Hi All, just wondering if anyone knows of any language programs that run mid-July through August in either mainland China or Singapore? Alternatively if you know of an intensive program like this at an American or Canadian uni that would be an okay plan b (though the expense for such a program without the immersion factor is kind of hard to justify...). I have found many at mainland unis that start either late June or very early July and run for just a month. Even if I came in half-way, that's not great bang for my buck. I would like to find a program that is at least one month long. Thanks for any suggestions!

Hi OCaptain(my captain),
I've once explored options like this, and came to the conclusion it was much better to do self teaching. With the internet, you have more than enough free tools to do it yourself, including:
1. An unlimited amount of language partners who are very interested to speak with you literally 24/7(on QQ chat, calling, or video)
2. Chinese websites which will stream any content you want in Chinese with subtitles for free(and torrent networks if you don't want to stream, services like YesAsia if you want to buy), as well as sources of free books, etc.
3. Websites like AJATT and Skritter of course :P

The cost for these programs is not justified for the relative benefit compared with the methods outlined above in my honest opinion. But don't get me wrong, being in the country is much easier to stay immersed. But you can just take a cheap vacation for that :P If you are interested in the details of any of the things above, just ask :]

What are you main reasons to do a language program? For some people it is to be in an international atmosphere with students all over the world. But for you it seems you really want to improve your Chinese.

A few things you need to be wary of is an intensive program doesn't necessarily mean it's gonna be serious. Even (or especially) in Beijing some of these summer programs are more about meeting international students, go out to tourist sights and combine it with fun Chinese classes. This depends a lot on your level I think, if you're a beginner it will be less serious than when you're an intermediate.

You can also chose to spend the money on some language sources online (and there's a lot of free stuff available already) and travel in China.

As long as you're wary not to expect intensive learning and being thrown into the society to talk lots of Chinese every day, that really depends on yourself and at which university but I'm not sure which ones. In cities like Beijing and Shanghai there are at least 10 universities who offer summer programs, check their homepages and maybe chinese-forums.com for more info.

Thanks for the feedback! I've actually done one of these programs before at 浙大， really enjoyed it. At the time I had just begun some half-ass self study before going into their program, so that was quite a jump in study demands. Their program was 4 hours a day of learning, plus homework, and I found the quizzes and competition within the class (e.g., having to fight for speaking time) really motivating. Of course the quizzes are not really that meaningful because I wasn't doing a credit program, but still, they get me in the right mindset. I would do that program again, but their schedule just runs in July. I'm in China at the moment, so have some immersion already, but I work pretty long days in an English environment, so it's less than ideal. Schmatz, I like the mindset that AJATT puts forward, and I think a lot of those tips on there can be carried over to Mandarin easily, and am trying to give myself some variety with my study tools as you both suggested. That said, I do think the outside accountability and the competition are huge factors for me at least as a way to gear up my learning and maybe find some new strategies.

Bincai Chinese College in Harbin (a private program) tends to get regular, good reviews regarding quality of instruction and cost. Given that they are private I assume they are flexible with regard to start dates.

http://www.bincai.com/chinese/english/

One which I used for 2 months last summer was Ambassador Mandarin in Beijing (again, private). Only 1 on 1 instruction, which is more costly, and Beijing will cost you more to live in than Harbin, but I think its a great value if you want to learn a lot in a brief period of time (I did 3 hours of 1-1, 4 days a week last summer - intense!).

http://www.ambassadormandarin.com/

Thanks Icebear, those look interesting, I'll consider them.

I don't have any first-hand experience with them yet, but if I can get leave from work I plan to study here this August:
http://www.1to1mandarinworkshop.com/

They are in Harbin and offer one-to-one classes, so you can start whenever you want and stay for as long as you want. Maybe I'll see you there!

Check out China's University and College Admission System (CUCAS), as there at least 100 programs on college campuses in China. Mid-July through Mid-August is peak time for most of these. Usually you can arrange on-campus housing. Start at their search page:
http://www.cucas.edu.cn/findNone_new.shtml