Is Learning Mandarin in a Chinese University Worth It?

[scoopneals]

Hello,

Throughout my adventures in China, I've discovered the hidden secret of the CSC Scholarship. I'm looking to apply for the 2 Year Chinese Language Scholarship. Living free for 2 years & studying sounds like a pretty sweet deal. I'm currently teaching English, but am not so enthusiastic about it.

When I think about the Chinese Education system, however, I hesitate to really pursue such an opportunity. Basically, I'm afraid that I'll get stuck in a class where noone cares about learning. I want to find a school that effectively dismisses people that aren't working to improve their Chinese (does that sound familiar to anyone?). I want a difficult course that has proven itself to effectively improve student's abilities. I find this rather funny, because I spent most of my Undergrad years avoiding difficult courses.

My question is: Has anyone found a Mandarin teaching University for foreigners from the CSC list that they would recommend (or not recommend) attending?

http://np.china-embassy.org/eng/StudyinChina/jxj/t167578.htm

[eshton]

I'm at Tongji University right now and the International Office is really hard on the students. I‘ve seen students being suspended and expelled for not showing up to classes. I personally find the course difficult enough to require my full attention and I've found my abilities improving daily. Of course you should look it up yourself.

[ChTTay]

Check out my post on Tsinghua and skip down to the classes part for a bit of an overview

http://www.chinese-forums.com/index.php?/topic/40007-a-beginners-guide-to-the-tsinghua-university-language-program/

I would say that, past beginner 1 there aren't many people who really dont care at all and don't put any effort in. At least i have found this from my own experience and talking to friends about classes.

In my classes at Tsinghua it was hard to hide. Everyone got picked ob regularly to input soething. If a couple were struggling in a lesson, the teacher might just make sure they got asked a more straight forward question in that lesson. Then hit them with a harder one next time round. They were generally very good at making everyone comfortable enough to speak. Genetally, Even people who didn't care that much still don't want to feel like an idiot when asked something. If they really dont care then they just wont show up and you dont need to worry!

You alsohave to remember that, generally, the language courses at Universities (and private schools too) are in it to make money. If everyone has a hard time and the school are seen to be giving low marks or failing too many people then people just won't go there. Even if you want a strict course, you might question the lesson and teaching quality if many people go online and complain about failing or getting poor marks. Anyway, the point is that even if these places might talk the talk in terms of strictness, i don't think many will follow through apart from in extreme cases. At Tsinghua you can miss up of 40 hours of class before its a problem, then they may not let you back for another semester. Missing 40 is quite a lot of classes. My friend had already paid for the next semestervwhen he crossed the 40 hour line but its not like theyre going to give his money back.

Synical view maybe. If you currently teach in a private language school im sure you might have experienced something similar. I know i have. Give a child a high B and the parents remove them from school.

Sorry for the dodgy typing... I boame the iPad. Rant over.

[Guest realmayo]

You probably want to avoid universities which have been selected by the government to teach foreign scholarship students Chinese for one year before they move to another university to begin their proper major (i.e. their major is not Chinese but will be taught in Chinese).

[scoopneals]

Cool, thanks for the feedback.

realmayo,

Can you expand on why? Are there alternate programs you would recommend, or would you advocate for self study?

[Guest realmayo]

Foreign students on scholarships to study subjects apart from Chinese are given a year's Chinese language tuition first, then they start studying their chosen major alongside Chinese students, usually at a different university in a different city. Things may have changed since but around 4 years ago a handful of universities were selected to do the bulk of that year-one teaching. Students arrive, they want to study engineering or sociology or whatever in a different university but first they have to study Chinese for a year. Motivation can be low. Plus it's really hard: the teachers are put under huge pressure to get their classes to pass the minimum HSK (exam) score required by the university where these students will go on to study their proper major. It's part of a big government-driven project, I think these scholarships may be part of a series of inducements to help China trade with countries in Africa and the Middle East. Anyway these students can easily become the priority, at the expense of someone turning up just to learn Chinese for a couple of years who isn't part of that system. Didn't affect me because I started slightly earlier and at a different level but I later saw the effect on students and teachers. Of course, it may have all changed now. But note, I'm not referring to all universities that take scholarship students, just the few that were selected for that bulk year-one language training for those going on to study other subjects.

[Razumihin]

Realmayo, could you tell me for example if these universities are selected for that one year tuition (as I wish to avoid those):

Yunnan University, Sichuan University, Sun Yat-sen University, Beijing Language and Culture University.

[scoopneals]

Realmayo, thanks a lot for the info- very informative.

Hoping to hear some other opinions if there's anyone out there!

[Guest realmayo]

Razumihin -- sorry, I have no idea at all; if you can find specific threads dealing with those universities on these forums, try asking there.