Keats School, Kunming - A Query

[Guest KorraFan]

Hi, I'm a student considering studying at Keats school.

I'd like to do some sightseeing around the country and they have this study+tour in China which sounds really interesting. However, it does not seem suitable for someone who wants to do intensive study in Mandarin as there are only classes in the first week? Has someone already done this programme at Keats? If I really want to concentrate in the language perhaps I should opt to the the one on one classes? Seems I can't do both study and sightseeing in the same program. They only seem to give your a tour around Kunming when you first arrive.

[abcdefg]

Hello @KorraFan --

 

If I really want to concentrate in the language perhaps I should opt to the the one on one classes? Seems I can't do both study and sightseeing in the same program.

 

I've studied at Keats, but have not done that study + travel program. Is there a way you could first do some concentrated one-to-one? Plain vanilla language study. That would give you a solid head start. Then the travel part would be your desert after the main meal.

[Guest KorraFan]

Thanks @abcdefg.

It looks like the cost will be much higher if I do both. Don't the students organize their own group trips during the weekend? Perhaps not every weekend and certainly not to places as far as Beijing or Shanghai but they happen every so often?

[abcdefg]

#143 -- KorraFan -- Yes, the students organize short trips on the weekends. When I was there, these trips were to places in or very near Kunming. Sometimes a teacher went along, sometimes not.

 

Interest in these expeditions varies according to the pleasure of the students that are there at the time. Sometimes all they want to do is go to bars. Sometimes there are organized group dinners.

 

When I was there, several years ago, these little trips and dinners were a great time to practice English. (Bummer if you are serious about your Chinese.) Maybe they have improved the situation since then.

[Vanessa Lea]

Hi guys,

 

I took a 3 weeks preparation course for the HSK5 at Keats School and I have to say, it was the best choice I could have made!

 

It's true that it is not really cheap, but compared to what you get for your money it was totally worth it!! For me, the best part about the HSK preparation course is that you have private lessons. During the first days my teachers assesed my problems, so that we could particularly focus only on these problems and won't waste time with other things! My teachers were just great and I'm quite sure that I would have not be able to pass the HSK5 without them! When I arrived there my Chinese was really not that good at all. Directly after my arrival I had to talk to my teachers and they also asked me what kind of teaching method/ style I would like. That's something I really appreciated. Since I had only 3 weeks there I told them, that I really wnat to focus and learn a lot. For the HSK5 I had to learn so many new characters and at the beginning I was sure that I won't be able to manage all of them within only 3 weeks. But the teachers had perfect teaching methods, which enabled me to learn a lot in a very short time! Also, they really know about the structure and content of the HSK. They totally know what kinds of vocabulary you have to learn and what words you have to use in your writing section in order to receive a good grade. They also helped me enrolling for the test itself, (since the payment was not possible with foreign credit cards) which was really nice and cannot be taken for granted! For me all in all it was the perfect course!!!!

 

I also stayed at the school, which was extremly convenient. If you just have a short time and don't want to waste any time travelling forth and back, it's the perfect way to save time (and money)! The room was nice and had everything I needed.

The food was really delicious and they also served a satisfying amount of vegetarian food, which was very important for me! The school has its own cook, who freshly prepares the meals 3 times a day! This also helped to save time and focus on learning Chinese.

 

Everyone at the school (from the office employees to the cleaning lady) was really, really nice, extremly helpful and very welcoming!!! I already miss my days at Keats school and would recommend everyone to go there (especially for the HSK preparation course, since it is not offered this way at any other language schools)!

 

I hope I can go back one day to take the HSK 6 preparation class at Keats School ;)

 

 

 

 

[Guest jeanette11385]

I went to study at Keats for a month in early 2015 after a year of stumbling through the Chinese language. It's a really difficult language to navigate, and it's also really hard to find a good teacher. While self-study is certainly possible, at some point, a person really needs to work with bilingual teachers that have both a solid understanding of English as well as Chinese grammar to map the bridges of understanding. When I attended Keats school, I was taking one-on-one classes for six hours a day with two different teachers. You can definitely customize your study for your own needs, but what we did was focus on tying together reading, speaking, listening, and grammar. They did an awesome job and met with me every single day with lessons prepared, completely tailored to my needs. The teachers work just as hard as the students; it's a team process. Moreover, the food at the school prepared for students is fresh, healthy, and vegetarian-friendly. There is also lots to do around Kunming, so one is never bored! The teachers at Keats are also happy to help you plan excursions. After I left, my Chinese reading, writing, and listening skills improved ten-fold. I was so happy with the quality of their lessons that I decided to study for the HSK 3 after I left. Since I was living in a different city, I then took Skype lessons with them. I was very impressed by how the teachers communicated with one another regarding my learning style; therefore, my new teachers were already prepared before even having met me for the first time. During the months that I did my Skype lessons, I decided to start to learn to write Chinese. They helped critique my writing and developed very relevant lessons that helped use the grammar and vocabulary that I'd see on the HSK. Needless to say, I passed with a 98%, thanks to this wonderful school. If you want to improve your Chinese, even if you live abroad, I wholeheartedly suggest going with Keats and never looking back! You'll speak Chinese in no time. :-)  I'm back in the states now, and still take lessons with them to keep my Chinese current.  If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to contact me at jeanette11385@gmail.com.  Good luck to you!

