Planning on studying putonghua in Beijing - Need Honest Answers

[Ether]

I've been frantically searching this forum along with others like Beijinger to find out the best chinese language program in Beijing.

At first i was chasing after Tsinghua only to realize that a lot of people are saying that the rankings of prestigious Universities have nothing to do with the quality of their Chinese language program for foreigners.

So at this point, I could care less about the brand name of the school. This is where you guys with more experience would come in (please?).

I am looking for a university in Beijing that has a GOOD chinese language program. Where the faculty is helpful and actually care about they teach foreign students their language.

Someplace where the reading, writing, speaking, listening, is taught in a cohesive manner (rather than individual teachers working on their own accord w/ no collaboration).

Someplace where there would be interaction with the Chinese university students (this is really important). I heard that at Tsinghua you are totally isolated from the rest of the Chinese students.

It would also be nice if the tuition wasn't so expensive. So a school that offers scholarships to foreign language students would be a plus!

Thanks in advance. This forum is a gem!

[gato]

Try Beijing Normal University (BNU):

http://www.chinese-forums.com/showthread.php?p=55362#post55362

Beijing Normal University (aka 北京师范大学)

http://www.chinese-forums.com/showthread.php?p=115284#post115284

What's the deal with BNU

http://www.chinese-forums.com/index.php?/topic/12935-beishida-bnu

BeiShiDa (BNU)

[Ether]

thank you for the cross-links.

but can anyone here vouch w/ their own experiences?

i'll be digging through the board for now, but i would love to hear some personal experiences of why a certain program was better.

i'm not sure if anybody here has studied in japan, but i studied at international christian university in tokyo, and the methodology there was excellent. i'm hoping for that level of quality of education at a chinese uni program. (along w/ the above mentioned conditions as well)

[roddy]

There's probably more info on here about BNU than any other uni, with the possible exception of BLCU. 'Why X is better than Y' is tricky, as people tend not to change universities, although I do remember at least one person shifting from BLCU to BNU.

Someplace where the reading, writing, speaking, listening, is taught in a cohesive manner

the methodology there was excellent. i'm hoping for that level of quality of education at a chinese uni program. (along w/ the above mentioned conditions as well)

Good luck with both of those. Even with BNU I know people who stopped going to class as they didn't feel they were getting anything out of it. I think to be sure of getting what you're looking for you might need to go to the IUP type programs.

[gato]

thank you for the cross-links.

but can anyone here vouch w/ their own experiences?

Someone did vouch with their own experiences in those cross-links.

Some of them are even still visiting this board.

[Xiwang]

My friends studying Chinese at Tsinghua love their classes, just as I love my classes at Peking University (Beida). The classes at both schools are fine. Whether you like a class or not may depend more on the teacher and your self-motivation than the actual program.

It's actually quite easy to interact with Chinese students. There are many clubs and other activities you can get involved in. Chinese students are also always looking for language partners.

One advantage of going to a larger university is that you have a wider range of classes you may be able to audit if you want to learn more than just Chinese grammar or if you want to meet students in your field. Some classes at Tsinghua and Beida, such as in the business or law schools, are even taught in English. For larger lecture-type classes, my friends just go and sit in. For the smaller classes, we ask permission of the teacher. If there is room, the instructors almost always say O.K.

At Beida, language students may be able to formally enroll in non-language classes if their language proficiency is high enough.