Which university city in China is the best for studying Mandarin?
Care to learn Mandarin and Chinese culture while enjoy the beautiful nature? Recommendation goes to Nanjing University in Nanjing city; Zhejiang University in Hangzhou city and university in Chengdu (this is for the best food, beautiful nature, mild weather and nice and layback citizens. So I recommend the city, not sure about university). The first two universities are very reputable comprehensive universities in China. Nanjing is not only an ancient wealthy city with a long history, but also very scenic. It is very hot in the summer though. Hangzhou city is another ancient scenic city famous for its west lake. But the Hangzhou has much much more to offer other than west lake.
Where is a good place for a foreigner to study the Chinese language in China?
I recommend Chengdu. For the reasons below：Not too big. Tremendously big cities got a lot of inconvenience like traffic jams or air pollution. over-modernization makes metropolis look just the same as western countries and fade from its splendid brilliance. While Chengdu is not “that ” westernized and there the citizens still keeps many traditional lifestyles that you may be interested in.Not too small. Chengdu lies in the southwest China and it's the 8th biggest city （in economic size）. Therefore the infrastructure and living environment won’t upset you.The food. Have you ever heard of Sichuan Food？Chengdu is the capital city of Sichuan province, exactly. If you got a maniac for spicy food，this is your best choice.The people. Most people there are more friendly than you can imagine and will give you a warm welcome no matter where you are from or what your character is. Every time you make a progress in your Mandarin，they’ll hold their thumb up and encourage you. This will definitely help a lot when learning a language.The last and not the least，the panda. Admit it，my friend， that you can't resist the charm of pandas. There in Chengdu，pandas are everywhere. LOTS OF PANDAS in the panda breeding base，panda dolls in the store，panda symbol on the taxi. Here are two picturesa newly born baby pandathe panda taxi
What's it like to study at Beijing Language and Culture University?
I studied there 2005-2006 and would do so again. Of course, your success highly depends on your direct efforts. I'd recommend studying Chinese at home and then go there, ready to enter level C (intermediate). That's what I did. In the first semester, we were just 3 white people and all of the rest Asians. In the second semester, I proceeded to level D (upper intermediate) and was the only one. That way, progress was fast, because Japanese and Koreans barely speak English, so you HAVE to communicate in ChineseJapanese can already read Kanji, Chinese characters. This means they learn really, really fast. For Koreans, Chinese characters are also no foreign concept, which means they are quite fast as well. You thus are progressing light-speed and are challengedI'd also recommend checking out private schools in the proximity of the university. I later took classes at Diqiucun, because their teachers were better and it was possible to simple choose individual courses, like for example: reading newspapers, listening to the news, HSK preparation, advanced conversation, etc. Study at Diqiucun. Though, you'd really have to check, as this was in 2006 - they might have changed A LOT in the meantime. I highly recommend staying away from people of your own cultural background and immersing yourself into Asian groups. Take the dorm where no other white person lives or search yourself a Chinese host family or flatmates. That way, it'll be hard in the beginning, but you'll go really far.Anyway, 加油！With a bit of effort, you'll reach an awesome level.
What's it like to study Chinese at Tsinghua University?
Tsinghua has an excellent program for foreigners to learn Chinese. It is not as intensive as Peking, but definitely more challenging than the cookie-cutter experience you'd have at BLCU. I personally studied at BLCU for a year and had an excellent experience. That being said, the classes are WAY more lax. You'll have 20+ other students in your class. And depending on the quality of your teacher, you may find that it really is up to you how much you learn. They rarely check homework, hold dictation tests, etc. If you don't perform well on at least 1 of the 2 exams you'll be given all semester, you're outta luck!I worked for a study abroad company in China that placed students at many universities in Beijing. Tsinghua, though not as well-known for its Chinese language programs, still affords you a wonderful learning experience. The class sizes are smaller and expectations are higher. You'll also be in community with some of the brightest Chinese minds in the country!
Is Wuhan University a good place to study Mandarin for a year?
NO.The reason is, the university might be fine, but you will practice using your Mandarin mostly out in the street, not in class.That is where you really learn a lot of new vocabulary and can practice speaking.Most people in Wuhan will not speak standard Mandarin unless you speak it to them first. They will speak their dialect first. Therefore you will constantly be hearing an “accent” and nonstandard words. You won’t be able to understand local conversations.It’s harder to learn one thing in the classroom and then go out in the street and someone is basically speaking a dialect.Wuhan dialect - WikipediaI would go some place in China or Taiwan where the local population speaks something closer to standard Mandarin that most Chinese can easily understand. You will learn to speak Chinese faster and it is less likely you will have a strong regional accent on top of a foreign one.
