Hi fellow Skritterers,

being able to write quite a bit now but still not speaking I was thinking of finally registering for a group course. Speaking with my Chinese wife has not worked out.
I used the New Practical Chinese Reader for self study as it is the first book that has some good grammar rule explanations where I just got babble from various teachers, tutors and scripts of the past.

I am actually a bit overwhelmed by the massive amount of schools in BJ.
While it ultimately depends on the teacher, do you have recommendations:
-beginner-intermediate course
-3-4 times a week
-maybe use NPCR
-South of BJ around subway line 1,2 or 5
-70-80RMB per hour (while you can get 1on1 for that, I want the group to force learning, maybe also to postprep the course together)

I am already based in BJ, currently between jobs and thus some time to finally work a bit harder on my spoken Chinese after 4 years :-/

Thanks for your input,
Alex

PS: You can also msg me at: "master of combo boxes att gmx dot de"

I can give you some information off line if you like. I was in BJ for three months in 2010 and used two schools while there (Frontiers for group and TLI for individual). I'm now back in the U.S. and using Skype with yet another. I also have an email from digging around the Beijing Cafe listserv archives that gives some recommendations.

qmmayer at msn.com.

If you don't want to go overseas, Middlebury College's Summer language program is UNBELIEVABLE!!! IT's full immersion and the most intense language experience of my life but I went from a intermediate low to an advanced low in both reading and speaking in just 8 weeks. It is not for the faint of heart, however it is money well spent. I plan to go again after next year (summer 2012)

I've heard and read good things about TLI, but don't have any direct experience.

As for texts, I think some of the classics really set the bar high. I like the old Practical Chinese Reader which was used in a class I took, and I think the Yale Mirror Series "Read Chinese" is also unsurpassed in some respects, although you won't be learning any vocabulary from recent decades.

Hi,
thanks for your hints.

I have been to That's Mandarin, they have no groups right now only 1:1, which I'd prefer for some group pressure regarding home work.
Plenty of teachers are hanging round there so I suppose there'd be someone to ask if necessary.

Those with the money might want to opt for it (110-160RMB per hour, depending on amount of hours you buy). They seem quite professional, have a good system of noting down the new sentences (hanzi and pinyin) on a PC while reinforcing the grammatical structure of those sentences. You get this as a printout, as a mailed document plus a spoken mp3 of your teacher.

Also the 1on1 at the same price can be taken via Skype so for busy professionals or people overseas this might be a good option.

I will check the recommended CLE again where I have been once for a sample lesson that was quite good and that has been recommended online. In addition they use NPCR which I use for self-study and has good grammar explanations.

I checked the TLI site which looks horrible and the eLearning looks a bit dated but I might check on-site if I decide against CLE.

Thanks for your hints,
Alex

Last summer i studied one-2one course and still with http://www.east-westconnection.com/
i enjoyed their program, and therefore i have decided to continue with them online via skype, check them out. I negotiated a good deal due to the number of hours i am subscribing in, I believe you can do the same, and i have tried already two of their teachers and both are good Wendy, and Sherill. hope that helps

I've used http://www.china-inside.com/en/home/ for a week in September 2010. Very close to subway station Zhangzizhong. I was pretty happy with them. Can't compare as I did not experience other schools in BJ.