[Tom_Forrest]

I’ve been studying at Keats School for about two and a half months now, in the beginner’s small group class. Before I came to Keats I could speak no Chinese at all, but in this short time I’ve been given so many useful language tools and such a practical range of vocabulary that I’m able to use Chinese with confidence in daily life.

The classes at Keats are packed with variety, meaning that each lesson you’ll be speaking, listening, reading and writing, which for me keeps me on my toes but also makes things a lot of fun. The class size is spot on; there’s plenty of participation from everybody and the perfect number for a range of fun activities.

There is a great social side to all our lessons, and we often go for meals and do other activities as a group. I came to Kunming with my brother but we didn’t know anybody else; we’ve both made lots of friends from Keats, not just in our own classes but from across the school.

Keats is in a fantastic location right in the heart of Kunming and is a lovely environment to work in. I especially like the fact that in the break you can go and make yourself a cup of tea or coffee!

The teachers at Keats are all incredibly friendly and their experience and training is evident immediately. On top of this they are all very helpful, whether it’s sorting out your visa, choosing which bank to go with or even looking up a bus route.

I’ve enjoyed my first semester here at Keats so much and I’ll definitely be coming back to do a second. If you want to learn Chinese at any level I can't recommend Keats highly enough!

[roddy]

While first-time posters praising a particular service are often viewed with suspicion, the above are a result of Keats asking students to come and post here, which is perfectly acceptable. We'd love it if they stick around and keep posting though.

[Tom_Forrest]

I will do-heartfelt recommendation and great forum too!

[KalleKoinberg]

I agree with Tom that Keats school is a very good choice for learning Chinese. I have studied for 1 semester there and attended the small group class, which was made up of around 10 students this year.

If you are planning to study Chinese in China I recommend Keiths school and Kunming as a city as well since it is pretty relaxed and there is alot to see in the Yunnan area. I think the small groups are good since you get the chance to speak alot and have the opportunity to ask questions. The teachers are good at explaining grammar and I have learned many useful words during this semester. They dont follow any set book for the lessons so the classes are less rigid than they might be in other places for learning chinese, instead they focus on simplified news articles, some grammar excercises etc.

[ShelbyR]

Thanks for all of the write ups.  I went to That's Mandarin in Beijing last year for a month, and have been taking a weekly online class with them since.  It's about to expire and I'm looking for another school.  I loved TM, but would like something less expensive, and in a different part of China.  I'm thinking about doing lessons online with them for a year, and then go for a month of intensive one on one like I did in Beijing.  I did 6 hours a day, and it was tough, but I liked it.

[abcdefg]

 I did 6 hours a day, and it was tough, but I liked it.

 

4 hours a day will give you time to experience life outside of the books.

[happy_hyaena]

I'm thinking of taking time off from my degree in order to go to China and take my Chinese to the next level. I've been in China twice, the first time being a summer camp where I got a nice little foundation to start my self-studies from. So I've been self-studying Chinese as a hobby for about a year and a half now.

 

My idea is to take a one year break and spend all of 2017 in China, before returning back home in mid-January 2018. I discovered Keats School and it seems to be very interesting. I am particularly interested in the Small Group program, since it seems like a good classroom size and is pretty affordable (I'm currently a student so money is very much an object for me). Kunming as a city seems like a nice place to study in due to the mild climate and the fact that there aren't many foreigners (compared to Shanghai and Beijing) - which in turn is something I hope means that the people studying Chinese there are really into it.

 

The only negative thing about that particular program is that it's only 10 hours a week, or 2 hours every weekday. I want to study at least 20 hours if not 30 hours a week. Going off of people's experiences, can I work around it by just spending more time studying by myself? Could I easily supplement it with some cheap (tutoring outside of the school)? Or should I just look somewhere else?

 

My post is a litte all over the place but hopefully I can get some honest advice and answers to my questions.

Thank you.

[abcdefg]

Replying to post # 153 --

 

The only negative thing about that particular program is that it's only 10 hours a week, or 2 hours every weekday. I want to study at least 20 hours if not 30 hours a week. Going off of people's experiences, can I work around it by just spending more time studying by myself? Could I easily supplement it with some cheap (tutoring outside of the school)? Or should I just look somewhere else?

 

Yes, you could hire a one-to-one tutor to help you advance more quickly. Expect to pay around 100 Yuan per hour for a qualified teacher, less if he or she is still a student who has not graduated yet. Language exchange is an additional option. (Need to read up on the hazards of that; search prior threads.)

