Has anyone been to PRCStudy

[hozozco]

Hi

My wife and I are planning to study at PRCStudy (www.prcstudy.com) in January 2007. We have chosen this school essentially because we haven't been able to find any other four-week courses at this time of year and we can't change our holidays to another time.

Is anyone familiar with PRCStudy? Any comments on the teaching? Any alternatives.

Many thanks

:-)

[kudra]

haven't been able to find any other four-week courses at this time of year

Oddly enough there is a school with url

http://www.1monthchinese.com

the member self-taught-mba

http://www.chinese-forums.com/member.php?u=4181

runs and/or owns the school. You can search for posts with his user name, or look at the school site. I seem to remember the timing of courses is flexible. Haven't looked at it lately.

I have no financial relationship.

[venture160]

Again I reccomend the CET Beijing January term.

http://www.cetacademicprograms.com/www/docs/637

The January Term in Beijing

Four-Week Intensive Program for Intermediate and Advanced Learners

Since 1992, CET has been proud to offer the January Term in Beijing for intermediate and advanced students. Based at the Beijing Institute of Education, this four-week program is designed to make maximum use of Beijing’s rich linguistic environment by combining intensive, rigorous language classes with interactive tutorials and activities. Students are required to have studied three semesters of college-level Chinese or the equivalent and to abide by a full-time language pledge for the duration of the term. All students live with Chinese roommates, an arrangement that enhances the linguistic integrity of a program that is ideal for those who plan to extend their stay at one of CET's spring programs in Beijing, Hangzhou or Harbin.

[hozozco]

Thanks for the replies so far, but...

The 1monthchinese school is a lot more expensive (http://www.1monthchinese.com/Chinese_Classes_Fees_Dates.html). The fee for a month is around $US2449 and while this does include accommodation and the tuition includes 2 hrs 1:1 tuition, it is just too expensive for us. We are planning to stay in a hostel which, when combined with the $US550 for the PRCStudy ($450 + $100 registration) is a lot cheaper. We would also like to write by hand and are not so interested in learning how to use 'Palm Pilots'.

The CET Academic Programme looks interesting, but we are just starting to learn Mandarin and will not have enough experience. At $4,490 (http://www.cetacademicprograms.com/www/docs/296) it is also expensive.

I guess we are somewhat 'budget students'.

Still, many thanks and I'm hoping someone knows something about PRCStudy.

:-)

[roddy]

There's already some info on here about PRCStudy, if you search - try both 'PRCStudy' and 'PRC Study' - see here for example.

[badr]

Like Roddy said, search around and you shall find more information.

I had two folks that went through their course join one of the bootcamps and they had mixed feelings about it. One felt like they delivered everything they promised and was quite happy to recommend them. The other one was very disappointed. They were not in the same class/group as far as I remember.

[hozozco]

Ahh the wonders of the search engine...

Actually I did use the search, but I was using the Google syntax of "PRC Study" which doesn't seem to work. Using PRCStudy retrieves very few results, and PRC Study get's a lot of pointless hits due to PRC being the acronym for 'People's Republic of China'.

But thanks for the pointers, it would seem that PRC Study is at least going to be there when we turn up, after all from this distance and only reading over the internet they could have been in the Philippines for all we knew.

I think at this stage we'll be giving them a go, I'll post back some time next year and give an update. Meanwhile, if anyone finds this thread between now and January 2007, feel free to contact me : hozozco@hotmail.com

[self-taught-mba]

Many thanks, but...

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Thanks for the replies so far, but...

The 1monthchinese school is a lot more expensive (http://www.1monthchinese.com/Chinese...es_Dates.html). The fee for a month is around $US2449 and while this does include accommodation and the tuition includes 2 hrs 1:1 tuition, it is just too expensive for us. We are planning to stay in a hostel which, when combined with the $US550 for the PRCStudy ($450 + $100 registration) is a lot cheaper. We would also like to write by hand and are not so interested in learning how to use 'Palm Pilots'.

The CET Academic Programme looks interesting, but we are just starting to learn Mandarin and will not have enough experience. At $4,490 (http://www.cetacademicprograms.com/www/docs/296) it is also expensive.

I guess we are somewhat 'budget students'.

Still, many thanks and I'm hoping someone knows something about PRCStudy.

You are comparing apples and oranges. The PRC course is the regular, whereas ours is intensive. Difference of 4 hours versus 8+ a day. Besides being a tuition-only option versus a full-service option including accommodation, equipment and software tours etc.

