beijing language & cultural university

[Guest rich]

blcu - from what i've read, a terrific resourse ('mighty institution' perhaps more apt!) for foreigners to study chinese. i'm considering joining a five week course this winter.

questions:

there are many companies offering short term / intensive 'learn mandarin' programmes at blcu - are they affiliated with the university or do they simply use the facilities on campus?

anyone online here studing at / graduated from / had any experience with blcu?

thanks for your views and good on you roddy for getting this up and happening!

[Guest mirela_violeta]

Actually I'm only going to ask more questions and hope that someone can answer me. When I got the scholarship to go to China in Sepember I made three choices, the first two were Beijing Language and Culture University and the second one was Shanghai Fudan University. I still don't know where I'm going. Is anyone studying at one of these two universities. I wonder if I chose right? With all the SARS problem everyone says I should have put Shanghai first. What do you think? Is Fudan University as good as blcu?

[Guest lebefroh]

I took a four week language course at BLCU last summer and liked it. My classes were at the right level of difficultiy for me - neither too hard to understand anything, nor so easy that it got boring. My teachers were good also, and the fact that they didn't speak English forced us to use Chinese all the time.

However, you are supposed to learn about 20 new words every day if you want to keep up with the text book which in my oppinion is WAY too much. Now, nine months later, I hardly remember any of the new words I learned then and they only look vaguely familar when they come up in my classes here.

But from what I've heard most Chinese universities require you to study so much....?

The campus is quite nice and the location is good also although it isn't that close to the city center. (But I guess there is a subway station nearby now...? Anyways, busses were ok, too.)

Of course there is tons of foreigners around so you aren't exactly forced to speak Chinese after class. I stayed in the cheaper dorm (3.5$/day) though where there were lots of Koreans and students from Hongkong that I could speak in CHinese with.

I'd say it's a good choice for a course although I'm trying to go somewhere with less foreigners next time (which will hopefully be in September...)

[Guest nirvanahoy]

Could anyone tell me how much it is to do say a part time (very part time cuz I'll be teaching full time) course? Is their a website?

Xiexie (one of two words I know in Mandarin)

[Guest sjj17]

BLCU website is here

http://www.blcu.edu.cn/english/

Im hoping to do a course there starting Feb 2k4. Planning ahead just a little.

Im just trying to work out what level Ill be at. How can I find out/test how many characters I know?

Sarah

[Guest Harry_Mudd]

The BLCU is a lovely campus with excellent sports and dining facilities. I find the Blah blah bar a bit of a drag, and the Rock bar passable.

Line 13 is open now and wudaoku would be the nearest station. It is along chengfu lu to the east.

A friend studied at bei wai and said it was god. My own Uni, Nong ye daxue has courses, but I wouln'r reccomend them.

[niubi]

ah blcu! otherwise known as the laowai dongwuyuan (foreigner's zoo) to me when i fondly recall my time there.