Looking for a shool in China

[mirgcire]

Is there any list for schools that offer chinese language programs for foreigners? So far I have found: Gateway Language Village, EMW (Shenzhen), and Shanghai University of Finance and Economics. Perhaps you can help me grow this list?

I am looking for a Chinese Language School that I can attend for about 2 weeks this summer. My level is just a little above beginner, as I have completed all the Pimsleur tapes and have been taking night courses for about a year.

[amo]

Hi I study at Chengdu University now and the semester there last for 4 months in the language class. I think they have a summer program to, but I am not 100% sure.

Rune

[mrtoga]

Mirgcire,

I do not know of a comprehensive list, but my company works with ten universities in the northeast of China - there are lots of details about the various courses offered at these universities on my site. Please feel free to take a look at this page:

http://www.hyccchina.com/english/araq/index.htm

From here you can browse information about cities, universities, courses, dormitories, etc.

Wherever you decide to study, I have some general advice for you:

- Choose a school that has at least 200 students enrolled, otherwise you may well find that there is not a class suitable for you (too late to change once you have handed over the tuition / accommodation fees).

- On the other hand (from my personal experience), a school with several thousand foreign students is too big. For instance at BLCU I spent most of my time outside class speaking English with the large European / American community there.

- Make sure you know what the accommodation will be like. Comfortable, clean accommodation is a big factor and varies considerably between schools.

When reading this advice please bear in mind that in a sense I have a "vested interest" here as I run a company helping people to study at exactly the kind of universities I recommend above!

Hope this is useful!

[Shiela]

Just my opinion, but I think you'll find it hard finding anywhere - private institute or university - offering a short course for two weeks. Most I have seen are for a minimum 4 weeks.

[stephanhodges]

There's also a link in the "Links" section on this forum, with 200 (?) schools. The link is dated May 2005, so it's getting a little long in the tooth.

[mrtoga]

I know a school (not university) in Harbin that takes students for a minimum of two weeks. However you have to fit in with the classes they offer at the time, and this changes depending on demand at that time. They have quite a range of classes so this is not normally a problem, but it is a bit "hit & miss". PM me if you are interested.

[mirgcire]

Thanks for all the replies. I googled around and compiled the following list. If anyone has any experience with these schools let me know. With each school I listed the price of the minimum session length from the website.

Gateway Language Village, Zhuhai http://www.totalchinese.com, 2 weeks $460

World Link Edu, Beijing, http://www.worldlinkedu.com/chinese_language.html, minimum 4 week program

Global Exchange Center, Beijing, http://www.glexchange.net/Chinese%20Language.htm, 1 week - $100

Manda Center, Hangzhou, http://www.mandacenter.com/ 2 weeks, $325

Leewen, Qingdoa, http://www.leewen.org/htdocs/en/contact.htm Qingdao, no details

Beijing Chinese Language School, Beijing, http://www.bjchineseschool.com/english/stand.htm, very flexible no cheap

Ocean University of Qingdoa, Qingdoa, http://www.educasian.com/university/qingdaoocean.html , minimum 4 weeks

Mandarin Language School, Xiamen, http://www.studyabroadinternational.com/China/Xiamen/China_Xiamen_courses.html, 25hr/wk - $880

Executive Mandarin, Beijing, http://www.chinaimmersion.com/students/Home.htm, 2wk - $700

Fudan, Shanghai, http://www.fso.fudan.sh.cn/ehtml/efudan_info.htm, 2wk - 2500 RMB

EMW, Shenzhen, http://www.emeetw.com , 6wks - $4000

Lotus Educational Foundation, Beijing, http://www.lotusstudy.com, $580/week

Interactive Language Center, Shenzhen, http://www.tliilc.com, no details

[Sally200]

Mirgcire, you got the price wrong for EMW, you said 2 weeks was $4000. I just double checked that and it $4000 for 4 weeks of study AND 2 weeks of traveling around, pretty good intinerary too. So 6 weeks altogether for $4000.

I wanted to put in my two bits about what mrtoga said. Personally I think 200 students enrolled in a 2 week intensive is too many. I would want to have as few as possible, 10-25. I have gone to this type of program before and felt I learned alot more and had a better experience.

[Harvey]

I don't think mrtoga meant 200 students in one class, I think he meant enrolled in the entire program.

If there are too few students in the entire program, for example if there are only 3 kids who are super advanced, there will be no "super advanced" course for them, and they'll be forced to sit in with the "not quite super advanced" kids.

The more students you get participating in a program, the greater the chances are that their course levels will be more finely tuned.

[mrtoga]

Thank you Harvey, that is indeed what I meant. Individual classes tend to be between about 8-15 students. The more classes available the more likely there will be one to suit your level.

