Best 8- to 12-week intermediate level program in Beijing?

[gr8ch1mp]

Hey! I have the opportunity to study Mandarin (preferably) in Beijing from late September to early December (rough dates) and would really appreciate help in deciding what program(s) to pursue.

I've looked at a lot of the usual suspects (JHU/Nanjing STEM, IUP Tsinghua/Berkeley, ICLP @ NTU, BNU, ECNU in Shanghai), but they all seem to offer only full semester and/or summer courses. I need something that is less than a full semester (ideally 8 or so weeks, not more than 12), due to work constraints.

The programs with good SEO on google seem to mostly be services that connect students with existing university programs (like these two), which suggest there are some appropriate programs out there. The other well-SEO'd sites seem unaffiliated with a traditional university, like Mandarin House (which has mixed reviews on this site).

So I'm wondering what people suggest I look into. I'm looking for something with very high intensity that would start at an early intermediate level. My background is a year of university study, followed by a summer at Beijing Normal University through Princeton-in-Beijing. I really enjoyed BNU.

Many thanks in advance for anyone willing to help!

n.b. sorry if this is not the most appropriate forum for this query, but the 'university' one seemed to only have single-university entries

[icebear]

You haven't mentioned your budget, which is important. For flexible schedules a good private school would meet your needs, although at higher levels of intensity is somewhat expensive. When prepaying in bulk the cost per hour of good 1 on 1 tutors is around the 100RMB/hour mark in Beijing.

I spent around two months with Ambassador Mandarin last summer and found it enjoyable and worthwhile. I had 3 hours per day, 4 days per week, which was intensive but manageable. Some other students there were on super intensive schedules of 6 or 8 hours per day, but I'd guess that 4-5 is the maximum where you still are getting good returns on each hour (after that I think fatigue sets in - one-on-one with a good teacher can be mentally exhausting). My impression is that they have mostly mature/older students who have courses paid for by governments/companies/employers out of practical/professional necessity, which means the level of expected dedication is relatively high. http://www.ambassadormandarin.com/

Others may have suggestions on alternative schools; regardless, I think given your time constraints and motivation that a top notch private school/tutor would be the best use of your time.

[gr8ch1mp]

Thanks for your response, icebear!

Regarding budget, I have a generous amount from my company to cover everything (flight, tuition, room, board, etc, ~$7k after taxes), but anything left over is mine; so I will still be judicious with spending.

As you say, a private school/tutor sounds great, due to flexibility and mixture of small classes and 1-on-1 tutoring. All one-on-one seems excessive, and all class seems too minimal. I'm 30 years old, so I fit that 'mature/older' status and this could be another benefit of being in a private school, rather than a university setting (with students a decade younger).

I would love to hear more suggestions from people regarding private programs! Ambassador Mandarin sounds great; their site is pretty minimal on class details, but it sounds very flexible. I agree with you that 4-5 hrs/week, 5-6 days/week is best (in addition to outside personal study)... more is debilitating

[abcdefg]

I studied at Mandarin House, Guomao branch Beijing, in 2007. I was an older student, well past university age. Unlike you, I was a beginner at the time. Nonetheless, I was well pleased with the organization of the school and with the quality of my instructors. I took a combination of small classes and one to one for a total of about two months, usually four hours a day. Anything beyond that proved counterproductive for me. (I briefly tried six per day, but it was too much.)

Please note that my Mandarin House information is not current.

I think you will have a very tough time finding what you seek at a Chinese university because of the time frame involved.

[darumdarum]

I studied at www.livethelanguage.cn last year and especially if you have your company paying for it, I would recommend them. They are not the cheapest school in town, but at least for me it was worth it, it was a really great experience.

In the end the most important person is your teacher though and I had two at that school and they were both great.

Not sure if you would want a Chinese Homestay, but thats something they seem to specialise in and it does help in getting your spoken Chinese up and I had a friend do their Chengde Full Immersion course and she loved it.

They definitely are very flexible with dates and courses, but I think most private schools would be.

Spend some time researching though, I had two friends study at another school and it turned out pretty bad - which is what kind of made me appreciate my school a lot more

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[Aaron MH]

Hi Gr8Ch1mp,

My name is Aaron and I'm the Business Development Manager for Mandarin House. I'm glad that you have been considering our school and want to invite you to either send me an email with your questions, or come pay a visit and try out a class. Let me know.

My email is: aaron@mandarinhouse.cn

All the best with your Chinese and I hope you enjoy your time in Beijing.

Kind regards,

Aaron

[cultureyard]

Hey! Glad to hear your coming to study in Beijing. I have lived here almost 6 months now and love it.

If you're looking to do an intensive study program, Culture Yard offers students from abroad an intensive study program which includes cultural activities as well as social events. The chinese intensive program is a new design that the levels mirror the HSK, which is the official Chinese language exam, but the courses are focused on conversational skills. We are starting Chinese intensive programs for all levels every month, and each level runs for 5 weeks Monday to Friday from 10:00 - 12:00.

I'm actually the online person, so working on our SEO set up right now:)

Mahira