Mandarin courses in Beijing

[shong]

I've been viewing some of the posting in this forum and have found it to be very helpful. It's heartening to notice that people are indeed responding to many requests for help. I would be extremely grateful if you all could assist me in searching for an appropriate school.

Coming this February 2005, I'll be flying to China to study Mandarin. I've kind of settle with Beijing as the place to be, but would be open to other suggestion as well if the courses fit my requirements. I'm an overseas Chinese and have been conversing in Cantonese and Mandarin since pre-school. However, my brush with written Mandarin has been on and off, with tuition here and there. My level of spoken Mandarin is much better than my character recognition, and far exceed my writing capability. I need to develop my Mandarin capability to cope with business writing/copywriting requirement. Do you think I must take Mandarin professional business writing courses (courses that teaches the vocab and writing style of Mandarin used in business context), or I can make do with regular Mandarin courses and pick up the copywriting/editing skills from newspaper, brochures, advertisement etc.? And if I need to, does anyone know where I could find such courses? I need certification, so private language center is out of question for me. I have only about a year's time to improve my Mandarin to that level.

Really hope to receive replies soonest possible, as the deadline for application is closing, though I know it is possible to apply after deadline if class size permit. I have thought of going to Beijing first to search for available courses since their websites are pretty unrealiable, but coming from a tropical country, I do not think I could stand the cold weather there in Beijing without the opportunity to climatize.

[trevelyan]

Class sizes ALWAYS permit if the wallet is open enough.

Honestly though, If you have specific NEEDS and aren't looking for a school to give you direction in your course of study, you might want to reconsider going to a university. Get your visa through a private school and hire a private tutor to work with you on whatever areas you are weak.

Tuition will be cheaper too.....