Chinese Language Courses?

[Craig]

Hi, I am considering applying for a Chinese language program at a University in Chengdu, maybe starting next semester.

I am wondering if any of you have been enrolled in any of these programs. I want to hear some good or bad things about them.

I want to improve my Chinese, but I don’t know if Chinese classes will be worth it. I have never taken a Chinese class before, I’ve only studied it on my own.

I have looked up some programs in Chengdu, and I have found the following universities, which all have a Chinese language program.

Southwest University of Finance and Economics
Sichuan University
Chengdu University
Southwest University of Nationalities

Thank you

[Charlie]

Hi Craig,

I’ve met many people who’ve studied at the Minorities University (University of Nationalities) and had good things to say about it. Costs are much lower than Sichuan University and quality of class is comparable from what I’ve heard (anyone who’s studied at one or the other, feel free to correct me). A good thing about signing up as a student at one of these school is you’ll get a student visa. Note that a lot of the classes are early in the morning, that may or may not be a problem for you (Chengdu is a lazy city).

If you search on the forum you can find testimonials from students who’ve studied at Sichuan University and other schools in the city. There’s also a lot of info on self studying Chinese, both on the forum and on the blog.

Good luck!

[Liam]

Second to what Charlie said, I studied at the SW University for Nationalities and it’s a good deal for your money. Lots of our students were previous students at Sichuan University and said that the programs were pretty comparable, except that Sichuan U’s classes are absolutely packed every day, 30+ students minimum. Not sure what your level is from studying on your own, but the entry-level classes average 20 students, higher levels are fewer, maybe ten students per teacher.

That being said, Sichuan U is a good place to meet people, there’s at least 1000 other foreigners there and it’s more in the heart of the expat/bar scene than Nationalities. Nationalities is in the Tibetan quarter tho. Here’s the website I enrolled through, they do a pretty good job but once they get you enrolled you’re pretty much on your own, you won’t talk to anyone at the university until you’ve got feet on the ground.

[Federico]

Anyway try to check out LanguageClan.com for find a friend for a language exchange! Good work

[Craig]

Thank you so much for your replies

[SS]

I also have a self-study background and started at SWUFE this semester after looking into Sichuan University (too expensive, classes too crowded) and the Minorities University (a bit too…suibian, though others have positive things to say about it). I am enrolled in upper-intermediate level classes plus an HSK 6 prep class and am quite satisfied with the experience. My reading vocab has increased about 20% in the two months. I would definitely recommend visiting each school and sitting in on a class or two before deciding where you want to go.

[Author]

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