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Chinese Language Study - Looking for reputable program

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westsider
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Chinese Language Study - Looking for reputable program [#permalink] New post   06 Feb 2008, 17:30
Hello all, I am assuming this is related to B-school life as I will be attending B-School, and I hope to make it part of my life =)

Will be starting B-school in September 2008, and I would like to find a good short-term program (4-7 weeks?) where I can get a jumpstart learning Mandarin. The program should be IN CHINA and should take place anytime from July-mid September 2008. If anyone has taken part in a program, or has first hand knowledge of a program there I would love to hear about it. I don't care about getting credit for my studies - and I don't even need to be in the worlds most "perfect" program. All I am looking for is something decent that won't take my money and run =) Basiaclly, schools in China /webpages for programs to sign up through

Also - I lived in Japan for a few years, so I know how difficult it can be to learn an Asian language. I realize that 4-7 weeks isn't much time!

Anyhow, all advice is greatly appreciated.

Thanks!
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Re: Chinese Language Study - Looking for reputable program [#permalink] New post   06 Feb 2008, 19:56
westsider wrote:
Hello all, I am assuming this is related to B-school life as I will be attending B-School, and I hope to make it part of my life =)

Will be starting B-school in September 2008, and I would like to find a good short-term program (4-7 weeks?) where I can get a jumpstart learning Mandarin. The program should be IN CHINA and should take place anytime from July-mid September 2008. If anyone has taken part in a program, or has first hand knowledge of a program there I would love to hear about it. I don't care about getting credit for my studies - and I don't even need to be in the worlds most "perfect" program. All I am looking for is something decent that won't take my money and run =) Basiaclly, schools in China /webpages for programs to sign up through

Also - I lived in Japan for a few years, so I know how difficult it can be to learn an Asian language. I realize that 4-7 weeks isn't much time!

Anyhow, all advice is greatly appreciated.

Thanks!


The biggest differences between Japanese and Chinese ->
Japanese is monotonal, Mandarin has 4 tones (Cantonese 9)
Parts of the grammar in Japanese is easier to learn due to the use of hiragana to form common verbs and tenses
Foreign words are easier to learn because of katakana.
Pronounciation (when reading) is easier due to furigana.

However if you already know some Kanjii, then learning chinese can be easier. Be careful of differences in meaning...

e.g Train in Japanese is -> 電車　and in Chinese it is 火車. Probably influenced by the era in which trains were introduced to the respective countries.
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Re: Chinese Language Study - Looking for reputable program [#permalink] New post   06 Feb 2008, 19:56
This is one of the more popular Chinese immersion programs around. I'm not sure if it's only meant for college students however. I do know that it isn't restricted to Princeton folks however.

https://www.princeton.edu/~pib/

Perhaps also check out https://www.iesabroad.org?
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Re: Chinese Language Study - Looking for reputable program [#permalink] New post   07 Feb 2008, 00:52
togafoot wrote:
westsider wrote:
Hello all, I am assuming this is related to B-school life as I will be attending B-School, and I hope to make it part of my life =)

Will be starting B-school in September 2008, and I would like to find a good short-term program (4-7 weeks?) where I can get a jumpstart learning Mandarin. The program should be IN CHINA and should take place anytime from July-mid September 2008. If anyone has taken part in a program, or has first hand knowledge of a program there I would love to hear about it. I don't care about getting credit for my studies - and I don't even need to be in the worlds most "perfect" program. All I am looking for is something decent that won't take my money and run =) Basiaclly, schools in China /webpages for programs to sign up through

Also - I lived in Japan for a few years, so I know how difficult it can be to learn an Asian language. I realize that 4-7 weeks isn't much time!

Anyhow, all advice is greatly appreciated.

Thanks!


The biggest differences between Japanese and Chinese ->
Japanese is monotonal, Mandarin has 4 tones (Cantonese 9)
Parts of the grammar in Japanese is easier to learn due to the use of hiragana to form common verbs and tenses
Foreign words are easier to learn because of katakana.
Pronounciation (when reading) is easier due to furigana.

