Help! Advice on Intensive Chinese programs in Beijing this summer

I missed the application periods for IUP summer quarter and P.I.B. Does anyone know of any Intensive Chinese programs being offered in Beijing, around June-Aug, that I still have time to apply for now? I would say my Chinese level is upper intermediate now, but I'm looking for a very intensive (similar to IUP) atmosphere that will improve my Chinese in a short amount of time. Small class sizes preferable. Any suggestions are appreciated!

Try the Taipei Language Institute or the Beijing Language Institute.

http://www.blichina.com/index.html

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

Just curious, you said you were lower advanced in a post about a year and half ago. How come you are upper intermediate now? Which program did you end up doing last year?

http://www.chinese-forums.com/showthread.php?p=56301#post56301

I would say my level is Lower Advanced' date=' anyone with experience at those levels would even be more valuable. [/quote']

Just curious, you said you were lower advanced in a post about a year and half ago. How come you are upper intermediate now? Which program did you end up doing last year?

Yea, you also said you attened IUP. How could you attend IUP and now only have upper intermediate, IUP Starts at about that level.......

Upper intermediate/lower advanced, does it really matter? Those are all relative terms to me. Yes I attented IUP last year, but I wanted to take a refresher course (my Chinese has gone downhill since then). Any other programs you guys know of? Thanks

what did you think of IUP while you were there?

Just thought you had been studying in China the last year. Guess not.

Those two listed are probably the best programs for what you need. Maybe Diqiucun, too, if you can get them to do two-, three-person classes. Doing a language exchange outside of classes is also a good idea.

Try to contact Hanban http://'www.hanban.edu.cn, they provide information on courses offered by various university.

Hello!

I just got to Beijing last week and am doing the BLI Beijing Summer Chinese program from June 22th-Aug. 25th. Its the same as IUP, one one-on-one class and three small group classes a day, it sounds pretty intense, but thats what I am looking for. I was in the exact same position as you were, I didn't get accepted to IUP, so I was looking for a comparable program that was less expensive that allowed me to sign up so late. As far as I know, TLI and BLI are the only programs that have similar teaching structures as IUP and PIB. So I went to check both of them out, and I was more impressed with BLI. I liked parts of TLI, but I didn't get a good feeling about the teachers, I don't know, just my personal opinion. At BLI 3 of the teachers are ex-IUP teachers, and the materials all seemed to be well-suited to my level(intermediate). Plus, the office is plush! Anyway, check out their website for more details....

http://www.blichina.com/index.html

Let me know if you have any other questions.

-Steve

Steve,

thanks for response. I discovered BLI Beijing last week as well through an IUP connection. How come they haven't advertised more? Their website doesn't have anything written about a summer program, how do I get more info about it? How much is it and when is the cut-off for signing up? I took classes with Li lihua when I was at IUP, the main teacher at BLI now, and shes awesome. Not sure about the other teachers though.

venture160-

IUP was really good for improving my Chinese, but I would say unless you're on a scholarship, its not worth the price. Like other people have mentioned on this board, they have a good reputation, and thats what you are paying for. The quality of instruction varies immensely from teacther to teacher, I loved some of my teachers and was left unimpressed by others. What is really does is forces you to learn how to be disciplined about studying Chinese(you really do have 5 hours of homework a night), and it does lay a good foundation.

I just got to Beijing last week and am doing the BLI Beijing Summer Chinese program from June 22th-Aug. 25th

Steve, if you don't mind could you post a report on BLI after you are done or have a good handling on what the program is like?

I have been looking to do a similar intensive course this summer. My current level of ability in Chinese is probably best classed as somewhere between elementary and intermediate. I have found a number of websites offering intensive summer schools but my available timeframe is quite constrained as I have to start a new job on July 23rd. Basically I was hoping to spend all of June on such a course but all the ones I've found so far continue on into August, which is too late for me. I suspect that my time constraints may mean that I've missed the boat for this summer, unless anyone has any additional information... Can anyone help me out as well?

Take a look at the BLI and TLI site. Both offer flexible scheduling.

http://www.blichina.com/index.html

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

Lylestyle,

I don't know why they haven't put any info about their summer program on their website yet. They should be putting something up soon. I attached their summer program introduction and application forms they sent me, hopefully that will help. If you want any more information you can also just email them directly. If you sign up before June 1st, its $3300, after that its $3600 (although my guess is they might be willing to lower that a little if they are still short on students). They only have room for about 15 students, so the sooner you apply the better. Apparently they don't have any requirements for your language level, although they say you should have some Chinese class experience or else it will be difficult to adjust.

Hope to see you there!

BLI Summer Program2.doc

BLI Summer Intensive Program Application Form.pdf

Steve,

thanks for the info! I'll check it out for sure.

Unfortunately if I read the websites correctly, the flexible scheduling doesn't appear to be flexible enough for an intensive summer programme suitable for me. Basically I can only do June which is annoying. Can anyone suggest any programmes outside Beijing?