Studying for one semester : Intensive or not

[adrianlondon]

I want to study for one semester - September to December.

I had decided I want to study at BNU but now I'm thinking that 4 months' study isn't really going to be a great deal. I'm not a beginner and have, in the past, studied for two years (but only for an hour a week, and in the UK, so progress was painfully slow).

I'm now thinking that, as I don't want to study more than 4 months, the way forward might be to do something more intensive. BNU don't do intensive courses but BLCU do.

Has anyone done the intensive course? Is it much "faster" than the normal course and does it still leave you enough time to enjoy yourself (eat, sleep, drink, sex - usual stuff)?

[woliveri]

Personally, unless you're a power learner, I wouldn't do the intensive. I know someone who did 20 hour a week at another school and by mid second semester she had given up on remembering characters/words by writing. So she focused on being able to read and she is young and a very serious studier.

While I haven't done it yet, I'm going to stick to 20 hours which will leave time for studying and enjoying life in China.

[adrianlondon]

Cheers for that. I know it isn't strictly necessary (and is the subject of at least one contentious thread on here as it is) but I do want to learn to write the characters as well as read,listen and speak the langage. No short cuts for me. I'm learning for fun rather than to pass exams or out of necessity.

[Mr. Flamingo]

adrianlondon, I took an intensive (20 hrs/wk) course at BLCU that lasted one month this summer. The classes were 8 am to 12 noon, so although it seemed the class would never end, once it got out I could have lunch and then have the whole rest of the day to do whatever - touring Beijing, meeting with friends, or just relaxing. And there is plenty of time to go to clubs and stuff, as you have the whole weekend.

[adrianlondon]

I thought 20 hours per week was the "normal" course, not the intensive one.

Are the normal courses really less than 4 hours teaching per day?

[Craig]

20 hours be week is the normal class 8:30-1230. The intensive course is 30 hours a week you have 2 extra hours per day after lunch. At higher levels the times do change.

[self-taught-mba]

Yes, normal is considered 20 hours a week and intensive is considered 30 hours a week.

This is both at BLCU and other institutions that follow their model.

A lot of places differentiate their intensive course by simply tacking on an additional two hours in the afternoon. In many cases this is just simply tacking on a reading class. (Because you have both nonintensive and intensive people taking the same base course together, it can’t be something that will split the class in terms of levels and progression)

I have found reading classes to be interesting but also full of some of the least useful material. (the reading books typically delve into a lot of the extraneous culture/stories) Furthermore, they tend to have a heavy vocabulary load (not always the most useful vocabulary either).

However, this is not to say that this does not help one have a deeper understanding/depth of character knowledge, and can be quite interesting.

However, if you want to really improve on the basics, those two hours would be better spent on a tutor.

So all things being equal, stacking on these additional two hours would help you, but it may not be as productive as using a tutor.

However, because you’re doing this for enjoyment, you might really love tacking on the reading class. But also you mentioned that you want to write the characters. If this is the case, you’ll have to budget in the appropriate amount of time to do this. I would say at least an hour a day of character writing practice (some people spend two or more) plus your homework and general study. And reading classes, because of the heavy vocabulary, require an appropriate amount of preparation.

In this case you may be setting yourself up for a 10-12 hour day. So it is totally up to you whether you think you can handle that or not. But you say you’re doing this for fun and enjoyment and don’t want to take shortcuts. So I think you’ll be plenty busy between the four hours of class, homework, and character writing practice. Because writing characters is important to you (I have no problems with that, even if it’s not for me), you can spend those additional two hours working on your characters and a couple of hours on your homework/practice for a nice easy eight-hour day with plenty of time to party.

[adrianlondon]

Thanks very much for the replies, especially Mr I Taught Myself

I'm going to stick with the standard 20 hour/week course and use the spare time writing characters and practicing my new skills chatting with the locals.

[self-taught-mba]

I forgot to mention you can also find an elective class: chinese caligraphy Which you might find interesting/useful for your character writing

If you have more spare time. . .

You can always add more things when you get here. (Easier to add than to try to get your tuition back if you decide it is too much)

[adrianlondon]

Thanks! Great advice.

[billybot]

I am signed up for intensive right now, but it seems like it is a pretty heavy load. Does anyone know if it is easy to switch from intensive to regular before the semester starts?