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Tsinghua University Chinese Courses


roddy

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1. What is grading like for people starting at different levels?

Are you referring to the placement test? If so, everyone does the same test. Students with different levels would just be expected to get 'x' amount of marks. They will have grade boundaries. If you don't know any Chinese you don't have to sit the test. You just fill in a form/questionnaire at the beginning then leave.

2. Do they do a verbal, written or listening test?

Placement test is listening and written. The written part includes giving you one character of a two character word (合 ___shi) as well as the pinyin. You have to write the missing character. Another part is similar but they don't give you the pinyin, you are free to choose any character that fits. For example 退__ you could write 退课,退步,退出... There may be another part but I don't remember. The listening part is made up of around 50 questions (Question and Answers in Chinese). The listening sound bites are of varying degrees of difficulty. I wouldn't bother revising/studying for this test.

3. Do you have flexibility with choosing your classes at all?

They take into account previous study, placement test and your own wishes/preferences.

In the first week of class you are assigned to a class level and room but are free to try any level if you think you want to change. First day of class was on Tuesday and you could change up to and including Friday.

If you decide you want to move levels, you need to attend another "test" (more like an interview) where you can explain why and they can evaluate you a bit more. You can move up or down levels only, you cannot move classes in the same level and you cannot move from afternoon class to morning classes.

At Elementary levels 1 and 2 the classes are listening, speaking and comprehension (综合). At pre-intermediate they throw in a "reading" class (to yourself) and I think at Intermediate 1 that becomes a speed reading class (out loud). I am not sure about higher levels nor am I 100% on intermediate 1/2.

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Hey ChTTay,

Thanks for the great explanation! Would they charge anything for paying in credit card? :) Like any minimal surcharge?

Are you still over there at the institution?

As for Chris, I'm heading over from Malaysia. Chinese, but can't really speak/read/write it well enough as one.

What about you? Where are you going over from?

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1. Would they charge anything for paying in credit card? :) Like any minimal surcharge?

I don't think the Chinese charge would be much to worry about and I'm not sure if there is one (sorry!). However, your domestic bank may charge you which you could look into now. I was already in China so had some money transferred into my account to pay tuition. Otherwise my bank was going to charge me 3% of the transaction then a flat fee on top (for using their card abroad).

2. Are you still over there at the institution?

Yes, final exams in over a week. I will be back next semester.

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Sorry folks, but questions about dorm accommodation are getting deleted and need to go here. For smaller universities we might have one "everything goes here" topic, but a lot of people go to Tsinghua and we're trying to keep things organised. This is, incidentally, explained in the first post of this topic.

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Hi

was wondering is it possible for students (after taking the placement tests) to take or mix different level courses for reading, writing, speaking, etc as sometimes one can be better at one than another.

so is it possible to take a reading/writing course at intermediate level and take a speaking course at an advanced level?

And are the courses divided into deferring levels of 'competency' like beginners, beginners intermediate, beginners advanced, or are they just one level to the next?

And how's the choice selection for elective courses?

What about the approach in teaching/class interaction/discussions?

Happy New Year..thanx for sharing any insights

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1. was wondering is it possible for students (after taking the placement tests) to take or mix different level courses for reading, writing, speaking, etc as sometimes one can be better at one than another. Is it possible to take a reading/writing course at intermediate level and take a speaking course at an advanced level?

I know of a few people who are Ethnically Chinese who have mixed levels. For example, they speak Cantonese at home or another dialect or have just never learned characters. I don't think they had any problem splitting up their classes but I don't know anyone who had learned Chinese from scratch and was just "good at speaking" who split their classes. I don't know everyone though! :)

If you did split / mix your levels it would mean you have classes in the morning and afternoon. So you might have to come in at 8am for one class then come back again at 1pm for another. Goodbye lazy mornings and post-lunch nap!

2. Are the courses divided into deferring levels of 'competency' like beginners, beginners intermediate, beginners advanced, or are they just one level to the next?

The levels are; Elementary 1 and 2, pre-intermediate, intermediate 1 and 2, advanced 1 and 2. Generally, if you are placed at Elementary 2 then your classes are all Elementary 2.

3. And how's the choice selection for elective courses?

There were some elective courses available for a number of weeks (4 to 6?). It listed more "academic" subjects that included things like HSK, Chinese Characters, Extra Pronunciation, Business Chinese. Also had more "fun" classes like 'Tai Chi Sword' , Nunchucks, Chinese Folk Songs... etc

A friend of mine enjoyed Tai Chi Sword but a lot of the more academic classes were cancelled as no one signed up for them. For HSK classes, there are many, many schools in Wudaokou who offer intensive courses. It seems like most people usually sign up for these.

4. What about the approach in teaching/class interaction/discussions?

Will come back to this one in more detail.

