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Sichuan University


andreasro

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Does anyone know how more about applying on your own at Sichuan University for the Chinese language course?

I know someone who didn't get the scholarship but he still wants to go there on his own. Beside the info on Sichuan University's website, is there something else useful one should know about going there for a language course (a year)?

Also, where can I find new information on Chengdu?

Thank you in advance,

Andrea

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andreasro:

what would you like to know, umm.. more specifically? Everybody I know who has been there has been satisfied with their courses.. the tips I've got are that it's better to be accomodated in the dormitories and that it's advisable to take toilet paper wherever you go.. food in canteen is cheap and inedible.. teachers are nice, but you never know who you get..

I'm from Czech republic, and know a few students in my university who have been there, I and my classmate are going there for one year (I on Confucius scholarship, as it seems) starting this August, and my boyfriend studies there. So I can ask for you (or for your friend) if you want to know something.

Links on chengdu: http://www.gochengdoo.com/en/

http://www.chengduliving.com/

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Hey all, I'm about to head to Sichuan University in a couple weeks to begin my year of Chinese language study. I've tried contacting the international office, but to little avail. I ask questions about the program and the accommodations and the secretary tells me “来成都再说” as opposed to real info. :/

Anyone know a contact on the university I can contact?

Or does anyone know about the international dorms on campus? About the check in process?

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Hello, can someone tell me a little bit about Sichuan University? I'm considering studying there. I want to study the bachelor's degree program for Chinese language.

a) Do they give HSK preparatory classes to people who are complete beginners? What is the HSK level required to get into the Chinese language undergraduate program?

b) Is the level of teaching good?

c) Are there many western students, do they have their own classes?

d) How much does it cost to live in Chengdu? I will have at least 4000 yuan per month.

Thanks in advance to anyone who answers this :)

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Razumihin, are you talking about the Chinese Language program for foreigners or studying Chinese with native speakers? I'm currently in the foreigner program so I can give you information on that if that is what you want.

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I just wrote a little more in the post above about electives since I was able to get a list of all of the classes I have the option of taking.

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Application Process and registration.

 

I didn't get in through the official channels, so there's not much I can say on this subject unfortunately. My chosen uni had no dorms left and my family weren't comfortable with me living outside the campus. Guanxi strings were pulled and I ended up here.

 

The placement test consists of mainly reading and a little writing, There's also a spoken test. Pretty standard stuff.

 

 

Classes

 

For the record, I can only speak for Chujier (the second lowest level)

 

Class is at 8:30 to 12:00. You get a half hour break at 10:00. Our teachers were pretty relaxed-they weren't too bothered if you left the assignments undone.

 

 

Shengci and grammar class gave us semi regular homework-this mostly consisted of doing the exercises in the book and then the teacher would go over it the next day. Reading homework was occasional.

 

You have two 1.5 hour classes each day. Shengci and Grammar(I forgot what the class actual name is OTL)is everyday. Speaking and reading twice a week and listening once a week. Writing hanzi class is once a fortnight and not taken too seriously(also they let you use a dictionary in the exam).

 

Reading texts are dry and dull at my level. Read the text, answer the questions. That's it. Shengci and yufa is exactly what it says. You have a list of new words to learn in your spare time and a small test the next day(usually you were tested about every two or three days). Word lists started at 20 new words, but it gradually increases to about 40. Class time is mostly spent learning grammar. Teacher gives you examples of its usage and then you create your own sentences. Our teacher also picked students to individually read out the lsit of new words and short passages of texts so he could correct your tones (but I think he was pretty lax about that). He also likes to toss out sweets for various achievements.

 

Every westerner in my class hated listening. Teacher plays a CD and you select the right answer. This might not be the case at the absolute beginner level, but there's very little opportunity in class to work on distinguishing tones. The book comes with a CD though, so you could practice tone related exercises on your own, although there's not many. Towards the end we had a about 6 people who regularly turned up.

 

Kouyu had the class repeating new words and dialogue that included new words after the teacher. You're also paired up with a partner to make your own conversations related to the topic. I can't say this helped my pronunciation a lot but there's not much a teacher can really do when it's a group class.

 

All in all, the atmosphere is pretty relaxed and laid back. Teachers are nice and happy to help you with any questions-they'll stay behind after class if you're really struggling with something. That way class time isn't wasted on a few people. If, for whatever reason, you plan on rarely turning up-a lot of teachers don't take attendance and aren't too bothered by this.

 

Class size is about 20 and consists mainly of koreans and americans. The first week is pretty hectic due to everyone constantly switching classes. Also everyone gradually turned up later and later as time went on, but that might have had something to do with it being winter.

 

Classroom are so-so. Teachers use whiteboards. No computers or projectors. Our classroom's air conditioning/heater kept malfunctioning. They also go into a lot of detail on what's included in the end of semester tests. Nothing to worry about there.

 

Accomodation

 

There are two student dorms. The west student dorm usually houses Americans from whatever exchange programme they're on. This dorm looks pretty nice inside, although rooms are small. Carpets on the floors, western style toilets in the rooms. I think they only have double rooms, but someone will have to confirm that for me. It's pretty far away from the teaching building-about 15-20 mins walk. But it's closer to pretty much everything else-west and south gate(where all the good stuff is). Most people here speak french, english, russian, thai or Chinese.  A few Japanese people there as well.