Your not there to "learn Palm Pilots" the Palm pilots are there to help you learn Chinese. Also see this thread Using a PDA to learn Chinese

We don't teach writing outside of electives. It is not for everyone. I must say as a school operator that there is no way I could have a quality class at that low price without raising the class size to an unacceptable level or hiring severely underqualified teachers.

Just this weekend I met a girl who act as a language exchange partner for a language school and was offered a to be hired as an "intern" where she would teach foreigners Chinese. She spoke English fairly decently but she had no language training experience and her degree was computer science. And the name of that school was . . .

If this is the kind of quality that is acceptable to you why not just come here and get a tutor? I personally think getting a tutor is a hit or miss proposition but so is going to a lot of schools here in China because that is what you might get anyway. . .

Anyway, you have to figure in what your time is worth also. If you don't maximize your results while in China you'll pay much more trying to replicated it in America. Just a thought.

Anyway, our school wouldn't fit well for you if you want to write by hand. I suggest BLCU (which will really forced the characters on you) or UIR (University of International Relations), a university in beijing that accredits our school. They are small and honest and decently priced. (I know for a fact that they hire only qualified teachers -for the kind of training that they do anyway ). They won't be as strict about characters as BLCU but you'll still have an opportunity to learn them.

Good luck..

[hozozco]

Thanks for your advice...

Anyway, our school wouldn't fit well for you if you want to write by hand. - yes that's what I thought.

The other schools you mention look interesting. However, as I stated in the original post, my wife and I have our holidays in January. We can't change this, and so we have to go with what we can get. Unfortunately niether the BLCU or UIR doesn't offer a 4 week course in January (please correct me if I am wrong).

why not just come here and get a tutor? - we've got one here actually. There are heaps of Native speakers studying the local university, however travelling to Beijing offers the opportunity for intensive study surrounded by the language and culture.

you have to figure in what your time is worth also - very true. If we paid what your school charges, we couldn't afford to come to China. I'm not saying your school charges too much or is not good value, we just can't afford it.

you'll pay much more trying to replicated it in America - alas we are but poor Australian's!!

Perhaps next we plan our holidays we'll study at one of the other schools.

:-)

[self-taught-mba]

Unfortunately niether the BLCU or UIR doesn't offer a 4 week course in January (please correct me if I am wrong).

UIR has a course:

Jan. 9 - Feb. 5, 2007

See link i posted for dates.

If we paid what your school charges, we couldn't afford to come to China. I'm not saying your school charges too much or is not good value, we just can't afford it.

Don't worry not offended. Just noting the difference between expensive and out of budget.(A BMW is not expensive for the value, but out of my budget for sure ) For what we give, it is VERY competitive per hour, but I know it is a lot of money. A lot of people pay Worldlink and others the same for a far fewer contact hours. In the future we may offer fewer hours per day or a steppped-down package for that reason. For now though I don't want to spread my focus out.

There are several small Korean run schools. They are cheap and character intensive/asian way of teaching ie pass that exam. Maybe you can look into that. Hope this helps.

Good luck.

[calibantastic]

Just a warning, PRC Strudy will try to hose you for more money beyond what you're paying. You can get a good experience out of their classes if you negotiate tough, I studied there for two months despite the overall sketchiness of their operation.

Their classes aren't that great for learning Chinese. The teachers are nice, but inexperienced, and they throw people of radically different levels and learning styles into the same tiny class. The classes are small because people leave quickly and never come back. The best thing about it is that it's very low-key. The lounge is an alright place to hang out, watch movies, and play Mah Jongg.

You'll notice though, that their office has more people working on advertising and accounting than actually taking care of the students at a ratio of something like 8:1, and it's not a big company.

They hunger for your cash. Don't pay any more than you already have. You'll find plenty of fun and activities around at a reasonable, honest price.

It's a tragedy that they have the slickest website and best advertising, because if you want to learn Chinese and have fun in Beijing, there are much better options.

Not that I'm bitter or anything, I paid a little too much and I'm fine with that. I just want to call them on their shadiness and 诈骗行为.

[gato]

You should try one of Taipei Language Institute's mainland locations. They have a good reputation.

http://www.tli.com.tw/tli/eng/en/4-2-1A.asp

and

http://www.chinese-forums.com/index.php?/topic/8099-taipei-language-institute-beijing-dongcheng-query&highlight=taipei+language

[hozozco]

Hmm

Still not sure who study with. We're currently thinking about just turning up, checking out a few different schools and making a decision once we are there.

