LTL Mandarin School with Chinese homestays

[zhouhaochen]

@

 

Boo!

 

Yielding to public pressure on the Forum (@ChTTay), I created an LTL Mandarin School Youku account and uploaded our School Tour Video on youku, as well as a couple of other videos from our youtube school account.

 

@Shelley

 

Great that you liked the video. LTL is designed as a serious place for studying, but the atmosphere in general is very relaxed and friendly.

[zhouhaochen]

A former LTL student started his own Chinese learning website and published an interview with the LTL school director (yes, that would be me.... ). For anyone who wants to read a bit more about how and why LTL started, have a look

www.growchinese.com/ltl-mandarin-immersion

 

Note: the guy managing growchinese.com, Daniel, did his first course at LTL in 2014 and then came back for another one in 2015

[zhouhaochen]

We made a few short youtube videos with some of our students talking about how it is to study at LTL. Have a look if you want to watch (hear) someone talk about their experience of studying at LTL Beijing

 

Small Group and 1on1 Chinese Classes

 

Individual Chinese Classes

[zhouhaochen]

As a quick update from LTL Beijing: We just had the soft opening of our 30th floor roof top balcony. 55sm with quite spectacular views of Beijing - I have to say I am quite proud of it.

 

A lot of fun especially with the weather at the moment. Next step is a bit more design, tables etc.

[LinZhenPu]

Out of curiousity, would your school ever consider hiring a foreigner with a degree in 对外汉语 from a Chinese university?

[zhouhaochen]

In general there is no reason why a foreigner could not teach Chinese at just as a high level as a Chinese person, so the quick reply would be: yes of course.

 

A bit more in depth from our schools experience:

In the past we have received some applications from non-Chinese nationals (mostly other Asian countries though) who had the formal qualifications, but in the end never hired someone. This was mainly because they wanted to either work part time or for a limited period and we only hire full time teachers or because they did not speak Mandarin up to the standard we required. I think at many schools and universities especially outside China the teachers Mandarin level might be less of an issue, but we have a lot of students who do full year intensive programs that lead to HSK 5 or 6 level and to be able to teach this you have to be at least almost native level (every year several of our students at the end of their courses speak better Mandarin than me, which can be a humbling experience when you remember teaching that person how to use chopsticks just a year earlier) .

Also, we provide a lot of "how to study Chinese/live in China as a foreigner" advice outside class via our student advisors, who are foreigners that once came to China to learn Chinese just like our students and can relate to that experience, as it can be difficult for someone from China to understand some of the challenges many of our students face.

So because this advice is available through our support network, I never felt that it would add that much additional value to have a teacher with the same experiences (which it otherwise would be, as being able to discuss for example the terrors of learning tones with someone who once went through the same process can be very helpful for getting through it).

We currently have a very stable teaching team, with by now an average tenure of about 4 years (which in China is pretty long), so we are not hiring at the moment, but if we were and a foreigner with a degree in Teaching Chinese, the necessary work experience, level of Chinese and looking for a long term stable career applied, we certainly would consider that application.

[LinZhenPu]

Great answer.

Here's another question:

Do past students of your school have the same level of access to your student support network as current students do? What level of support is available to past students of your school who are continuing their language learning journey outside of your school?

[zhouhaochen]

@LinZhenPu

 

We could not possibly take care of the all past students (that would be several thousands by now) we have had in the same intensive way as we do with students currently studying at LTL nor do I think that anyone reasonably expects live long 24/7 emergency support after a two week language course.

 

That being said of course we would help a past student out if they are in trouble in China and asked us for help (as has sometimes happened) - or answer questions regarding learning Chinese and giving advice (which happens quite frequently). This is something you have to be passionate about when working at a language school and a passion of helping people to learn this language is not really related to where that person is currently studying Chinese.

 

We very frequently have past students who travel again through Beijing or now live in the city stop by for lunch or an after school beer (an occurrence I expect to increase with the new balcony - it makes after school drinks quite spectacular when the weather is right).

 

Also the school works a bit like a little "family" of like minded people in China (that I personally feel very much part of) and the relationships built there do not stop with the end of a course. While I have spent weekends with students in hospitals or mediating middle of the night disputes with police or taxi drivers, these things are the exception. Most support happens at the school, answering questions during lunch or when we have a student dinner, going through homework together after class (which students often do together at the school) - for which to happen you kind of have to be present at the school.

 

One important part of support is about practical issues, which at the beginning are mainly questions like how to get to the non touristy parts of the Great Wall, where to get Halal food or how to get registered with the police etc. and most people do not need help with these things after a few weeks anymore anyways. After a while it is often more about more in depth stuff in China, like where to apply for a job, how to prepare your CV, which HSK level to go for etc. though.

For Chinese language learning, this is an ongoing process and can be about answering specific questions, but is often about general direction, like which Apps to use, how to make non English speaking Chinese friends or how to go about learning characters. Unfortunately there is a lot of poor advice about learning Chinese around on the internet (this forum is a notable exception) and some people tackle the language the wrong way. We spend quite a bit of time to advising students to not make the same mistakes we have seen over and over again before (or might have made ourselves), which is an important part of support I think (some students listen straight away, some it takes a few months to believe me, but in the end pretty much everyone follows the advice ).

