Dalian Language Inst (Dawai) vs Dalian Tech vs Beijing

[greenberg]

Any body had first hand experience with these schools... appreciated

Thanks

[Harvey]

I would also like to know!

Geesh. Where does the Dalian crowd hang out... is there some other dailan-forums.com or something?

[adrian440]

I spent three months in Dalian, one and half of those enrolled at 大连理工大学. The tuition there was better than that I recieved in my home country, and the teachers were quite committed to their jobs. Dalian tech is on the outskirts of the city, where as Dawai is in the city centre. Once you figure out the busses, its not hard to get into town. I was there in winter (due to circumstance), it was cold and grey like I had never experienced (since I'm from Australia), but I have heard it is a beautiful city in summer.

[Harvey]

What were you doing at the university? Were you a student studying Chinese? or working on some other degree?

[stephanhodges]

I found this forum for Dalian, doing a google search : http://community.travelchinaguide.com/d_forum.asp?d=90

Also, Frommers web site has a city map.http://www.frommers.com/images/destinations/maps/jpg/3337_dalian.jpg

Also, just found this link with some video, maps, etc. by Dalian City:

http://2003.dl.gov.cn/i18n/en/

[adrian440]

Yes, studying chinese. I had learnt some before I came, and after they (理工大学） put me in a class. It worked out really well, considering I arrived halfway through the semester. 大外 would not let me start there mid-course, so that was the reason I went to 理工大学. When I started, I felt like I was at the bottom of the class, but when exams rolled around, I got 2nd/3rd highest scores.

[Harvey]

Wow sounds great adrian you really picked up fast!

What were most of the other students like in the classes? Were they mostly college grads, about 23, 24 years old? How long were most planning to stay in China?

[kaifaqu crue]

I haven't personally gone to either of those schools, but I know several people who went to Dawai. So, if you have any specific questions I'd be happy to try to find an answer for you. If you have any general questions about Dalian, I lived there for a little over a year and think it's a great city, so I would be glad to answer those.

[Harvey]

kaifaque, you're in Indiana? I graduated from IUB :-)

Is Dawai the Dailen Foreign Language Institute place?

If so I have a lot of questions. First off, if going to study Chinese in Dailan, is DAIWAI the obvious number one place to go? Or is it worth checking out other places in Dalian as well?

Also, where can I get specifics on schedules, tuition, class hours per day on the courses at DAIWAI?

Training Program of Chinese Language and Culture

Such language training classes include about a dozen levels.

1. ①ABC class ②Elementary (Low Level); ③Elementary (Middle Level); ④Elementary (High Level)

2. ①Intermediate (Low Level); ②Intermediate (Middle Level); ③Intermediate (High Level)

3. ①Advanced (Low Level); ② Advanced (High Level)

There are also accelerated classes for the three levels.

A. Beginners will be directly placed in ABC class.

B. Students having certain foundation of Chinese will be placed in classes according to the result of the entrance exam for class placement. After class placement, students are allowed 2 days to sit in the class. Within this period, if a student wants to change class, he/she should apply to the office for the centralized transfer. Transfer of class is declined beyond the limit of 2 days.

C. Students, having studied for over a year, can be placed in the accelerated class upon application, if he/she wants to speed his/her study. (One year study in this class can achieve the same level as one-and-half-year study in other classes.)

For example... this accelerated class... what is it? How much does it cost? When does it start!? I'm a details kinda guy and we're skimpin on the詳細 here.

The link which says "must know for schooling" seems to only refer to the degree programs, and not the foreign language instutution part.

Can you tell me what kind of background the people you know studying at DAWEI have? I want to get an idea of the types of people who go there to study. Is it mostly people who are fresh graduates of a 4 year university?

Thanks for any info. I'm seriously considering Dalian at the moment.

[kaifaqu crue]

Yeah, Dawai is the Dalian Foreign Language Institute. It's by far the most popular place for foreign students to study in the city. As far as the typical student, they really vary quite a bit. The majority are Korean, Japanese, or Russian. There are some who have just graduated from a 4-year somewhere else, but there are many others who are younger and some who are older as well. Most Korean students who I've spoken to were in the process of studying there for around three years and hadn't had much if any Chinese before they arrived. The western studens were really a mix. There was a sizable group of Italian students studying there on a summer abroad type thing at one point.

As far as specifics, I don't know much personally aside from what information you can find out on the website that I linked to in the other thread. I'm pretty sure the classes are in the mornings and the semesters run from early September to early January and then from after Spring Festival to the early summer. I have no idea about the accelerated class, but I'd guess that it involves additional classes in the afternoon. Not sure about the tuition. I can try to find out specific information for you if you have a specific question. In my experience, details and specifics in China are not nearly available as they probably could or should be and tend to become outdated quickly and without warning, but that's where most of the fun comes in. Let me know if there's a specific question you have that I can pass on to one of my friends or any general stuff I haven't covered. Good luck.