[flameproof]

>My level is just a little above beginner, as I have completed all the Pimsleur tapes and have been taking night courses for about a year.

a little above beginner? 90 Pimsleur lessons and one extra year should make you an advanced learner. Presumed that you did remember something.

I like to add just just one name brand: Berlitz

I just read about their "total immersion" courses. 2 weeks with 1-2 teachers. 10 hours a day. Means YOU against 2 teachers!

I guess their quality is good, so is their price: RMB25,000

I would rather hire one or two teachers and let them work on me. But of course if you're lucky and the company pays......

[Lonnieb]

Mrtoga: Great resource! And all of this started for you as a JET, aye? I knew many JETs while I was in Japan learning to slaughter the language.

I was a professor in Japan for many years and now am in China as the same. I miss the pay, but love the culture here. And my wife is Chinese.

Please email me as we started a program in Guangzhou that trains in Tai Chi or Kung Fu or Chi Na (I do the Chi Na as I am too old for the other stuff anymore) while you are learning the language.

[badr]

I try not to do any shameless advertising in these forums ( part from my signature) but in this case i'll make an exception.

you might want to take a look at the course we organize. It's an intensive two weeks bootcamps up in the mountains that is the perfect way to kickstart your chinese.

http://www.sinocamps.com

[mrtoga]

I'm sorry Flameproof, but that sounds like a small fortune for two weeks of Chinese Language tuition. Even if you study for 100 hours in the two weeks it is still 250 renminbi per hour. Not cheap, and I think your brain will be completely fried studying ten hours a day anyway.

25,000 for two weeks of teaching - not bad if you can get it. I think you are paying 20,000 renminbi for the Berlitz name and 5,000 (max) for the tuition. You can study for four semesters at university in China for that money - I know which will improve your Chinese ability more.

[1on1Mandarin]

Hi all,

Being a long time Mandarin Learner (7-8 years) and going through nearly every type of class structure: Large (40 students), medium (15-20), small group seminar (8-10), 1 on 3 and 1 on 1, I must say that the best possible programs available for students looking to really get a great hold on their chinese is to look for courses that provide the true small class environment (3 students max!).

Check out schools like:

Inter University Program (IUP)

1on1 The Language Center (www.1on1mandarin.com)

Tawain Language Institute (TLI)

You are definitely going to pay a bit of a premium, but the amount of participation time you get in class is far greater than anything you will find at the conventional chinese programs like BLCU and others.

[adrianlondon]

Or go to BNU where most of the class are Koreans and Japanese who are too scared to say anything. Works for me

[1on1Mandarin]

Yeah, that could be an option. Two things to keep in mind, however. 1) It is not that they (koreans and japanese) are too scared to say anything, it is not their culture to participate in their educational learning. Their style is to listen and take notes. 2) This brings up a good point as discussed in the "Any foreigner-run language school in Beijing ?" thread: http://www.chinese-forums.com/index.php?/topic/12-horse-horse-tiger-tiger-slang-and-idioms498. Most Chinese University mandarin programs are designed for the asian learner: Chinese, Japanese, Korean. While a western foreigner can get by learning a lot of characters and participating every so often, a westerner will learn much faster and easier in an environment and curriculum that is designed specifically with the western learner in mind.

We as westerners NEED to participate in our classes to learn things like a language. We can get by without participation, but we are encouraged and tought from basically preschool to participate. This is the way we learn.

So one word of advice, if there are any westerners looking at reading this thread, look for a program that knows how to teach westerners. A good sign is the type of curriculum they use and if there are a majority of westerners or asians studying at the respective school.

[a'long]

@ Flameproof- I agree with the other posters, 25K RMB for two weeks is crazy, also, there are many studies suggesting that the human brain can't really function well for more than about six hours per day of intense mental effort, the extra four hours are actually doing damage to what you may have learned earlier in the day. You can check out Konall Culture Exchange for a two week program of one-on-one classes, 4 hours per day for around $500US including accommodation and meals. Hard to beat.

[meljames21]

i have never seen a "list" per say, but when I was researching language schools before i came to china, i used this site:

http://www.languageschoolsguide.com/China.cfm

(it's tied to the site www.goabroad.com but it is just for language schools)

on this site, you can search by city in China, or search all of China. i'm studyiing in Beijing, and pretty much all the schools i have heard anything about are found on this website.

[quanxie]

I think location is everything!!! After living here over four years now in five different places, we have finnally found our home... I am studying full-time at the teachers college in Yunnan, Lijiang.. Lijiang is a great place to live and the school is one of the most open minded and flexible of the four univerisities I have been at... The price is also very reasonable... from 18RMB per class...

You can also study here during the summer and live in the BEST part of China where some of traditional ways of life still exist, for now...

phil