 

Just realized that this reply is a big longer than it probably needed to be - so as a summary: support can be very different for each person and we take very seriously while students are here, but would also continue with someone who is not here anymore if they ask - one is just not as likely to run into each other to quickly discuss an issue when you are not at the school anymore. Helping people to learn Chinese is something that I personally care about (and enjoy), but also essential for our success as a school, as we depend heavily on our students coming back or recommending us to their friends

 

Here a screen shot (I asked her for permission) of a young Swiss American student's WeChat moments post today who just finished her second course (she was at LTL Beijing last year too and will probably go to LTL Shanghai next year) that I thought was very cute - it is that kind of stuff that makes you want to do this job

 

[zhouhaochen]

Some news from LTL Beijing

 

- we have our prices for all 2017 courses on our website now (which was quite simple, they are pretty much all the same as this year) http://www.livethelanguage.cn/learn-chinese-beijing/

 

- we have a new team member with us in Beijing: Bethan from the UK, who did her degree in Modern and Medieval Languages at Cambridge, studied Chinese in Shandong and Beijing and now works for us as a student advisor in Beijing. Her email is bethan@livethelanguage.cn for anyone who wants to talk to a Brit about learning Chinese in Beijing.

   

 

- We have a thread for LTL Shanghai on Chinese Forums now as well http://www.chinese-forums.com/index.php?/topic/52235-ltl-mandarin-school-shanghai/

It is a bit lonely on there at the moment, so please feel free to comment, write or ask any questions on there

 

- all dates for Chinese semester programs 2017/18 are online too http://www.livethelanguage.cn/learn-chinese-beijing/semester-program/

 

- the planning for the summer camp for teens 2017 in Beijing is finished http://www.livethelanguage.cn/chinese-summer-camp

a video from this years Chinese summer camp in Beijing is on https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K2AFX2R3afg

 

 

[zander1]

Have just signed up for quite a long course with LTL (Nov-early Dec + Jan-July) will report back with how it was!

[zhouhaochen]

@Zander looking forward to seeing you in Beijing. I know Bethan spent a lot of time planning and organizing your program (she sits next to me in the office) and it will be great to meet you in person in November. If you have any questions regarding the program or there is anything you would like me to help you with personally you can PM me here on site or email andreas@livethelanguage.cn

 

If you want to read a bit about school life at LTL Beijing at the moment, an American student who started his program two weeks ago is blogging about his experience on here https://americanoutthere.com/2016/10/16/episode-8-the-united-nations/

[zhouhaochen]

For a bit of fun one of our students made a little video of our Chinese teachers at LTL Beijing trying blue cheese for the first time.

 

https://youtu.be/xJP-D-ZouT0

 

A bit too smelly for the average Chinese person it seems...

[Shelley]

Interesting reactions coming from a country that has stinky tofu!!

I like a bit a of blue cheese at Christmas with some biscuits (crackers) but its not an everyday cheese for me.

[zhouhaochen]

Yes, I am quite a China nerd in all respects, but stinky Toufu I simply cannot eat

 

The video was a bit of a reaction to some videos that showed westerners eating strange Chinese food - and we wanted to show that we in the "west" have just as strange food, we just don´t think of it as strange because we are used to it.

 

Just like people who grow up with stinky Toufu tend to enjoy eating it - we just didn´t.

[Flickserve]

I can eat stinky tofu, fermented bean curd, and blue cheese on cream crackers. But I cannot stand durian!

 

@zhouhaochen

 

when I watched the blue cheese video, I wish I could have heard the voices a bit more clearly for some of the teachers.

 

Also quite enjoyed watching the documentary about Charlie's homestay.

 

 

[zhouhaochen]

Yes, Durian is another one....though when it is dim sum without any smell it is actually quite ok.

Thanks for the feedback for the video - we are working on our video skills. I wouldn´t say video is my area of expertise yet....

 

The video about Charlie´s homestay in Beijing is not from LTL, but a TV documentary about him living with his homestay and studying at LTL made by professional TV people. I agree, there is definitely a difference in video quality.

[Shelley]

Apparently the way to eat durian if you are new to it, is with a peg on your nose

 

It is supposed to be really delicious.

[zhouhaochen]

LTL is hiring! If you love Mandarin, Chinese language immersion and live in Beijing, please apply.

2017 04 17 Student Advisor Beijing Ad.doc

[DinhAnn]

Being half-Chinese yet can't speak a word of Mandarin so I currently interested in studying Mandarin in Beijing. I have a question: Is it possible for someone from Vietnam like me to study in LTL Beijing?

[zhouhaochen]

Hello DinhAnn,

 

Of course you are welcome to study at LTL Beijing. Our students come from all over the world, so your nationality does not matter when applying for a course at LTL. We also have a lot of students of Chinese decent and children of overseas Chinese studying with us here. Do you speak any other Chinese dialects (Cantonese, Hokkien etc.)? If yes, you are of course welcome to join any of our programs (http://www.livethelanguage.cn/learn-chinese-beijing/), but it might be worth to have a look at our Chinese heritage speaker programs http://www.livethelanguage.cn/learn-chinese-beijing/chinese-heritage-speakers/

 

If you want me to, I would also be happy to make some recommendations for a suitable program, but would need to know a bit more about your specific situation, like the aim of the course (which level do you want to achieve), thoughts on accommodation (most LTL students live in homestays, but we also have shared apartments - or do you have your own?), dates and duration (as far as you know) and maybe a bit more about yourself (age, previous China/Beijing experiences), and of course any concerns or questions you have regarding the program. Please feel free to ask on here or email me directly on andreas@livethelanguage.cn