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@ChTTay

thanx for sharing info about the chinese courses..the flexibility of being able to mix & match different course levels is good to know. Some students prefer to focus more on oral fluency whereas others are interested in reading/writing, so in a way students of different backgrounds/needs have this option during their course selection, sort of.

choice of electives sounds interesting, anything related to popular culture (movies, music, books, etc)?

how's the homework/exam frequency and tests/measures of progress throughout the semester?

Any possibility of having one to one classes, or a small group class of not more than 5 - 6 students?

Are you able to use some of what you've learned in real life situations?

thanx again

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1. how's the homework/exam frequency and tests/measures of progress throughout the semester?

Home depends on the teacher. One of my classes gives us homework of some sort every lesson, for the next lesson. The other two vary a lot but it probably works out as them giving us homework "2/3rds" (two thirds) of the time. In my comprehensive Chinese class we also often have a dictation test of the words we learnt in the previous lesson.

There is a mid-term and a final exam that count toward your grade. You also have two practice / mock tests so you can check your progress and can make sure you are reviewing the right stuff. The first one is half way between when you start the course and the mid-term, the second is half way between the mid-term and the final. You have a mock exam for each class.

2. Any possibility of having one to one classes, or a small group class of not more than 5 - 6 students?

Lots of possibility of one on one classes ... but this is something you would have to organize outside of Tsinghua. There are many, many, many Chinese people offering one on one tuition around Wudaokou. There are also private schools offering extra classes. The size of your class at Tsinghua just depends on how many people sign up to your level and luck. I had 12 in my class.

3. Are you able to use some of what you've learned in real life situations?

The short answer is "Yes and no".

My vocabulary has improved quite a lot so I find it easier to read information (restaurants, train stations etc) and also to comprehend more of what people are saying.

"Some students prefer to focus more on oral fluency"

University's probably aren't the best place to go if this is your focus. Have a search around these forums for discussions on that (I remember reading a few).

My speaking ability hasn't improved that much. I know a lot more words but I don't necessarily know how to use them myself. I think almost all students who study in a University setting encounter this kind of problem with speaking. You just don't get the one-on-one time in class to really push on with speaking skills. It's really up to you to find a language partner, chinese friends or get yourself a tutor to improve your speaking skills further. For various reasons, I haven't done this as much as I should have this semester.

The answer to this question would probably also change depending on the level of the student. If I had no Chinese language skills before I went to Tsinghua I might find that I can use ALL of the Chinese I've learned in my Elementary 1 class in real life situations.

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Hi everyone, I have some questions about scholarships to Tsinghua. I majored in Chinese in college, have continued studying the language while teaching English in China for the last year and a half, and intend to apply for Tsinghua's language program for the upcoming fall and spring semesters. I didn't see anything on this site except for the CSC scholarship thread (which I posted in), so hopefully this is the right place.

The Tsinghua site specifies four scholarships: the ones offered by the Chinese government (CSC), Beijing government, Confucius Institute, and Tsinghua itself.

First question: the links provided for the Tsinghua and Beijing scholarship applications are identical - both of them give me a PDF of the Tsinghua scholarship application. Is this Tsinghua's fault, or is my application somehow considered for both?

I also have a general question about these scholarships. As I'm still paying off my student loans from college, a full scholarship would be an immense help right now. Which scholarship would I have the best chance of receiving? I read on the CSC scholarship forum that there aren't too many of those offered to Tsinghua students, for instance. I'd just like to know which scholarship I should focus most on.

And finally, just a question about the advanced classes. Would they be suitable for someone who's studied the language for five and a half years? My Chinese has improved immensely since coming here in 2011, but I know there's still a lot of room for improvement. A few people have suggested that at this point I'd be beyond university classes, but I still think that the kind of academic environment I can find at Tsinghua would be much more conducive to studying than where I am now (teaching English at a university and studying in my spare time). I looked at IUP, but the tuition is a problem.

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  • 2 weeks later...
  • 3 weeks later...

Hi

Gong Xi Fa Cai 2013 to everyone!

Wow! :D :D thanks for the great write up and sharing..it'll definitely be a great help to those who are considering Tsinghua's program.

Any chance of auditing or sitting in on university lectures in chinese (e.g. chinese history, literature, etc)?

Any good bookstores to recommend on campus or off?

Any tips/suggestions about getting your handphone going (SIM cards, etc)?

Thanks

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> Any chance of auditing or sitting in on university lectures in chinese (e.g. chinese history, literature, etc)?

Not officially. You could probably just turn up to one but, unless you look Chinese, it's probably pretty obvious you don't belong there!

> Any good bookstores to recommend on campus or off?

BLCU bookstore has a better collection of Chinese learning material than Tsinghua (found in basement of C building). If you mean just Novels and stuff i dont think there is a bookstore in Wudaokou but there are some guys selling copies of popular foreign books on the streets from little carts.

> Any tips/suggestions about getting your handphone going (SIM cards, etc)?

You can get basic sim cards everywhere. Most magazine/news agent places have them, including on campus. There are many phone shops in Wudaokou where you could find a sim with different add ons and tariff options.

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