Job Discussion Forums

[hyperpress]

i'm planning on working in china at a university in Sept. most of the jobs i'm eligible for are reading, literature, spoken english, conversational english, and writing. i have M.Ed. B.A. and Oregon State Teaching license.

a lot of the jobs offer mandarin lessons twice a week. Now here's my question...I want to get another degree while i'm there, like an international business, or studies degree. Is this possible...what sort of degrees do they offer...Masters? does anyone know the cost of schooling for a foreigner in china?

thanx for any help or advice

otto

[eslstudies]

You say you plan to take Mandarin lessons. The level of proficiency you arrive at even after many years of dedicated study would not get you to a level where you could handle a Chinese university course. There is an entry exam for non=PRC residents who wish to do this. A Japanese friend passed this 3rd try after 5 years of very hard work.

a more realistic pathway might be to do some distance/online ed with an accredited Western university. I doubt if a Chinese degree would count for much back home, although Chinese language skills are increasingly marketable.

[Yu]

Concordia unversity offers an international studies program. There are many MBAs. I wouldnt count of school sponsored language courses. They dont always come through.

[roadwalker]

It has been stated on this forum before, but you should consider studying Mandarin locally, i.e. in Oregon or where ever you are now. Like the previous poster said, they don't always come through with the language courses or the classes are offered when you are scheduled to teach English. I suggest an intensive Mandarin course either in a local university or language school nearby. If you put in a month or two before your trip, then any Chinese school's free lessons will better serve you anyway. You may find it difficult to feel "immersed" in Chinese culture depending on where you go. There will be no shortage of people wishing to speak English to/with you. All the more reason to get a jump on Mandarin now.

[latefordinner]

There's only one thing shorter than the list of Chinese universities that are internationally recognised, and that's the list of Chinese teachers who can actually teach a language. I knew one a few years ago, but he left to study in Australia. Good luck, and let me know if you find one, I'm looking fro a Mandarin teacher myself.

[peepertice]

loads of African students are now studying Masters courses in Chinese Universities in all kinds of subjects...medicine, engineering, law etc.

they're studying them in Chinese following one academic year studying the Chinese language! Studying these subjects in your own language would involve learning large amounts of new vocabulary so the idea that these guys can get a qualification worth the paper it's written on is a joke.

the whole thing is a complete scam cooked up between the Chinese and African governments, a kind of qualifications/natural resources exchange scheme.

anyway, to answer your question the only thing worth studying in China is the language or Chinese cooking. And how to fling phlegm.

learning a bit before you come is good advice.