I just had a look at the TLI - their website at http://www.tli.com.tw/tli/eng/en/4-2-1A.asp however, we're only in Beijing for a month and the shortest courses they offer appear to be three months long.

Still it's one more to look at...particularly if we decided to get 1:1 lessons. My wife is learning much faster than me (she's smarter) so we'd prefer to be in different classes anyway.

btw - has anyone got any experience with the 'Global Exchange Center' - http://www.glexchange.net/About%20Us.htm they suit our timetable and budget, but I can't seem to find much information about them elsewhere.

Many thanks, this is a great site

:-)

[hozozco]

Got to laugh...

Just received an email through this site from an 'experts of Chinese culture and langauge teaching' (their spelling). I'm not sure if they were dismissive of PRCStudy or not due to their poor English. I do know they were keen to push their own school.

Advice:

a) - If you want to promote your language school, then do it openly on this website so everyone can benefit.

B) - While the ability to speak, read and write in English is not necessary to teach Mandarin, it is very useful when trying to convince someone of your point of view. Spelling also helps, there were seven errors in your short email.

You may indeed have a wonderful school, but private emails like this will not get you a lot of business.

:-)

[ChineseinChina]

I think there is benefit from schools coming on to promote. It can open students eyes to the ever growing range of study options that are now available in China.

One of those such options is to consider www.chinese-in-china.com , we are recently opened in Dalian and now running courses with two of the cites well known universities.

To compare us against a Beijing based organisation the main difference is that of cost and possibly of value for money. Our school founders are all Europeans based in China for several years now and it is bemusing at some of the sums of moneys that university programs via agents seem to ask for.

For one semester at Dalian Maritime University ( now a key comprehensive university in north China) our program fee is US $1949. This includes 18 or 19 weeks of tuition, accommodation in a private bedroom shared apartment just off campus and our full service including pre-departure assitance and package, airport pick-up, 2 day city orientation, organised weekly social/cultural activity and monthly excursion. Furthermore at our urging the university has agreed to limit class sizes to a maximum of 12 students for Chinese-In-China students.

Some students go to Beijing and love it, I have nothing against it just like living in Dalian/Qingdao type coastal cities with blue skies and beaches for a much lower cost. From Dalian you can easily catch the train and spend the weekend in Beijing looking round the Summer Palace and Forbidden temple then jump on the train and head back in time for class monday morning.

The best thing is to consider as many study places as possible and make an informed descision. Studying in China can be a great experience.

[swiven]

I'm in Beijing right now, and so have visited several schools. The Global Exchange Center was one of the ones I visited. I have to say that it looked like an "accommodation" school to me. They were very hard sell on "their" dormitories. When I went to visit them, I discovered that the dormitories were no more "theirs" than they were mine; they are a private dorm that they contract out with. So, basically, they double the prices and lease them out to you.

Some students showed me their rooms. I have to say that they were super nice people. However, their Chinese is not at the level I would like to have after three months of study. It felt like at least the students I met were busy drinking and having sex with each other, not studying. And their average age was, I’d guess, 20.

My thing this time around has been to take classes for one week at various schools to try to get a feel and select one for next time. The schools that I liked the best so far were:

CLE at http://www.chinaledu.com (In the CBD, a Western area)and

The Learning Center at http://www.1on1mandarin.com/index.html (In Wudoukou a Korean and student area) (note that here you will have trouble getting group classes for only a one month stay; they really want you to take their semester program for that)

But I could also recommend www.sprachcaffe.comfor beginners, although I understand that their accommodation program is also a complete rip off, so I wouldn’t sign up for that part. They also have the prettiest classrooms, right in the middle of the Park next to Tiananmen.

Anyway, this is just my experience, and my Chinese level is very low, so I’m just going with where I had a good time learning and liked the people I was studying with.

[poohbear]

Hi all,

I was just checking out this forum cause I'm doing a paper for my thesis on Chinese language and culture. Next thing you know, I come across this topic about PRCStudy.

I'm happy to let everyone know that I attended a semester at PRCStudy in the Fall of 2006, just over a year ago, and I had a great experience. I would totally recommend the school and teachers. The class sizes were small and I found the teachers to be very professional. I've also studied Mandarin in Taiwan in 2005, and honestly, I found the teachers at PRC to be much more experienced than the ones I encountered in Taiwan.

There were about 5 students in my class and everyone had a really good time. I don't usually post in forums, but since I so disagree with the comments from Calibantastic, I felt I should be heard.

Laura