Does Anyone Have Good Information on Peking University's Language Program?

[MilesM]

Hello, guys! I am planning to participate in a language program for one year starting in September 2015. I am really interested in going to Beijing and specifically Peking University. However, PKU's website doesn't seem to have much information on its language program. I emailed a representative and was able to get pricing information. Apparently the intensive program is 28,000 RMB per semester (which is strange because that is VASTLY more expensive than every other university's language program) and on-campus accommodation is 110 RMB per day (which is fine). I don't really care about the price, however, because I'm going on a scholarship and don't have to worry about it. But I still don't know much else about the program. For example, I'd like to know what a typical day's class schedule would look like. Also, is the accommodation for international students single or double rooms? And I would also like to know just general opinions of the program (for those who have participated in it). Is it of good quality? I assume it is because it's Peking University, but I just want to make sure. Thanks a lot for the help!

[ChTTay]

In Beijing that's not VASTLY more expensive. Tsinghua is aroudn 24,000 for 2 semesters last time I checked and that wasn't intensive. It might be more now...

 

Also, you might want to re-consider intensive. I found the normal course with 3-4 hours a day as intensive as I could take. On top of class hours you need to do a fair amount of self study anyway.

 

There is a thread about PKU on chinese-forums although it looks like it has more questions than answers; http://www.chinese-forums.com/index.php?/topic/35817-peking-university/

 

Regarding class schedule, I never went to PKU but my room mate did. Whereas I had classes only in the morning at Tsinghua, it seemed she had classes at different times of the day. For example, perhaps on Monday all her classes would be in the morning but on Thursday they would be in the afternoon.

 

For accomodation, usually they have a few options for you ... like single room with bathroom, two small rooms share one bathroom, or a 'twin room' where you actually share a room with someone.

 

What about BLCU? or Tsinghua? There plenty of information about Tsinghua on this forum

[masirui]

I don't know too much about the Bei Da intensive course, but I've heard it's quite good. It kind of depends on your current level and how big your scholarship is as well. If you're at least at a low intermediate level, I would recommend Tsinghua's IUP program. It is in my opinion the best program if you actually want to improve your Mandarin; however, it is very expensive (US prices), which is why I bring up the scholarship point. If your scholarship is big enough to cover most of the cost of studying at IUP, I would highly recommend it. The people I met while in that program had some of the best Chinese I've seen among the different programs, and the quality of the teaching is definitely superior to other programs in addition to having very small class sizes. The website for IUP is http://ieas.berkeley.edu/iup/ if you want to take a look.

 

If you have any more questions, feel free to ask.

[ChTTay]

I would also recommend IUP if money is not a problem.

[ZhangKaiRong]

Is it of good quality? I assume it is because it's Peking University, but I just want to make sure.

Good academic reputation of a university has nothing to do with the quality of their language programme. PKU and other top universities can charge extra due to their brands, but the quality is more or less the same at most Chinese universities which had accumulated some years of experience in the field of teaching Chinese to foreigners. Standard language courses all use the same crappy PKU, Tsinghua or BLCU Press textbooks. If money is not a problem, you can go for PKU or Tsinghua, but you can also choose a cheaper alternative if you want to same money, it won't affect anything in terms of level of education.

[ChTTay]

I wouldn't say those textbooks are 'crappy'. There are some very good textbooks produced by BLCU and PKU.

 

Equally, you pay more for the reputation but then you can also use that reputation. In the UK, it's likely that most employers have no idea about Chinese Universities. However, if they search 'Tsinghua' they can see its in Beijing and is one of OR 'the' top University in China. On paper at least, it's more impressive than a lesser known University in some other city in China that they've never heard of.

 

Apart from that, the quality of teaching at these places with a big reputation probably isn't better than any other place. For example, I know someone who went to MinZu University to study Chinese on their language program and said it was pretty intense and well run. Equally, I know someone who went to Qingdao Ocean who has great Chinese.

 

The problem with these places is the class size. They can be up to 15-18 in a lot of instances. It also depends on your level and how many people sign up to that level.

 

In contrast, IUP has class sizes of 3 students for the most part.

[戴 睿]

I would be interested to hear how good IUP is compared to PiB. Also, does anyone know if the csc/css scholarships will count towards either of those PiB/IUP summer programs?

[ChTTay]

I have three friends currently attending IUP. The consensus seems to be that the school itself is a lot more professionally run than Tsinghua / PKU / BLCU. It feels more like higher learning in the USA (where they are from). Equally, the teachers seem to be of a higher standard, most of them have more experience also. The expectations on students are a lot higher.

 

The class size of just 3 people means there is no where to hide. They expect you to do a lot of work preparing for classes. For example, the listening classes involve little to no 'listening' in class. You are suppose to listen to the recording at home, learn/review the key vocab and grammar, then in class you might get a brief intro on any grammar THEN you spend the rest of the class discussing what you heard in the listening. For that reason ,it's pretty clear if you didn't listen to it thoroughly or not at all. Also, you cannot sit their with your textbook in front of you. You are expected to pretty much know what you need to for that class. I also believe that you have at least an hour 1 on 1 also included in your daily schedule.

 

In comparison, the Tsinghua listening class involves a lot of sitting there and listening to the recording, ticking boxes and saying the odd answer. Equally, you can always have your textbook infront of you with key vocab to hand.

 

Overall, they all seem to really like the IUP program. However, at least one says that, however good it might be, it's still not worth the amount of money it costs. You could spend half of that on private tutition at a private language school and feel pretty happy with the amount of class time you have.

 

If I had a spare $9000 I'd probably try it for a semester though. Probably a good place to break some plateaus

 

Edit: I meant the expectations on students are higher ... not 'the expectations of students are higher'. I guess both are true but I meant that you are required to do a lot of work and it won't go down well if you don't.

[Chris Two Times]

ChTTay, thanks for the write-up. I am looking for a place to study Mandarin in 2015-2016 and IUP has crossed my radar. I agree with you, if I had to pay for it out of pocket, I would try it for a semester. Looking at their website, I agree...could be a good place to break some plateaus. I don't really have US$9,000 jingling around in my pocket or hiding between my sofa cushions though.

 

If I had my way I would apply for a Blakemore Language Grant to foot the bill for a year of study at IUP.

 

http://www.blakemorefoundation.org

 

Warm regards,

Chris Two Times