Advice for intermediate students (Chaoyang area in particular)

[ShaunChau]

Okay, having been helped a lot by the advice on this website before I arrived, I promised myself I would make at least one contribution in return. So here it is. These are just some first impressions from about two weeks spent investigating private Chinese language schools in the Chaoyang area of Beijing.

A little bit of background about myself to help those who read this forum understand some of my particular biases – I have roughly intermediate Mandarin skills (about 1500 characters), my reading is pretty good, my speaking and listening is okay and my writing is rubbish. I’m only in China for two and a bit months (although if someone wants to offer me a job I’m happy to stay longer…).

What I’ve done; the decision making process

I decided before I came over, that I would primarily enrol in 1:1 classes because they would improve my Mandarin at a faster rate than group classes. Before I came over I didn’t know much about the geography of Beijing, but TLI had a good reputation on this forum, so I decided I would enrol in the TLI Chaoyang campus (and that’s why I’m based in Chaoyang). I’ve now been over to Wudaokou a couple of times and have mixed feelings about whether I should have moved there (a lot easier to find language exchange partners), but Chaoyang has its own advantages (ie. it’s closer to CBD, it has better food, less English speaking foreigners). In my first week, I travelled around to all of the major private language schools in the area to see what they had to offer including TLI, Juncheng, Frontiers, The Bridge School, Beijing Chinese language school and these are some of my thoughts. Btw I would highly recommend trying bf you buy, not only because you want to know what you're getting yourself into, but it's also a good way of learning about your local area (and the Beijing transport system).

It’s probably worth bearing in mind that I’m currently enrolled in 3 separate schools – TLI, Juncheng and Diqiucun. I do a few hours at each, every day and I know more about these places than any others.

TLI

Given the good feedback from this forum I enrolled in TLI Chaoyang branch when I first arrived in Beijing. Essentially, they do 1-1 teaching, groups are not possible unless you stay for at least 3 months. Their main clientele are Japanese and Koreans but in the mornings you will also find a fair number of Americans. They are expensive at 110RMB an hour. So far I’ve been pretty impressed. They are a professional outfit, they have their own book at intermediate level which I like bc it has a very good grammar section, the teaching seems to be of a high standard (although in honesty this is probably not as important for me since I can’t understand most Chinese explanations now), they’ve been pretty flexible in terms of what I need (although expect to have negotiate with individuals teachers since they seem to be indoctrinated with a “TLI method”). You will find that the teachers there are quite happy to have lunch with you and/or go out of their way to be helpful.

So far there are only two downsides of TLI. First, they don’t really do stuff outside of class. This is a particular problem if you are coming to China and you want a social life outside of class as well (I get the sense that Wudaokou as an area is a lot better for this). Their dorms are fine, but are currently inhabited by mostly young Koreans/Japanese (and if you’re not Korean or Japanese this could be a problem since ethnic groups will always tend to stick together). The other downside is the cost. The teaching is good at TLI but at 110RMB/h they remain a pretty expensive option (and I think you’ll find when you get here that there is not much to distinguish teachers at the 60-80RMB level and the 110RMB level).

Overall though, I don’t think you can go wrong if you do some hours at TLI. They’re solid in class with some good quality teaching and a good textbook, although outside of class leaves a little bit to be desired.

Jun Cheng

I’ve been to the branches at Jianguomen and Chaoyang. Jun Cheng provides a wider range of services than TLI and therefore could arguably fulfil more of a student’s needs. They do classes, 1-1s and even can set up homestays. The dorms at Jianguomen are very nice (same price as TLI) and generally populated by Japanese students. They are also cheaper than TLI at 80RMB for a 1-1 and about 800RMB for one month of classes (2 hours a day).

The Chaoyang branch is smaller and does no intermediate or higher classes currently. The Jianguomen branch is larger and has a full complement of classes. I’ve sampled the advanced class at Jianguomen (5 people)– liked it, but it was basically a newspaper reading class, a little bit above me and a bit too far from where I live, so I’m not following up there. The Chaoyang class (6 people) which was a lower intermediate class was a little bit too easy, so I’m not going there either. However, the standard of teaching at both classes was pretty high. I currently do some 1:1 classes there, mostly just chatting about politics. I’ll be honest I’m doing 1:1s at Jun Cheng as well, basically because it’s cheaper than TLI and there’s no noticeable difference in teaching standard (except that TLI has their own book which is very good). Once again on the social side, Jun Cheng leaves a little to be desired – I think, perhaps unless you were staying at the dorms in Jianguomen, you might end up being a little bit isolated.

Diqiucun

I’ve visisted the branches at WangJing and WudaoKou. I think there’s enough on this forum about this school. The only thing I would mention in addition is that the WuDaoKou branch is much larger and therefore has more flexibility in terms of curriculum and timing however, class sizes tend to be considerably bigger (average of 10 in WuDaoKou and 5 in WangJing).

I’ve been to the Wangjing branches at both the intermediate and advanced classes. The standard of teaching is fine, but it’s noticeable how much less interaction you have in a group class than in a 1:1 class. I think they’re definitely a good option for classes, they’re cheap and can provide a solid tool for learning (as long as you have people to practice Chinese with). I’m currently doing the advanced class there, it was the most suitable class for my level (although I’m currently having doubts as to how useful the “advanced” words are – a lot of chengyu).

Other classes

I’ve also been to the Beijing Chinese Language School, Frontiers and the Bridge School. Since I’m not at these schools I obviously know less about them. Here are some general impressions that I got. BCLS are near Chaoyangmen Ditie, they offer mainly 1:1s and group classes. Basically they’re the same price as Jun Cheng, and they are probably about the same. Some people I know have used them and said they have some good teachers and can also set up homestays. They never rang me back and are not that close to where I live, so I didn’t go with them.

Frontiers, is located near Dongzhimen and have a full suite of classes (beginners to advanced). The advanced trial class I had there was okay, although I didn’t think the teacher was that enthusiastic. My main impression of Frontiers was that in the common room there was a lot of people hanging out speaking English. I therefore, perhaps unfairly got the sense that there was less Chinese language learning going on than there should be – but I would definitely check them about, because they seem to be a pretty popular school and not that expensive.

The Bridge School. I briefly visited the Bridge School because it’s right next to TLI. Not much to say other than the fact that it’s quite expensive – about 95 RMB for 1:1s and they had no group classes at my level. Hence, I didn’t go with them. I might say tho, that they were the only school to give me a proper evaluation of my Chinese standard, the other schools were much more interested in the business end of the transaction.

Some final thoughts

I’m not a language expert, but a few final thoughts from being here 2 weeks. There are obviously a number of ways of improving your Mandarin, but it’s worth giving some consideration not only to classes (which are important), but also language partners, possible homestay and actual study routines when you get here. These are all crucial ingredients in improving your language learning and you might find that the school you choose is the one that best facilitates these other aspects (and are discussed on other parts of this forum).

[gougou]

Great post! Thanks for the diligent write-up!

[roddy]

I'll second that. Also, anyone who found that useful might also want to have a look at Private Schools in Central Beijing and My [well, not mine. His] school experiences in Beijing

[gato]

For learners who are at intermediate level or above, one possibility for finding one-on-one tutors is look through ads on Zhantai.com.

There are many ads for 家教, and it might be possible to find someone capable of teaching Chinese to foreigners.

http://www.zhantai.com/cgi-bin/search?region=bj&area=&group=T&keywords_i=%BA%BA%D3%EF&cat=74