are confucius institutes mandarin courses good ?

[lostguy06]

Hello,

I have been studying mandarin on my own for three years now (with any material I could find, podcasts, books, cd’s watching Chinese TV, taking with Chinese people online etc…) there was no Confucius institute where I am from (southern France) and since I recently arrived in Montreal, I thought it might be a good idea to register to one of their Chinese courses.

I think I have reached a lower intermediary level, I can maintain simple conversations in mandarin and read and write simple texts. I think that since I am learning it on my own, I need some structure in my studying. Does anybody know if the courses offered by the Confucius institutes are any good?

Thanks

[Meng Lelan]

I teach at a Confucius Institute and while each Confucius Institute varies somewhat city by city, I can say they emphasize and require teacher training which is very helpful. The curriculum is more structured too with standards and criterion for each level.

[freshysauce]

Meng Lelan,

Can you elaborate on those criterion and standards? I'm considering taking Advanced classes at a local Confucius Institute and am wondering how helpful it would be.

[Hesham119]

Hello lostguy06

the confucius institute courses in my country ( egypt) are great I have only studied one level ( upper intermediate ) and I have learned so many vocabulary and structures which Chinese people doesnt expect a foreigner to use and they get surprised when I use it while chatting with them

here we dont have a placement test we can choose the level we want to study, be careful while choosing level and try to choose the one which is best suitable for you ( not too hard not too easy )

P.S: I have been studying Chinese for 2 years in my university with egyptian teachers, and it was first time for me to take class there thats why I directll took the higher intermediate level, my Speaking and listening skills has improved as the teacher is Chinese and she was only using chinese in the class and didnt use any other language to explain the class

If you have any other questions about studying there feel free to ask me

Hesham

[Meng Lelan]

Can you elaborate on those criterion and standards? I'm considering taking Advanced classes at a local Confucius Institute and am wondering how helpful it would be.

Sure. Those who have completed the first year are expected to read and write about 100 characters and do the following: introduce themselves, state phone numbers, give directions to locate a place, set an appointment time and date, identify family members, and tell time. Those who have completed the second year are expected to read and write a total of another 150 characters (more or less) and are expected to do the following: identify and discuss Chinese and Western holidays, correctly use prepositions, discuss prices of objects, identify clothing and food items, order from a menu, describe items in your home and the function of each room in your house, and be able to identify transportation options in going from one location to another. Not sure about third year, I only teach the first two years, but if you want more information I can try to find it. By the way generally the Confucius Institute holds classes once a week so the curriculum tends to be different from a college or high school course where classes are held almost an hour every day. In other words a year of classes at the Confucius Institute may be about equal to almost an academic semester in college.