Where is the best place to study Mandarin in China?
Some good answers here. I’d start by first asking yourself the following 3 questions:Which city in China do you want study in?You will need to consider:Climate, some parts of China have 5 month winters and other parts of China virtually don’t have a winter!Access to work opportunities, Beijing Shanghai, Guangzhou and Shenzhen are recommended for access to chambers of commerce, multinational companies and Chinese tech companies.How well is Mandarin spoken, Beijing, Qingdao, Dalian, Tianjin and Harbin are all great places to study MandarinCost of living, rent is half the price in most cities outside of Beijing and Shanghai. Cost of living though is relatively similar across cities for food with some differences in taxi fares and the cost of high-end food and drinks.Do you want to study at a University or a Private Language Program?University programs offer a campus experience, great student diversity and there’s an opportunity to impress Chinese people by studying at a famous university such as Peking University or Fudan University. Universities are also the best option for long-term visa support.Private language programs though tend to offer more attention from teachers, smaller class sizes, and flexible study dates.Which university or private language program do you want to study at?Here’s a few programs in China that have been reviewed by former students.Beijing Language & Culture University - BLCU (Beijing)Chongqing University of Technology (Chongqing)East China Normal University (Shanghai)Joy Mandarin Center (Beijing)Hutong School (Beijing & Shanghai)Nanjing Normal University (Nanjing)Nanjing University (Nanjing)Nanjing University of Traditional Chinese Medicine (Nanjing)Peking University (Beijing)Suzhou/Soochow University (Suzhou)That’s Mandarin (Beijing & Shanghai)Tianjin Normal University (Tianjin)Tsinghua IUP Program (Beijing)Xiamen University (Xiamen)
Should I go to BLCU or UIBE to study Chinese with a CSC scholarship?
From my point of view, I recommend BLCU to you. First of all, learning Chinese would be much eaiser if you learn Chinese with strong interest. BLCU is close to lots of other universities, such as Peking University, Tsinghua University, and because of this, you have many opportunities to listen to classes concerning different aspects of China in Peking University. By the way, I am at Peking University right now. And I believe there are some classes which can impress you. But UIBE is not adjacent to other universities in Beijing. Second, BLCU is famous for its linguistics teaching and there are many teachers that can help you. Finally, there are many students in BLCU who are excellent in English, and y ou are likely to find language partners to improve your Chinese.
Which is better to study, the Chinese language in Southern or Northern China?
Everyone you meet, and their grandmother, will tell you to go to Beijing because it is the Capitol and the epicenter of the where the standard dialect comes from. Everyone.In truth, this is only a half truth. Many Beijing people do not speak standard, and the Beijing accent is STRONG. The real truth is, if you want to learn Mandarin, go to a provincial college, because any teacher at good college will speak near perfect 普通话, and even regardless of where you are, even Beijing, most people on the street will have a fairly strong accent. They have to. So find a city that sounds awesome to you and has a good college (top 300 in China will do. It is a BIG country with a lot of schools).Just to be clear:普通话, Or Mandarin standard dialect comes from Beijing at its establishment back in 1956, but most individuals in Beijing speak a very strong Beijing accent that is NOT standard Mandarin. No matter how much they harp that they have the most standard accent, Beijing dialect is NOT standard, 标准普通话.Hope this helps.
What are some of the best ways to learn Chinese (Mandarin) both online or offline?
ONLINEThere are many websites for learning Chinese.You can try: Duolingo.comWith learning a language one of the most effective ways to learn is to practice with a native speaker. Listening, speaking, and continual feedback are needed to help develop ability and confidence.You can look at Italki - Learn a language online for one on one teachers.Or BLCU Beijing Language and Culture University if you’d like online Chinese classes on skype from a Chinese University.OFFLINEGet over to China to get immersed in the language for the most effective methods.I answered the question here: How do I choose the right program to study Mandarin at a Chinese university?
Which Chinese program is preferred, BLCU's or Tsinghua's, and why?
I am not sure about the general preference, but to me, BLCU is professional in language studies and you can meet all of the bilingual or multilingual students woth the similar desires to learn languages. TU is the top 1 or 2 university comprehensively and famous for various disciplines, so I guess you can meet very different people from various educational background in TU. However, to me personally, BLCU will always be my first chioce if I intend to apply for any foreign language program. (No offense to Tsinghua Univ. ;)