evr-since Posted June 28, 2021 at 10:12 PM Report Share Posted June 28, 2021 at 10:12 PM Do you know any good one? I'm planning to go for an immersive learning experience, ideally for one semester or one full year. Both University courses (non-degree) and private schools are fine, as long as they are reliable and professional. Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
abcdefg Posted June 30, 2021 at 02:50 PM Report Share Posted June 30, 2021 at 02:50 PM Looks like these folks have a school there: https://mandarinhouse.com/learn-chinese-in-shenzhen Obviously, you need to contact them to be sure they didn't go under during the pandemic lock down. I took a course of study from the same outfit in Beijing in the Spring of 2006. (So long ago as to scarcely be relevant.) Since you have enough time, the best bet might be to take a university Mandarin course and supplement it with lots of extra-curricular activities that require Chinese and lots of private tutoring on the side. Know in advance that the university course will be pretty lame and not enough by itself. It will require personal initiative to make the year worthwhile. Supplemental one-to-one tutoring should not be difficult to arrange once you arrive -- I would expect to find notes on bulletin boards in the university district. Also, just asking around once you are boots on the ground is usually fruitful. Tune in to current casual recommendations from locals. Cannot help you beyond that. I have been to Shenzhen many times as a tourist, but never as a student of Mandarin. Just wondering, although it's none of my business -- Why in the world did you choose Shenzhen as the site of your "Chinese year?" 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
evr-since Posted June 30, 2021 at 06:13 PM Author Report Share Posted June 30, 2021 at 06:13 PM Thanks for the advices! Yes, I'm aware that no language course would be as fruitful as immersing in the language with a lot of personal initiatives. For conversation it shouldn't be a problem, as my girlfriend is native and she lives there. So that also explains why Shenzhen ;) 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
abcdefg Posted July 1, 2021 at 03:23 PM Report Share Posted July 1, 2021 at 03:23 PM 21 hours ago, evr-since said: For conversation it shouldn't be a problem, as my girlfriend is native and she lives there. So that also explains why Shenzhen ;) I understand! Hope it works out well. Need to give some thought to the best ways of obtaining a visa. Currently it is very restrictive, very difficult. When the situation loosens up some, being enrolled in a Chinese university for language study might be best. Private language schools usually are not able to arrange visas for the sort of long stay you are seeking. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jan Finster Posted July 1, 2021 at 07:15 PM Report Share Posted July 1, 2021 at 07:15 PM On 6/30/2021 at 4:50 PM, abcdefg said: Why in the world did you choose Shenzhen as the site of your "Chinese year?" What is wrong with Shenzhen? My Chinese buddies say it is the "it" city for millenials (?) 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
evr-since Posted July 1, 2021 at 07:49 PM Author Report Share Posted July 1, 2021 at 07:49 PM Quote Need to give some thought to the best ways of obtaining a visa. Currently it is very restrictive, very difficult. When the situation loosens up some, being enrolled in a Chinese university for language study might be best. Private language schools usually are not able to arrange visas for the sort of long stay you are seeking. Didn't know about that! Thanks for letting me know. Quote What is wrong with Shenzhen? My Chinese buddies say it is the "it" city for millenials (?) True! Also according to what I've been told by my partner, it's a very "active" city and the population is largely made of young (working) people. I guess when people think of studying the language in China they would imagine Beijing, or maybe Shanghai, for their historical/economic importance. Also, these cities may probably benefit of a wider choice of Universities and language courses. With that said, personally I wouldn't mind a more modern environment for my language experience ☺️ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
abcdefg Posted July 2, 2021 at 12:43 AM Report Share Posted July 2, 2021 at 12:43 AM On 7/1/2021 at 2:15 PM, Jan Finster said: What is wrong with Shenzhen? My Chinese buddies say it is the "it" city for millenials (?) Didn't mean to imply it was a bad place to go. Just not one of the traditional cities that foreigners usually seek out when wanting to learn about Chinese culture and language. I spent a couple very good years in Zhuhai, pretty close by. It was also a non-traditional place to study, but I loved the ambience of the city and managed to find good teachers. Plus the seafood was great: fresh and reasonably priced. I enjoyed the Southern tea culture and relaxed weekend brunches. One of the attractions of both Zhuhai and Shenzhen is their proximity to Hong Kong and Macau. It was so easy to go across for a change of pace. I took advantage of that and had a chance to learn my way around across the border somewhat. