking Mandarin when I was there.

Hangzhou is a nice city, and the university is well-known. But if Shanghai is too cold, then Hangzhou will be no better. In fact, it seems to snow more in Hangzhou than it does in Shanghai.

[Meng Lelan]

Any good program in Hunan, anyone?

[vkim67]

I agree with JonBI. If you are the one putting time and effort into a project in China, why should your parents overrun the project with something as irrelevant as their concerns about the weather? Assuming you don't have any medical conditions that force you to stay in temperate climates, you should let other criteria decide where to go. Getting through a winter in northern China won't be a problem for anyone with a good jacket. It's not like you are going to Siberia.

I must say I disagree.

Well personally, I want to apply to Harbin Institute of Technology and though I've lived in California my whole life I'm willing to because this is what I really want and am willing to put up with it.

For others, extreme weather CAN be a factor. There are MANY great schools and locations throughout China so if extreme weather conditions will be a distraction and source of misery, (also remember you're away from family, friends, comforts of home and hometown) life will definitely be difficult.

I know people who left arizona state university to come to CA b/c they couldn't stand the blistering weather... sometimes they had to stay inside for days when things they needed/wanted to do required going out.

So if its a long-term program, then these things do need to be taken into consideration.

Short-term... perhaps should carry less of a weight in your decisions.

[daofeishi]

I didn't say that you shouldn't take the climate into consideration, but how much you should focus on it depends on your purpose. If you are going to China primarily on vacation, fine, seek out the good weather if that is what you want, or go to Lhasa in January if you are in it for the extremes. But that is an entirely different kettle of fish.

I meant to say that if you are going to China with the purpose of learning Mandarin, you shouldn't attach too much significance to the climate, and I think that is fair advice. If your purpose is as above, it would be silly to go to, say, Hong Kong, Guangdong or Hainan, even if the climate is closer to what you are used to. If you want to learn the language, go to a place where there are language programs tailored to your needs, the local dialect is close to Mandarin and there's a social scene you can relate to. If that means having to buy long johns, so be it. As I see it, learning to deal with new situations, bad weather included, builds character. Attaching too much significance to your homely weather might be an indicator that you are not emotionally ready for venturing into a new culture on your own.

(Also, perhaps more importantly, you shouldn't let your parents make the decision for you.)

Edited March 10, 2010 at 10:17 AM by daofeishi

[p0mmes_frites]

Does anybody have idea about the Shanghai International Studies University? (上海外国语大学). I want to apply for one year language program, but I can't decide whether I choose this university or a different university in Beijing. I need to choose 2 universities, and my first preference is 北京第二外国语大学 (Beijing international studies university) which is under the scholarship program.

Will Shanghai make a big difference in terms of learning, or accent? What about the university?

[crazillo]

I can recommand the whole Dongbei area but the winter is harsh there. If you can stand that, it's a great place to learn Chinese as the dialect is pretty good to understand, also foreigners aren't as common as in Beijing, Shanghai etc. Shenyang, Changchun and Dalian (with lesser extent) are good choices IMO.