Studying Mandarin in China -- What options ?

[moidgm]

I have been studying mandarin for few years and would take few months off to go to China. I would like to know what would be the best option for me to learn as much as possible. I would prefer to go to a place where I can really immerse myself. 

 

Is there any program or something that can help me to find a school or some place that can be good to live for few months while practicing my mandarin ? 

 

 

[James W.]

I've been studying at http://www.1to1mandarinworkshop.com/ for some time and am very pleased with the programs there.  I do a combination of on-site programs (in the summers) and Skype (rest of the year).  Programs are customizable, affordable and quality is very good.  I would highly recommend programs at this school.   I also think that Harbin is perhaps the best place in China to learn standard Mandarin.   It is significantly better IMO than programs in Beijing, which are expensive and very hit-or-miss.  Plus, Harbin is a charming city with many things to do.  

[James3]

@moidgm I've been considering a trip to China to study Mandarin as you mentioned, for a while now, and like James W. said, I've been impressed with what I've read about 1to1 mandarin workshop. On that note, here's a thread where previous students have given their feedback. Good luck.

[Eszter]

Have you considered going to Taiwan? There are scholarships available and personally I had a better language learning experience there than in China. But of course only if you're willing to put up with the traditional characters....

[moidgm]

@Eszter, do you have more information about scholarships available and which program would be good over there ? 

 

Other than classes, what are the best ways to learn it while in Taiwan ?

[Eszter]

The ministry of education in Taiwan offers different types of scholarships, there are shorter ones for language courses (up to a year) and longer ones for completing a degree. I did both and it was awesome, but I encourage you to google the current rules as I believe they have changed a few things since I was there. 

I made many friends in Taiwan and there are a lot of other things to do besides classes that I could all consider as opportunities to learn. I joined a Taijiquan group in a park, went to many cultural events (there's an awesome live music and art scene in Taipei with great people from all around the world). Traveling is also a good idea as the island is beautiful and people are really nice everywhere. I also loved the 24hr bookstore and the night markets. You never feel bored in Taipei.

[moidgm]

Eszter, that is quite useful ! Actually do you have any recommendation on which school are good in Taiwan to learn mandarin ? 

[Eszter]

My knowledge is not really up to date, but I can recommend NTU, (National Taiwan University), their language center is a really good one, and if you want something outside of Taipei, I would recommend National Sun Yat-Sen University in Kaohsiung. They have better student/teacher ratio than most classrooms in Taipei and the campus is on the most amazing location, they even have their own beach! I'm sure there are other good places out there too, but these are the ones I actually know and would recommend.

[James W.]

I suspect the biggest problems with study in Taiwan would be the non-standard accent and character set.  It is harder to learn the traditional characters (IMO) but also less useful, since the simplified characters are more widely used.  That may be offset by other factors; I haven't really explored language options in Taiwan.  In general, I can't say I am enthused about the University based programs I have seen.  Private schools have much much higher quality of pedagogy and materials,are  more flexible and more accommodating. 

[Eszter]

The accent is very close to putonghua, probably minus the "er" every now and then. I personally find Taiwanese mandarin easier to understand but I was there for many years. Yes, they use traditional characters (although I believe in many language centers they offer textbooks with simplified characters too) I think it may be confusing in the beginning, but you can get used to it and classical characters definitely have their own beauty. I learned simplified before I went to Taiwan and I was able to deal with the classical characters in a short time, now I read both just the same. They are not that much different after all.

I don't know anything about private schools if there's any, most mandarin programs are available in universities (at least those are the ones you can get scholarship) but they do have private universities too. 

[Johnny20270]

I have been studying mandarin for few years and would take few months off to go to China. I would like to know what would be the best option for me to learn as much as possible. I would prefer to go to a place where I can really immerse myself. 

 

 

 

Others will disagree but I would avoid Beijing / Shanghai as its easy to avoid the 'immersion' experience you are after and live a western lifestyle. In hindsight I would have liked to live in Kunming, Xi'an, Dailian maybe   Every day I am drawn towards a Starbucks or other coffee shop where all the staff speak English. Sometimes you just don't fight it, take the easy route and start speaking English. 

 

When  I was looked for a school I would not consider Taiwan because of traditional characters usage. Its a huge task to learn the characters and I didn't see the need to add a further layer of unnecessary steps. However Eszter's experience is interesting to read.

 

Also, I would say to really bombard yourself with Hanzi as its work that can be done outside China and you want to use the China 'experience' mainly for speaking

[Jason Bauer]

I am a native Chinese speaker. You can help me practice oral English. I can teach you Chinese in exchange.

Skype: facebook:jasonbauer1218

[Eszter]

 

 

I would avoid Beijing / Shanghai as its easy to avoid the 'immersion' experience you are after and live a western lifestyle. In hindsight I would have liked to live in Kunming, Xi'an, Dailian maybe

 

Good point! I think it's useful to keep in mind that big international cities have more "temptation" to keep you within the boundaries of the life you got used to (at least if you're an American) But I also think that these diverse places offer more chances to experience the local culture as well. In my opinion it's always the person's determination that will decide the outcome of the learning process. 

I know going to Taiwan has its difficulties, mostly because the classical characters, but I wouldn't define it as a "huge task". It's something you need to get used to, yes, it takes some time and work, yes. Huge task? Not really  

 

Still, I understand that there are many reasons to choose China. In an ideal world though, I would encourage everybody to visit both. 

[Johnny20270]

I think its a good reason to ask yourself why you are going there and that may guide you towards the place. For me being in my 40's I have no interest in going to nightclubs, partying etc and lots of Beijing / Shanghai attractions are not 'attractions' to me, .... However if you are in your 20's, going to language school, coming home and studying for the rest of the day can be pretty dull. You may want to get out and about. Its the classic, embrace the fast paced life of the city when you are younger but it may irritate you when you are older