Making most of outside class time

[Zhende ma?]

Hey, I'll be attending Beijing Normal University to improve my Chinese starting next month. I was wondering if anyone had good tips on the best way to spend time outside of class to learn Chinese and the Chinese culture. Forgive me if I sound haughty, but I am not spending money to go to China to spend all my free time around other English speakers (kind of defeats the point). Besides the general advice of "go out and see Beijing" are there any specific activities or habits others have found most conducive for a neophyte to rapidly improve his Chinese?

[Danski]

The way to do it is to spend as much time as possible with Chinese friends. I think we're all guilty of spending too much time with our own people. Most of my friends here in Kunming are foreigners. I'd prefer to have more Chinese friends but I think the Chinese here are less open minded than in Beijing or Shanghai. It just seemed a lot easier to find a girlfriend in Beijing and Shanghai.

I'd recommend finding a partner for your time here - it''s the best way to learn. Also, try and find a few bars where Chinese people go. Whatever you do, don't spend all your time in Blah Blah bar at BLCU. One of my Chinese teachers once told me it was a great place to hang out and practise your Chinese . . . . . bollocks - it was full of western students . . . . I got more practise going for dinner in Chinatown when I went back to London once.

[Tsunku]

I think Danski is right. Making Chinese friends (who don't speak English) is the best way. If they speak English, you'll fall into the habit of speaking it with them, and they'll inevitably relish the chance to practice their English with you, but if they can't speak English, they'll be grateful for your efforts at Chinese.

If you can speak Chinese with people on a regular basis your speaking and listening skills will improve very quickly. Even if you don't feel all that confident at first, you should persist. You'll be surprised how patient people can be with your efforts. My best Chinese friendships are not English-based. I've known these people for more than a year and they've noticed real improvements in my Chinese, despite the fact that I haven't formally studied Chinese since I first arrived over a year ago. My Chinese has improved dramatically, all thanks to linguistic immersion.

You should also watch TV sometimes, especially the shows with Chinese subtitles. I found that when watching these shows I could match some expressions I had learned how to say with the characters. It isn't the most stimulating programming, but usually the language is fairly useful and you can pick up stuff fairly quickly.

Above all, don't spend too much time with your nose in a textbook. Doing the homework your school assigns should be plenty of textbook practice. Use the rest of your time to make friends and get practical hands on experience with the language.

[roddy]

Beishida is actually a very good location, I think - midway between the foreigner haunts of Wudaokou and Chaoyang, you are far enough from the foreigner-friendly bars and cafes that you don't go there everyday, but close enough that you can when you want to. It's the only university in the area, and there are no foreign businesses or embassies, so it's rare to see foreigners (at least, relative to some other areas).

Perhaps I'm biased as I live very close by though.

Roddy