Learn Chinese at Beijing Language and Culture University

I do enjoy the time I went to Beijing, China to immerse myself in Chinese culture. The Go Abroad China Team is so helpful and warmhearted. They arranged so many fun activities during my spare time. To study abroad, it is tempting and easier to stay with the same people and find activities similar to those in my home country, it is more enlightening and exciting to completely immerse yourself in another culture, which are all about new experiences and trying new things. The most exciting is that I was able to take part in some activities arranged by Go Abroad China. Although I have travelled lots of places, but China is really different from any other places. We explored places I thought I never would have been able to visit. The excursions allowed me to discover new perspectives and how people from different cities can differ so much. Anyway I was able to discover how another country functions and learn their history. It is great. Speaking about my study university-BLCU, the environment is really good. The teachers are highly motivated. They are helpful and good at activating the students when in class. Classes are kept small so you get to practice speaking the language a lot. Finally, I would like to say this experience really met and exceeded my expectations. I can't really say how I have improved in my Chinese language and culture, I've got nothing to compare it to, I've never had an experience like this before! I would strongly advise future students to make the most of their trip and be open-minded.

My experience learning Chinese? Well I got my foundation from a couple of Mandarin classes per week at university, but as part of my course I found myself needing to go to China to really focus on the language. I ended up enrolling at the Beijing Language and Culture University, which I later learned that it is one of the best at teaching Chinese language in China. I applied through Go Abroad China; during the planning stages with them, I was drawn to the fact that they would arrange for me to get picked up from the airport, my accommodation would be prepared by them and the whole application process into BLCU was easier with someone there helping me. I was nervous about studying away from my usual environment, BLCU had its fun times and its tough moments. The class sizes were relatively small, my classmates all foreigners there to study Chinese. I was definitely in one of the beginner classes, but I learned that they arrange different classes depending on your Chinese level. First thing that definitely stood out to me was going to class every day for around 4 -6 hours to learn Chinese, I mean back home it would be half of that per week! Now I’m not a great student but I have always managed to do what is required. At BLCU, my workload definitely increased from what I was used to, but textbooks is nothing to worry about as they will be given to you at school. I will admit that after a while I got my rhythm and started enjoying my classes. I absolutely had fun with my classmates especially with the speaking lessons, as for writing characters, it was tricky to begin with but as my teacher had shared with us, there are all sorts of tricks to use to remember them! The environment at BLCU: I thoroughly enjoyed it. The campus is not overly large but you get to meet so many people from different countries, (occasionally a few in the same situation as I, having gone through Go Abroad China) prepare to learn about countries you have never even heard of! But seriously, I noticed a big improvement in my spoken Chinese level after a few weeks, probably from all those practice conversations we did in class almost everyday. In that sense I am really happy, my teacher was always really nice to us and made class enjoyable. If I had another chance to return to China I would definitely be back.

After graduating from high school back in the States, I moved to Beijing and was there from the summer of 2015 to summer 2016 to learn Chinese for a year. I got help applying for the program through Go Abroad China; they always spoke to me and my mom and explained a lot of things that I didn’t understand in the beginning. I didn’t live too far from Wudaokou, that’s where BLCU is. At BLCU, I had many classmates, some were exchange students, others were learning Chinese just like me. Everyday in class we were always told to speak Chinese to each other. My main teacher was Ms Zhang and she taught grammar and oral lessons. During the weekends I would usually relax with my friends, sometimes the people at Go Abroad China would invite us to go and do something together. The staff from GAC that I met were really pleasant and spoke English well. I actually met several other people during this time and we are still in contact. My Chinese has improved a lot after learning for one year.