What are my options at this point?

[acatt]

I am 23 years old, a graduate from the Defense Language Institute's intensive Chinese course (whereupon completion, I received an AA in Chinese), have approximately 5 years of Chinese language study under my belt, have never been to China, and I recently took the new HSK 6 which I passed with honors. I'm a newbie to this site and admittedly clueless with regards to which university I should study at. I was hoping that this wonderful community could provide some advice on the best place to study Mandarin in China. I'm open to anything from Shanghai to Harbin. The Chinese language is my greatest passion in life, as I'm sure it is with many of you. I'm looking to be the very best that I can be in the language. While I do enjoy my occasional night out, the party life is not for me. I'm looking to start school in January of 2013, so there is still some time to figure things out. Really looking forward to buckling down and simply studying Chinese for a few years. So what is your opinion on which school is the best for Chinese language study (I love Chinese literature by the way)? With my background and HSK score, what are my options as far as scholarships to study in China? I'm sorry for the long post, still getting used to navigating the site. Thank you all for your patience and any advice you can provide me with.

Best,

Michael

[skylee]

I recently took the new HSK 6 which I passed with honors.

I have not paid attention to the HSK. How do you achieve the honours? By getting certain marks? I am a bit confused.

[mokushiroku]

The even-numbered HSK tests all get a "with honors" plastered on their certificates.

The HSK is a great test to take if you are looking for a job, so consider it!

[skylee]

I see. So everyone who passes HSK6 gets the honours? I see from this website that there are also Grades A, B, C and Score Levels 9, 10, 11 in the scoring system. So they have nothing to do with the honours either?

Sorry for hijacking the thread. I just find the honours intriguing.

[jkhsu]

I see from this website that there are also Grades A, B, C and Score Levels 9, 10, 11 in the scoring system. So they have nothing to do with the honours either?

The website you're looking at describes the old HSK, prior to 2010. Here is the official site of the new HSK.

From my understanding, the new HSK 6 is titled "Advanced with Honors". Therefore, anyone who passes the test gets the honors. (Post #3 is correct) See wikipedia link.

[jkhsu]

So what is your opinion on which school is the best for Chinese language study (I love Chinese literature by the way)?

Try this website:

http://www.cucas.edu.../page_748.shtml

My personal opinion: If getting in is not an issue, I'd choose Peking U. or Fudan in that order. Nanjing and Zhejiang are also great choices.

[imron]

Getting back on topic, if money isn't an issue, ICLP - http://iclp.ntu.edu.tw/ and IUP - http://ieas.berkeley.edu/iup/ are generally considered to be intense courses designed to take your Chinese to the next level.

Attending classes at a private school would probably come next on the list in terms of improving Chinese (you cover more than you would at a university in a shorter period of time and if the school is good you'll have tailored lessons). This option is cheaper than ICLP/IUP, but more expensive than regular university language classes.

University is then the more affordable option, but often the teaching methods are stuck in a time warp from several decades ago and you'll not learn as much in a 20-30 person class as you would in a one-on-one or small group.

Finally, if your Chinese is up to it, enrolling in a regular degree program at some university (i.e. not a Chinese language program aimed at foreigners, but a degree alongside other Chinese students), would also be a good way to improve your language skills. It's not so much a Chinese language course, but the immersion you get would also push your language skills up several notches.

[acatt]

HSK: I was under the impression that the HSK was divided into 6 levels and each level could yield a Fail, Pass, or Pass with Honors. I'm probably wrong though.

Scholarships: Is it fairly easy to get a scholarship to study China for a couple years? If so, who would I need to apply through?

Thanks again, you guys are great.

[ChTTay]

University is then the more affordable option, but often the teaching methods are stuck in a time warp from several decades ago and you'll not learn as much in a 20-30 person class as you would in a one-on-one or small group.

The numbers on the Tsinghua language program aren't so bad. I am in Elementary 2 and there is 13 of us. Intermediate looks a bit "busier" but i'd say 15 per class is an average. Once you get to Intermediate II and Advanced there are less students

[imron]

Scholarships: Is it fairly easy to get a scholarship to study China for a couple years? If so, who would I need to apply through?

The CSC Scholarship would probably be your best bet. As luck would have it, discussion on the 2013 round of scholarships has just kicked off.

That thread (and previous years threads that are linked there) contain a wealth of information with many questions you might have already answered - so you might want to spend a few hours reading through them. Bear in mind however that it's pretty much a black hole in terms of the process and how it gets awarded, but at least the threads will be able to provide you with information on what you need to do to sort out an application.

[fanglu]

Bear in mind however that it's pretty much a black hole in terms of the process and how it gets awarded

I suspect emphasising that you are/were a military/government employee wouldn't go astray.

If you want a language course, rather than a course for Chinese students, I would stick to the biggest universities for teaching foreigners. Smaller schools may not have higher level classes and you'll be lumped into an 'advanced' class with students of wildly varied abilities.

[kdavid]

a graduate from the Defense Language Institute's intensive Chinese course

Pleading ignorance here, but doesn't that mean you were affiliated with the State Department, even somewhat indirectly?

With an HSK6 and 5 years learning experience, I think you'd be primed for a job with the State Department? Surely you'd be able to put your language skills to use.

If you're at the advanced level you sound like you're at, you need daily practice with authentic sources (e.g. speaking to native speakers, a lot of reading, etc.).

While going for a BA or MA under the CSC is an option, I'm not sure this is for everyone. Granted my personal experience is with a lesser-known university in a second-tier city, I've been overall very unimpressed with the level of teaching and scholasticism. I'd imagine this would be much different at the more prestigious universities.

I'm curious about State Department jobs as this may be an avenue I'm interested in pursuing.

[WestTexas]

If you've passed the HSK 6, do you really need more classes? Why not just grab some real Chinese books, watch some Chinese movies, and talk to some Chinese people?

[acatt]

I love the language, so if I can continue studying it at a university and pick up a BA..I am all for it. As long as the level is appropriate, otherwise my classtime is spent either dozing off out of boredom or making everyone think i'm rude for making cards in class to throw into my Anki deck.

[acatt]

While we're on the topic, does anyone here have any experience with the scholarships offered through the Confucius Institutes?

[roddy]

I'd be wary of going for further language study. Think about what you actually want to be doing over the next ten years, then start doing that, in Chinese.

There are topics about the Confucius scholarships, a search should turn them up.

[WestTexas]

I'd be wary of going for further language study. Think about what you actually want to be doing over the next ten years, then start doing that, in Chinese.

I think this is a great suggestion. Workplace experience, or university classes on another subject taught in Chinese, might do more for your Chinese level than language classes will at this point. Plus, it will be much easier for you to get a job using Chinese in the future.

Having just a Chinese language degree is probably not that useful for employment at this point, unless you want to move back to the US and teach Chinese to high school students.

[roddy]

Even then - you could do a degree in education, or psychology, or linguistics. You'll come out with better Chinese, a more impressive resume and hopefully even some actual knowledge and skills.

[edelweis]

@kdavid: It seems DLI is mainly for military personnel. It seems to fit with the OP's age of 23 and 5 years of Chinese learning (enroll at 18, basic training, more than 1 year at DLI, then finish the 4 or 5 year contract doing whatever - perhaps intelligence? - while keeping studying Chinese, see the WTE website, which, by the way, has lots of material in many languages ordered by level of difficulty).

Perhaps you were thinking of the FSI ?

BTW I have an HSK4 certificate but there is no mention of honors on it.

[acatt]

I just looked around on the CSC website at different schools. Not really sure if the price per semester is in RMB or USD. Anyone?