Where to Learn Chinese Language

[kackyg60]

I've been trying to find a school or somewhere that offers instruction on how to speak and understand Mandarin but have had no luck. Lots of Spanish but no Chinese. I did find one college that offered it but it was outrageously expensive. I thought of getting a tutor but that is probably costly also. I know it is going to cost some money in any event, which is okay. Is there any resource to which I can be directed to locate a school/tutor? I live in the St. Petersburg/Tampa Bay area of Florida.

Is taking a course on-line an option? From reading other threads in this forum, it looks like there are certain tones/pauses that come into play, so I wonder how you get the correct tones/pronunciation if there is not a live person teaching it. Computer speakers are not real clear.

I just know that I have become fascinated by the Chinese culture/language/country and I am anxious to learn about it all. I think China is going to play a huge part in our lives in the future.

[woliveri]

Well, first I have to say Good Luck. I came from Florida and the community college and even the University system is terrible for Chinese Language. They are way behind and don't seem interested in adding these courses.

Recommendations:

You could try this group. The problem here is they are going to start charging the organizer so I think it will be difficult to find someone to take that role.

http://chinese.meetup.com/92/

Another thing you can do is look for a Chinese American Association in your area. We had a couple in the Orlando area and from there you can take classes or at least find a tutor.

I've been lucky since I've been out here in California. I've found a couple of teachers who are teaching 2 hours for 15.00 and another two who are teaching for free. One is at a Buddhist temple.

This is another route you can take, look for a local Buddhist temple or Chinese church.

Hopefully this will give you some ideas.

Good luck.

[mlomker]

I live in the St. Petersburg/Tampa Bay area of Florida.

There doesn't seem to be a lot of information online. Is there a 'Chinatown' or asian restaurants or grocery stores nearby. Ask around! You might be surprised how helpful people are when they find out that you want to learn about their language and culture.

Here's a couple links that I found by searching online. I hope that they help:

http://www.usfchineseschool.com/

http://www.mychinese.org/news1.html

[kackyg60]

Thanks to you both for your suggestions. I have found a few Buddhist temple groups that I'm going to follow up on. I will also look for any Chinese businesses in the area and see if anyone can help me there, along with looking for any Chinese American Associations. I am also going to see if a local international culture group can help. The sites you both listed are another possibility. So thanks for giving me something to work with.

By the way, two hours of tutoring for $15.00 sounds great! A language school that is trying to find a tutor for me said that tutoring starts at $35.00 per hour and I know it's going to take a lot of hours to learn Chinese.

Florida is definitely behind the times as far as anything Chinese. Very heavy on Spanish since we have a lot of immigrants from Cuba and Mexico.

[mlomker]

By the way, two hours of tutoring for $15.00 sounds great! A language school that is trying to find a tutor for me said that tutoring starts at $35.00 per hour and I know it's going to take a lot of hours to learn Chinese.

The class that I take at my local Chinese American center is a paltry $5/hr. The problem is that it only runs 30-some weeks of the year and only 2 hours on Saturday mornings. It takes a lot more hours than that to make progress. You'll also make *much* quicker progress with a private tutor than you will in a classroom. If you can afford a private tutor then you will find it beneficial to have one for a couple hours here and there to help you with pronunciation. You simply won't get to speak enough in a group class.

There are a number of computer programs and books that I could recommend if you have the budget for such things. Some of it gets expensive, but it'll allow you to study at home to supplement your class(es).

$35 is about right for private tutoring with a professional teacher. You could probably find a Chinese graduate student that'll work for a lot less. I'm paying a grad student $15/hr but you have to keep in mind that they will not be professional teachers. I design my own lesson plan and use him mostly for pronunciation assistance--that is the key problem you'll run into in your first 6-12 months of study. You'll know the words but won't be able to say them and be understood.

Good luck and ask questions here if you have any.