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mungouk Posted July 2, 2021 at 06:31 AM Report Share Posted July 2, 2021 at 06:31 AM On 6/30/2021 at 10:50 PM, abcdefg said: https://mandarinhouse.com/ I didn't study with them, but my teacher recommended Mandarin House as a centre for taking my HSK/HSKK exams 3 years ago in Shanghai, since she used to work for them. They seemed pretty competent and the Shanghai centre was well-equipped. Regarding visas their website says: Quote We recommend you apply for the L visa (tourist visa) if you are staying for less than 3 months, or the X2 Visa (student visa) if you plan to stay for longer than 3 months. China’s visa policy is subject to change; please contact us before you come to China to explore your options if your visa doesn’t cover the length of your stay. For longer than 6 months you would need an X1 visa, and unlike universities I think very few private schools are able to provide the right kind of admission notice and JW202 form for this. Keats school in Kunming certainly can, and this is what they say about visas: Quote [...] after we receive full tuition fee for the entire course through bank transfer, we will send you the official Admission Notice on behalf of Keats School to apply for a student visa (X1/X2) in your country. The X1 visa is for a program longer than 6 months while the X2 student visa is for a program shorter than 6 months. [...] Please Note: The tourist visa can no longer be changed to a student visa after you arrive in China. In order to avoid unnecessary cost, please make sure to enter China with an X1 or X2 student visa. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zhouhaochen Posted February 13, 2022 at 02:30 AM Report Share Posted February 13, 2022 at 02:30 AM On 7/1/2021 at 10:23 AM, abcdefg said: Private language schools usually are not able to arrange visas for the sort of long stay you are seeking. Right now with Covid it's of course different, but in normal times private language schools can invite students for a full semester (180 days) to China. With Hong Kong just across the border leaving is no problem either if that's necessary for a quick trip. At the moment this is of course different with Covid. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
suMMit Posted February 13, 2022 at 03:30 AM Report Share Posted February 13, 2022 at 03:30 AM On 6/30/2021 at 10:50 PM, abcdefg said: Why in the world did you choose Shenzhen as the site of your "Chinese year?" I also would not choose Shenzhen to live for learning Chinese either(realize the op has a specific reason) . I guess it's not the worst choice though. The pro of Shenzhen, Mandarin-wise, is that nobody is from there. Nobody is speaking Cantonese. The residents of SZ are from absolutely every part of China - including standard Mandarin speaking places - so you get lots of different accents and dialects and lots of Mandarin in general. Whereas, Guangzhou just an hour away is imo just about the worst city in the country to learn 普通话 - the locals prefer to speak cantonese, sure younger people speak both, but they prefer canto. The 外地人 are from Hunan and Fujian(not a problem, but maybe better for advanced learners of putonghua than beginners), and in both SZ and GZ people seem to have more English influence/better at English, maybe because of Hong Kong proximity. People also seem very busy in SZ compared to other cities. I don't care about being in the "it" city for millinials(opposite actually). I do miss the tea culture in the South though. Of course you can learn Chinese anywhere, but for me, living in Beijing is miles and miles better than SZ - the only better place imo would be a smaller city where putonghua is the norm, like Chengde(Hebei) or even Harbin. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flickserve Posted February 13, 2022 at 05:20 AM Report Share Posted February 13, 2022 at 05:20 AM @suMMit Do you find Beijing has a lot of people who can use English? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
suMMit Posted February 14, 2022 at 03:54 AM Report Share Posted February 14, 2022 at 03:54 AM On 2/13/2022 at 1:20 PM, Flickserve said: Do you find Beijing has a lot of people who can use English? Sure there are a lot of people in BJ who can speak English, but not as many/as well as in SZ. SZ is also a young city, hardly anyone over 50 years old. I also think the attitude in BJ is a bit different. I find that when I enter any establishment here(other than a solidly expat focused place, and even then often) I'm addressed in Chinese. That's before they know whether I can speak it or not. I felt like it was 50/50 in SZ. And in contrast with GZ, there's only one language primary language learned here. A friend of mine who has also lived in both places has always said: "The locals here(sz) speak more English and the expats in BJ speak more Chinese". 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and select your username and password later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.