Beida and then more advanced program

[robertia]

I would be really grateful for some quick advice from people who have learned chinese on the best approach to learn the language to a decent standard - ie be able to read a newspaper in chinese, chat to a chinese person about last night's TV and be able to write a letter in chinese with only minimal recourse to a dictionary...

in 2 years. full time study.

Current Situation

My current standard is very very basic. i have been living in HK and travelling up to China for business. and i have learned some taxi mandarin - much of which may need to be unlearned.

My Plan (but it may not be realistic - this is what i would really like feed back on)

I plan to spend my first year at Beida. from what i have read on the forum the language school there is fine and much of the results will depend on me and my graft and talent rather than whether i choose this school or Bei shi da etc. And Bei Da has the benefit that it is famous.

then year 2 i would like to go to a more intensive school like the berkeley - tsinghua joint program. (in between i will go on a cross china tour and have some fun).

I have plenty of cash for this - i have been saving some money and i am 36. So in that 2 years I can afford to really invest in Chinese.

My motivation

i feel like i have been working in china for years and i want to understand the place and the language. As a side benefit I think my experience in HK / China + language will mean - not more money - but the possibility of a more interesting job.

my job is seriously long hours (12 - 14 hour days, weekend recovery zone) so that's why i am not into the part time route of chinese study. also i am not good at managing competing objectives. 2 years full time.

any comments on my plan - better ways to achieve it - would be much appreciated. I am serious about this and my application to Bei da is going in this weekend (to hit the April 1 deadline).

[johndones]

Talent, IQ actually will still be the most important factor, if you have a history of being good at learning langauges, maths or anything of that kind then you should be able to do it in 2 years and still have tons of time for yourself.

I studied for around 10 months (that includes around 2 months of vacation time) now and attend a High 1 class (高一), while most of my classmates studied for 2 years and I still manage to be one of the best students, writing included.

If you feel like you are able to do it and willing to put some effort into it then I'm sure 2 years will be more than enough.

[Scoobyqueen]

People with high IQs are normally more modest though but you can get there with hard work too.