Level A at BLCU?

[Lauren88]

Hi,

I will be coming to China the first week in December and - at least initially, enrolling in BLCU's 5 week winter course. I've traveled in China before on my own, so I've picked up lots of language odds and ends, but I've never studied formally. I'm assuming I'll be in the lowest level, and I'd really like a head's up about what to expect from anyone who has gone through this class.

Thanks!

- Lauren

[tyler]

If you've only picked up odds and ends of the language, I believe A level will be right for you. Keep in mind that within A level, there are separate levels going from absolute beginner to more advanced beginner. You should expect a lot of character memorization because in order to keep up with the texts, you really need to do your homework. I wasn't in the 5 week course so I'm not sure if it's the exact same but we would learn an average of 15-20 new words a day, plus you are expected to memorize the characters. I found it to be a great program and if you are willing, expect to learn a whole lot!

[self-taught-mba]

Don't assume that you will be the lowest. Never discount your efforts. Even if they assess you at the lowest, that doesn't mean their metric is correct and you may well find yourself with a better understanding than others.

I have met many self-learners that don't always fit exactly into the curriculum(and I am one of them as you can tell by my most recent post) . Do your best, make the most of it, and if it is not a good fit, ask yourself why and then tailor your study accordingly.

Good luck.

[speedmonk]

Unless you need them to get a VISA, don't go to BLCU. If you have even the slightest inclination for self-learning there is a good chance you will hate the BLCU classes.

I just quit going, and have 1 on 1 language tutors and it's way better. For some people, they like the classes.

You will save yourself A LOT of money.

[Lauren88]

speedmonk -

How did you get hooked up with your language tutors? How much are you spending on them?

[rmdavis82]

I know everyone is different, but I have to throw my two cents in here. I've been living in China for 8 months now and I (being fairly self-disciplined and interested in learning Chinese) thought I could pick things up on my own and with a help of a tutor. I think this is often easier said than done, but certainly it depends on what type of learner you are. I've heard of people getting tutors for 15 RMB an hour or doing language exchange. My school (I'm currently a teacher) tried to hook me up with a tutor for 80 RMB an hour. I think it depends on the quality and experience of the tutor. As for me, I'm going to BCLU in spring!

[self-taught-mba]

speedmonk -

How did you get hooked up with your language tutors? How much are you spending on them?

That is a problem. Language tutors can be quite effective but if you read my " story of learning Chinese" post. You see that it took me almost a month and a half to find a suitable one.

How to find one:

If you go to BLCU, near the main shop "the friendships store" and also the Cafe and the library, there are lots of advertisements of tutors. However, many of these are in Chinese. Also, in Wu3Dao4Kou3, the main bookstore there has a bulletin board with many advertisements. There's also, thatsbj.com, where you can put a free advertisement up. The best way, of course, is to find someone who already has a tutor and is very pleased with them.

Pricing

80 RMB for a tutor is too much!!!!

You should be able to find a tutor for anywhere in the price range between 15 and 30 RMB an hour. I know some teachers that teach it BLCU which charge 40 or 50 an hour.

of course a lot of this depends on is your level of language and the tutor's level of English. Also, BLCU tutors can be a little bit more expensive than the other universities.

This is my basic pricing scheme:

• 15 still in school; maybe some tutoring experience; low-level English
  
• 20 same as 15 with some tutoring experience
  
• 25 same as 20 by better at explaining things
  
• 30 English should be on a very good level
  
• 35 better be almost fluent
  
• 40 teacher who is fluent, effective, and teaching in off-time
  

I'm sure other people have slightly different criteria/pricing scheme. I finally settled on a tutor that is 20 kuai per hour. Her English is fairly good although she's not always so good in answering questions/explaining the equivalent situation in English.

[self-taught-mba]

thought I could pick things up on my own and with a help of a tutor. I think this is often easier said than done, but certainly it depends on what type of learner you are.

I'll respond to this by saying I think everyone has the propensity to learn on their own. In fact, I would argue that all learning is actually learning on your own, technically speaking, because you have to study the materials outside the classroom normally.

However, when learning on one's own it is often hard to decide how to plan your learning schedule, which tools to use, which things and methodologies are most effective. By the time you realize this, you either wasted time on ineffective methods, or have spent considerable amount of time trying to find the best way.

In this way you are right, many people need a set structure, and it can be quite difficult to choose the appropriate structure for yourself. So when we say learning on your own I think we both mean that you decide how to structure your own lessons. And this can be very difficult.

Of course many self learners simply pick up a book, or other material that has a defined structure for them and use a tutor/friend to augment this, because there'll always be questions and explanations that are outside of the material.

tried to hook me up with a tutor for 80 RMB an hour

Please do tell the dirty details. Which school? which company? Prevent someone else from being ripped off? (Unless the tutor was really worth 80 kuai)

[stephanhodges]

Could you list your criteria and method of picking a tutor?

Do people use just one tutor?

[rmdavis82]

I'm not trying to have an indepth debate about self learning. . .how it is defined and people's capability to do it. Nor do I care if I am "right." I just hope people realize that finding a good tutor and having the discipline to study in such a way is not always easy. Let's face it, most of us are accustom to learning in a school setting-having a teacher trained in education and classmates to interact with. Therefore, having a tutor may take some adjustment.

I did not pay the 80 RMB for the tutor because I assumed it was too much (at the time I was a bit naive to these things!), so don't worry your pretty little head about it. My school is Chengde Middle School No. 1 (where I am a teacher, not a student) and I don't know the specifics of their connection to this tutor. There are scams a plenty here, but that's a whole nother post. I did speak to the other foreign teacher who had this tutor. She was good, I was told. But was she worth it??? I'm willing to guess no.