Looking for a good language school close to Wudaokou, Beijing (hopefully not so expensive)

[marvinfreericks]

Hello everyone! ?

 

I am currently doing my MBA at Tsinghua in Beijing and because my program is taught in English, I would like to continue studying Chinese by taking some classes for a few hours every week. Until now I have studied Chinese for 1.5 years and passed the HSK5 exam.

 

My question is: Can anybody recommend good language schools in or close to Wudaokou that are not too expensive? Group classes or 1on1 classes would both be fine, I would just like to find a school, where the teachers are good and the hourly fee is not that high.

 

I would really appreciate your help! Thanks in advance!

[Flickserve]

A budget would help people give recommendations. 

[marvinfreericks]

6 minutes ago, Flickserve said:

A budget would help people give recommendations.

 

I went to a school today and they told me that their price for one hour of 1on1 lesson is 145kuai. I felt that is a bit expensive, but to be honest I am also not sure what the average price for one hour of private lessons is in Beijing. But, I think around 100 would be okay for me.

 

However, if there are suitable group classes or HSK classes, I would also take this, as it's probably a lot cheaper.

[ChTTay]

Unlikely to find 1on1 for 100rmb an hour through a school. 145rmb seems pretty good actually. 

 

You could try find a private tutor. Often through word of mouth is easiest. Especially around Tsinghua it shouldn’t be too hard. Apart from asking classmates... 

 

Anytime you see any Chinese person that seems to be teaching a foreigner in a cafe, in your dorms common room, canteen etc just listen in a bit then go ask for their wechat or wait until they finish and talk to the foreigner or the teacher. That’s what used to happen in my Tsinghua days. 

 

The Bridge school was always a popular private school when I lived in wdk. There was another in the same building. The office building opposite lotus, entrance just right of McDonalds. 

 

For 100rmb you could definitely find a student teacher at BLCU to teach you. However, I never found a decent teacher this way and neither did anyone I knew. They did tend to be cheaper though. 

 

My experience is a few years ago but reckon it’s still good info. 

[edelweis]

maybe you could try this one for small group classes:

http://www.gvschinese.com/contact.html

no first hand info but this school (global village, 地球村) was discussed on the forum many years ago.

[marvinfreericks]

@ChTTay

 

Thank you very much for the insights!! I just didn't know what the average prices are before, so wanted to make sure that I choose something that is not much more expensive than usual. 

 

I think I will just try to talk to some Chinese students and also take a few hours of private classes then! ?

@edelweis

Thank you for the tip! I just contacted them and will see what kind of classes they offer ?

[mungouk]

I was looking around for 1:1 classes in Beijing a few months ago, and found that prices ranged from ¥127 to ¥350 per lesson, which can be defined as anything from 45 to 60 minutes, but typically 50-55 mins.

 

The ¥350 is definitely way higher than the others — next highest was ¥220 — and almost everywhere I checked offers tiered pricing with lower cost if you book a package of 10, 20, 40 lessons etc in one go.

 

 

 

 

[marvinfreericks]

@mungouk

 

Okay, got it! Thank you very much for sharing your experience. Definitely helps to know what prices are normal and which ones rather not haha.

[ChTTay]

I attended 1 on 1 classes at Culture Yard bear Beixinqiao and found them excellent. Would mean a commute for you though. 

[marvinfreericks]

@ChTTay

Thanks for the tip! I wish I lived close to that area haha. I think I will probably just choose a school in Wudaokou, because I can save a little bit of time that way.

[mungouk]

You might also want to consider an online teacher for 1:1? 

 

I love the way I can reschedule classes whenever necessary, and I can do the lesson from wherever is convenient without worrying about getting to a school in rush-hour traffic etc.  I've done lessons while on holiday, stuck late in the office, back home in the UK etc... all you need is a decent network connection.

 

For comparison with the above rates I pay about ¥153 per lesson with my teacher on italki.com, buying 10 lessons in a package, and we always have a full 60 minutes.  Different teachers have different rates.