 

East student dorm looks old and run-down. It's also so, so far away from everything apart from the teaching building, which is 5 mins walk away. There are double rooms with bathroom(36 yuan perday), double rooms with no bathroom at 24 yuan per day(public toilets are of the squat type and have no toilet paper, also they have a couple of drain flies wandering around in there), and ensuite single rooms(40 per day).

 

You need to bring your own bedding. My mattress had all sorts of dubious stains when I moved in. And my bathroom had a maggot infestation but that's another story. You're required to clean your own room. Also there's only one socket so I'd recommend going to Walmart(outside west gate) and buying a multi socket thing.

 

You can borrow a fridge(100 yuan per semester) and if you want a tv you'll have to borrow that too. Each floor has 3 washing machines and one public kitchen. There's no hot water in the kitchen but it's pretty spacious. There are 2 electric cookers per floor. A few roaches wandering around in there, and when the windows are opened hundreds of small insects would clamber in but it's not as bad as it sounds.

 

Showers have a problem with waiting ages for hot water, and then you have the options of either scalding hot or freezing cold. If you carefully tweak it you can settle for lukewarm. I ended up using the public showers because the water is instantly hot(as long as someone's used it before you)

 

Fuwuyuan are fine with loud, all night parties. They have a lobby on each floor and pingpong tables. There's also a vending machine with drinks and snacks on 2cnd floor. Also they leave the windows in the lobby open. Hundreds of insects fly in and the next morning you're covered in bites. Dorm mates also like to play loud music sometimes.

 

There's a canteen inside the dorms, about 15 kuai for each dish.

 

The cheapest option for internet is CMCC edu (30 yuan per month for unlimited internet) Get a china mobile sim and they'll text you your password. As long as you have enough credit they'll allow you to sign in for the internet. The downside is that it can't access certain websites, even ones that aren't blocked. Also it has this annoying habit of directing you to the sign in page even after you've already logged in. Doesn't work with spotify or google play, there's a cafe with wifi near xiaobeimen if you need any apps.

 

If you're cooking your own food, there's a small supermarket nearby that sells vegetables, dofu, fruit, eggs and pork. Go past the hongbing hotel and keep walking on a small dirt path-you'll see a building with a blue roof. Vegetable prices are pretty expensive, so I'd advise going to another place to buy them. If you go towards the shop selling noodles behind the teaching place, there's a couple of paths to the right between residential homes. Take the bottom one by the sports grounds. Keep going and you'll end up by a key cutting place. Then turn right and go up and there's a woman selling vegetables for cheaper. If you want a rice cooker the cheapest option is about 55 yuan for a tiny one. There's a shop selling electronic appliances near the canteen. It's the street which is lined with fruit markets and food stalls.

 

Campus

 

Campus has a post office, china mobile shop, bank of chengdu, icbc bank, sports fields and gyms. Lots of places to buy food from. It's also massive, so if you hate walking(like me) it's not a great idea. West gate has the high end resturants and walmart. Its about 30 mins walk from east dorms.

 

Xiao bei men has smaller resturants, a tanghulu stand from midday to evening, cinema and many bubble tea shops. There's also a place there that does amazing kaoyu(fish). About 15 mins walk. There are also bars around here but its quicker to walk to them from east gate.

 

South gate is mainly food, also has a couple of salons. There's a bakery here too. North gate is mainly resturants.

 

East gate has bus stops. That's pretty much it. You can get the 335 to chunxilu. Get off at shamao station. The last 335 back is around 8. If you miss that then you can take the 68 to jiuyanqiaoxizhan and walk back.

 

There's also a wholesale by the name of hehuaci. If you can stand loud, awful music and large crowds, go here if you want stuff for cheap. Take the 27/27A at jiuyanqiaobeizhan (across the bridge)and get off at dongbeisanduan station(I think this is correct). There's a wanda plaza (large shopping mall) just in front. Turn right on the road just before the plaza and go straight on until you hear the aforementioned god awful music. The wanda plaza also has a supermarket in the basement. It has more stuff than carrefour or walmart, but walmart is the best for asian candy.

 

There are a few small shops by the teaching building where you can buy food and other necessities. Above the shops there's a printing and scanning place. Useful for printing out boarding passes. I think they also allow you to use internet there but I'm not sure. There's also a restaurant above the canteen but it's not that great in my opinion.

 

Chengdu in general

 

People here are laid back and friendly, and there's a lot of interesting places. You could do a lot worse. If you want to practice your chinese, stick to the uni students or you'll end up with both a chengdu accented chinese (understandable to locals) and terrible putonghua tainted by your home country's accent(not understandable to anyone).

 

Also this guy has a lot of info on chunda.

http://www.kevinmunns.com/index_files/chuanda.htm

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Sooo, I know from the list on the embassy website that there's at least a few other Europeans (don't know about other regions) going to study at Sichuan University next year. Anyone of you on the forum going there? I'll be taking the Chinese Language course there, starting September.

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Hello,

 

There hasn't been much activity on this for a while so I was wondering if anyone had anything new they'd like to add about Sichuan University.  I'm going to apply for a scholarship to study there this year, with a year of language study beforehand.  Is there anyone who is currently, or has previously been, in this situation?

 

I've been in email contact with a lady in the foreign admissions office and she's been very helpful but it would be nice to hear from someone 'on the ground' as it were...

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