Job Discussion Forums

[chaz47]

I know this has been touched on before so if there are any links please direct me...

Anyway I am currently in Korea teaching adults one on one. I am studying a little bit of Hanja along with my Hangeul and realize that I really want to learn Chinese. My school's newest teacher has recommend that I dive into China for my next contract ( he knows Mandarin already and is trying to teach me).

I have quite a bit of time remaining on my present contract, 7 months I believe, so whatever planning, advice, etc. anyone can offer is greatly appreciated.

[bdawg]

well, I would suggest against formally studying Chinese while holding down a full time teaching position. I'm doing that now, and it is not that formal courses are bad, it is just that they move so damn fast. Very hard to keep up, I'm about 5 units behind my classmates who don't have to work (to eat and maintain a life) nearly as much as I do. You'll burn yourself out trying to teach class, and remember the 50 odd character that are sent flying your way each day.

My advice is to hire a private tutor everyday. One hour everyday at 40RMB/hour (which is actually very high...you can get one much cheaper) is still half the price of a semester of Chinese study at a university here. You will be able to focus more on areas of the language you are interested in.

[Voldermort]

bdawg and other similar people,

You say you are doing a formal course in Chinese. Would you mind giving me some of the details about it? I ask because although my chinese is pretty good with self study I really want a piece of paper which states that I can speak the language. It would really improve my chances in the future.

[bdawg]

I'd say take the HSK. Honestly, I suspect that aside from doing a full on degree in Chinese, it is the only piece of paper that holds any weight. You don't need to go to school to take the HSK.

I'm not taking my exams at my school. Partially because I doubt I could pass them anyways at this point (very far behind) and also because of the toleration of cheating displayed by my school and teachers during the midterms (I walked out of my mid term exam...after a very loud 'f*ck this' to my cheating classmates). I can't tolerate cheating. When a school doesn't take their exams seriously, how can they take their teaching?

Anyways, the piece of paper you want is the HSK.

Hitting up a formal course will probably help your writing. The teachers are all highly qualified and pretty hardcore. I know a guy preparing for the HSK intermediate (he's in year two of formal study)...he basically said it was an almost impossible task for him, even after 2 years of formal study. He said something about dictation of entire passages in Chinese. Apparently, in order to graduate with a degree in Chinese from a mainland university, one needs to take HSK Advanced (only component that has oral...I believe). If you can pass that thing, you Chinese...well...is probably better than most of the locals.

HSK basic is what I'm shooting for (eventually) with the goal of attaining A level. There isn't much writing involved, mostly reading and listening.

[chaz47]

what about full time study at a university, i have heard that there are schools, actual universities, that teach foreigners the language, is this true?

i really have nothing else going on and could devote a good 5 to 6 years to learning Chinese if i had the chance and tuition was cheap enough.

[bdawg]

University is what I was talking about. I'm at Nanjing Normal University. A whole pile of universities here have international programs.

Tuition isn't that cheap either. 8000RMB/semester at NNU. Cheaper than back home, but I believe it is still a little high.

www.chinesehsk.com

[Roger]

You will probably get quite disappointed by their teaching style which reflects hopw they teach English to their own people.

It is mainly rote-learning combined with translation, translation and then some more translation.

We are doing something different - using the LONGMAN Hanyu book series that basically are bilingual but require of the student to apply what he has learnt so far in future lessons; thus the Chinese characters he has acquired he must recognise in future references in the book. Also, the teacher must use Mandarin in instructions as soon as the student has familiarised himself with the relevant terminology for grammar and syntax.

I have seen some mainland-produced textbooks which are fairly good; it is the teachers that should make a difference, and that's the missing link! They tend to hold a monologue involving the learner only in repeating after them.
In my opinion, you have a far better chance of learning good Chinese at a western university; this opinion of mine is supported by the sheer number of Aussies, Germans and other Europeans I have seen here that studied Mandarin for two years back in their home country!

[chaz47]

are these programs tailored for absolute beginners, or do you need to know the basics before you enroll? also does the cost of tuition include dormitory and meal plan?

[Roger]

Lest I forget it: my university has Mandarin classes for foreigners; the current crop of international students includes Japanese, Koreans, Russians; sometimes a whole gaggle of Malaysians or Vietnamese are here too; westerners can join at any time; language of instruction is English. The teacher I know is friendly and well-educated. It is for beginners, really. Books used dwell on the four skills; writing is important from the start.

[Brian Caulfield]

What helped me the most was living in Shanxi and being the only foreigner in town . Now that I am back in the east I find I am using English too much because I live in a dormitory with the students . I used to say to people who approached me in a friendly manner that I was not English and couldn't speak the language . " Du buchi wo shi fa guo ren wo bu dong ingwen ." Also in my free time I don't hang with foreigners I play wei-chi with the locals. This keeps me away from the office politics . I need to get more disciplined about practicing the writing . I think you must approach it as a type of meditation . Something you do everyday to relax . I noticed the foreign kids at my school who are here studying Chinese don't seem to be picking up much . They spend to much time with their friends speaking English . It's about getting out of the comfort zone .

[bdawg]

Dorm and food are seperate. But seriously, don't even consider living on campus. The rooms are, for the most part, junk...and highly overpriced. If you don't value your privacy, you can cut the price by sharing a room with another person. The dorms usually have rules regarding vistors and such as well. You can get meal cards for the shitang but the food ain't that good. You are better off to eat outside.

I'm the only 'white' dude in my class. My classmates are all korean, japanese, or vietnamese. Instruction where I am is probably about 80% chinese (which can create problems, especially grammatical explanations) with the remainder in english. It is basic basic stuff...based on the blue hanyu jiaocheng books you can pick up at most foreign book stores.

[sheeba]

[Brian Caulfield]

I's spells bads in Englishy and Pinyiny

[odaromeida]

Once there was a student studied at our college for intensive Chinese language training for 5 weeks. He can have basic conversation with Chinese people.
Why?
Because he was totally immersed in Chinese language.

I think everybody can.

For details, please visit our website: www.omeida.com.cn

[NateM]

I would suggest that if you want to come to China to learn the language, it's better to do so first as a student, then perhaps start teaching once you've gotten a fair amount of background in. If you try going full bore with both from the getgo, the quality of both teaching and learning is likely to suffer. If your primary interest is in teaching, however, and that's what you want to do even if it means you're Chinese won't improve as quickly, then go for it.