However if you already know some Kanjii, then learning chinese can be easier. Be careful of differences in meaning...

e.g Train in Japanese is -> 電車　and in Chinese it is 火車. Probably influenced by the era in which trains were introduced to the respective countries.


Thanks for the info. I am pretty comfortable with 日本語 as I *nearly* passed the 日本語能力試験二級. My wife speaks 1.75 dialects of chinese (fluent in one, 1/2 fluent in another, can order food in the 3rd).... I was hoping I could cheat a BIT with my kanji knowledge =)
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Re: Chinese Language Study - Looking for reputable program [#permalink] New post   07 Feb 2008, 11:51
solaris1 wrote:
This is one of the more popular Chinese immersion programs around. I'm not sure if it's only meant for college students however. I do know that it isn't restricted to Princeton folks however.

https://www.princeton.edu/~pib/

Perhaps also check out https://www.iesabroad.org?



That Princeton program looks nice - top notch all the way. It does, however look like they want you to have a year of college level chinese - abd the deadline has passed. Thanks for the link though - these are the types of programs I would love to find!
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Re: Chinese Language Study - Looking for reputable program [#permalink] New post   10 Feb 2008, 22:58
westsider wrote:
solaris1 wrote:
This is one of the more popular Chinese immersion programs around. I'm not sure if it's only meant for college students however. I do know that it isn't restricted to Princeton folks however.

https://www.princeton.edu/~pib/

Perhaps also check out https://www.iesabroad.org?



That Princeton program looks nice - top notch all the way. It does, however look like they want you to have a year of college level chinese - abd the deadline has passed. Thanks for the link though - these are the types of programs I would love to find!


Hi,
Another immersion program for adults: https://www.thunderbird.edu/prospective_ ... hinese.htm
I wonder how effective these programs are. They certainly beat years of language classes if they work though. If you are associated with the military or government (e.g., foreign service) they have schools for this purpose. (e.g., https://www.dliflc.edu/ ) I met a student on a school visit who had done the DLI chinese course. He felt that it had opened opportunities for him.

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westsider
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Re: Chinese Language Study - Looking for reputable program [#permalink] New post   10 Feb 2008, 23:04
THunderbird - of course!!!! I am embarrassed that I didnt think of that. IT was school #6 on my list (only applied to the first 4). Come to think of it, I should look at South Carolina's website as well... they have a fantastic international program.

Funny you should mention the military program - my mother lives down the street from the military base where it is held. Also - there is a non-military school there that is supposed to be good. Another Intensive program. I think they would be a good start in the language - though i would *prefer* goign to china if I could.

Thanks for the suggestions!
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Re: Chinese Language Study - Looking for reputable program [#permalink] New post   13 Feb 2008, 20:26
westsider wrote:
THunderbird - of course!!!! I am embarrassed that I didnt think of that. IT was school #6 on my list (only applied to the first 4). Come to think of it, I should look at South Carolina's website as well... they have a fantastic international program.

Funny you should mention the military program - my mother lives down the street from the military base where it is held. Also - there is a non-military school there that is supposed to be good. Another Intensive program. I think they would be a good start in the language - though i would *prefer* goign to china if I could.

Thanks for the suggestions!


Do you mean: https://www.miis.edu/ ?
Good luck with your studies.
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Re: Chinese Language Study - Looking for reputable program [#permalink] New post   16 Mar 2008, 10:56
Quote:
Do you mean: https://www.miis.edu/ ?

Yes, none other than Miis. I think living with my mother for the summer might lower the rank on that one slightly. Especially since UW has announced an intensive program here in seattle. 9 weeks to complete a full year of college courses. Oh, and it only costs $2k instead of $3k(miis)! Rock on.
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Re: Chinese Language Study - Looking for reputable program [#permalink]
16 Mar 2008, 10:56

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