 

Part of what you pay for at Keats is them doing the screening and hiring and guiding of teachers. It can be a tricky and time-consuming process when doing it all on your own.

 

Kunming as a city seems like a nice place to study in due to the mild climate and the fact that there aren't many foreigners (compared to Shanghai and Beijing) - which in turn is something I hope means that the people studying Chinese there are really into it.

 

Kunming is a pretty good place. You will find that some people are into their studies and others aren't. Best advice, in my opinion, is to avoid the expat haunts like the plague. It's easy to get into a rut of hanging out with other foreigners, drinking cheap beer, and complaining about how the pizza is crap, not as good as back home.

[ShelbyR]

"4 hours a day will give you time to experience life outside of the books."

 

Thanks abcdef.

 

I considered what you wrote.  Since I was doing a homestay in Beijing, and walking 2 miles each way, I got to experience the Chinese people on a daily basis and away from the books.  I just signed up for Keats for 3 weeks in July, with 4 hours a day, and 2 hours twice a week of music lessons.  I'm really looking forward to it.  I had a free trial lesson and it was excellent.  Since I'm trying to catch up on missing grammar rules and patterns by taking a college Chinese night class twice a week, I'm stopping my online classes for now (too busy!).

 

Does anyone know where I can find a good Kunming map, in pinyin, of both the subways and especially the streets?  I've looked on Amazon, googled it, and just can't seem to find a big fold out map like I used in Beijing.   I don't suppose that there exists a pinyin/han zi bus map?  I never found one for Beijing, and finally bought one just in han zi, for the future, I hope.

[abcdefg]

And another one-post-wonder vanishes into thin air.

[艾墨本]

I just put down a deposit to study at Keats this August for a couple of weeks. I'll be doing the 1 on 1 classes for 4 hours per day (thanks @abcdefg for the recommendation of 4 hours over 6 hours). I decided against HSK due to the extra cost and realizing I could probably just do a few online tutoring sessions or ask these forums and do practice tests to prepare. 

 

Question: For those that have studied at Keats doing the 1 on 1 classes, what sort of preparation would you recommend before seeing your teacher for the first time to best make use of the time with your teacher?

[abcdefg]

Question: For those that have studied at Keats doing the 1 on 1 classes, what sort of preparation would you recommend before seeing your teacher for the first time to best make use of the time with your teacher?

 

That's an excellent question. Since you will only have a short time (2 weeks), getting organized early on will be especially important. When I've studied at Keats in years past, we always had a preliminary meeting with one of the teaching supervisors prior to the first actual class. This was to map out aims and objectives and formulate a tentative plan. 

 

Prior to that meeting I always prepared carefully so that my input would be clear and well defined. I wrote out a summary of my Chinese learning up to that time and then I listed what I saw as my weaknesses and what I had in mind as goals for the available time.

 

Furthermore, I included a history of what textbooks and other learning materials I had used previously to aid Keats staff in recommending wisely for me in the upcoming session. I tried to avoid vague generalizations, like "I'm kind of intermediate." I also tried to guide them as to my personal priorities. For example, "How important to me is handwriting, how important is reading, how important is conversation?"

 

I spent a good deal of time doing that write-up well and then made three copies of it. I took two copies to the preliminary meeting; one for them and one for me. The third was for my teacher the first time I met him or her. The act of having to write all this stuff down in an organized manner, A, B, C, and 1, 2, 3, kind of forced me to think through the issues methodically.

 

Bear in mind that two weeks is a very short time. You will need to set realistic goals in order not to be frustrated. Also consider some combination of face-to-face teaching while you are in Kunming and Skype tutoring as a follow up after you leave. They offer both.

 

Hope you have a good time and learn a lot.

[ShelbyR]

Be sure to do a trial free online lesson with them.  I did that a month or so ago, and got a little feel for their teaching style.  They also were able to get a feel for my speaking capabilities.  Then they sent me a questionnaire asking what I was interested in learning.  Since I want to improve my speaking and listening skills while in China, I wrote that.  I don't want to spend my brief 3 weeks studying characters, which I do at home anyway.

[艾墨本]

Thank you ShelbyR and abcdefg. I like the idea of using the free online lesson to see what their teaching style is like and also start preparing what should be studied in my short two weeks. I likely put together a sort of Chinese langauge background handout to give them. This sounds like a great idea. 

 

From what you both have said I can say that handwriting will not be my priority. I have other resources like that. More importantly is I need the native teacher and professional ear to help fine-tune my pronunciation and grammar. But I feel like that could be an aside to something more central. I'll have to put more thought into this.

 

As far as tutoring goes. My current plan is take the money saved that I was going to spend on doing the 6 hours/day program and put it toward online classes spread out through the months. Then I can also use these sessions to hold myself accountable to whatever plan I set.