Should I choose a degree of Chinese language for foreigners or other degree with native students

[Razumihin]

Hello. I want to study in China, but I'm not sure of the best possible way to do that.

Some people have suggested in other topics that it is better to choose other degrees than Chinese language & literature which are aimed just for foreigners. They are supposedly a bit too easy towards students.

I will apply for CSC scholarship and I think there is a chance to choose other degrees, like economics or Chinese literature (with native students) but they usually require HSK 4. The scholarship does include at least 1 year of preparatory language studies before the "real" degree starts.

Do you think it would be a good idea to do a degree together with native students? More importantly, is it possible? Currently my Chinese is rather limited, it's only at HSK1-level, but I'm ready to work hard during that one year. If you know of anyone who has done this, please tell me. I think it would be better choice career-wise to learn some other skills than language and it might be even better for my language studies to partake in a very demanding course.

Thank you for anyone who can advise me.

[山东朱]

Even though HSK 4 might be enough on paper to get you into a undergraduate course at some universities, I would guess that it is far from adequate. Even with al level equilavent to HSK 5, you will be presented with alot of difficulties. Having said that, enrolling into a degree course for natives has alot of advantages and could be worth it, depending on you willingness to study both language and a related subject. However, going from HSK 1 (which is what, two month of learning Chinese?) to HSK 5 will take you 2 years at least, so be prepared for a long road ahead.

[tytzer]

There are a handful of universities in China that teaches Degree Courses completely in English but as a foreigner learning Chinese language is a required elective (Dependent on the university). Moreover, I believe the HSK qualification is for courses taught in Chinese; whilst courses taught in English is either IELTS or TOEFLL

I'm actually preparing for my freshman year at Beijing Foreign Studies University (International Journalism & Communication) and I don't have a HSK qualification.

[Ruben von Zwack]

I think it's entirely possible to get from HSK 1 to HSK 4 within one year. Probably not if you live in the West and have to make an effort to actually hear, read and speak Chinese. But you will be in China, and as you said, you are willing to give your best - so why not?

And, sure, of course 4 will not be adequate for following an academic discussion. But I guess over the course of that year, there will be enough room and opportunities to familiarise yourself with the vocabulary of your field of interest, self-study way.

[Erbse]

You may reach HSK4 within a year, but just barely passing HSK4 will not allow you to study at a serious and demanding university. You may get by at a 3rd class university, but do you really want that? You should at least plan to study Chinese for 2 years first in China, maybe even more, if you really want to go this route.

Consider studying economics (or whatever) at a huge city in your country. If you happen to come from Northern America, take a look at the cities of the West coast, where you can find some large Chinatowns. It's not the same as within China, but it is acceptable I guess.

[anonymoose]

There are lots of people who do this. I know some who came to China and studied Chinese for one year starting from nothing, and then went on to read medicine with local students at Fudan (one of the top universities in China). It is tough. Very tough. But it is possible. However, even if you study very hard, you will likely struggle with the exams, at least initially. The people refered to above write their exams in English, even after having studied medicine for four years. This is not officially allowed - whether you can get away with it or not depends on the tutor. If you are required to write in Chinese, then of course it becomes that much harder.

On the other hand, a degree in a subject other than Chinese would be much more useful. Some people claim that you are also likely to achieve a higher level in Chinese this way than studying the language purely. Actually I disagree with this. The problem is that, say you were studying medicine, it would be a struggle to keep up with the required reading. The students refered to above chose to read books in English most of the time, just to be able to keep up with the course - reading in Chinese would just have been too much, at least initially. But there you see, a lot of your time will be spent just trying to keep your head above water, leaving you with little resources to devote to language study itself. Therefore, whilst it sounds good in theory, learning a subject other than Chinese is not the most efficient way to learn Chinese. Of course, if learning the language is a particular goal of yours, you can put more effort into this. The above students did not learn Chinese by choice (they were on their countries' own government scholarships, and did not specifically choose to come to China), so they only learned what they had to. However, even if you choose to pay attention to Chinese whilst learning a different subject, your time will be limited to really do it properly. (Also reading doesn't give you much opportunity to practise speaking).

Having said that, I still think a degree in a subject other than Chinese, plus a certain competence in Chinese, is still better than a degree in Chinese (after which you are not guaranteed to be extremely competent either - it depends a lot on your own studying attitude).

And yes, even with an HSK6, studying alongside Chinese students will still be a challenge. However, if you have the will, then there's always a way.

[Ruben von Zwack]

I think Olle Linge from hackingchinese wrote on his blog that studying along native students is extremely tough and, these are my words cause I can't recall his exactly, that he feels it's getting over his head sometimes. But he is studying for a degree in teaching Chinese as a foreign language, together with natives. So his struggle pays off, of course.