Newsweek says: Stay Home to Learn Chinese – Learning Chinese
www.chinese-forums.com — There's an interesting Newsweek magazine article that criticizes teaching techniques at language schools in China and suggests that one could learn Chinese more effectively by taking courses in one's home country. Chinese-forums users disagree.
The point of going to China to learn Mandarin is not for the class, it is for what you learn outside the class speaking on the street. That said, I have studied in Shanghai, big mistake as no one speaks Mandarin on the streets, unless spoken to. I would not recommend Beijing, Beiweir is not standard Mandarin and you are likely to here that all the time. Best place, although more expensive is Taiwan.
Study Chinese in Taiwan? Are you serious?
Shijiazhuang/somewhere in Hebei that's not near Beijing or Tianjin/anywhere in Dongbei FTW.
I came across this article too and found it terribly one-sided. I do agree with its comment that teaching techniques matter. So by all means, be picky about your learning institute, but not all learning institutes in China are the same.
I added a longer commmentary to my blog on this topic.
What is wrong with Taipei? Yes, they have a Nanjiang Mandarin accent...and they speak a little slow, but the teaching is much better, or so I've heard. I have never studied there, but have one friend who did (he has also lived on the Mainland). The U.S. State Department also does its Mandarin immersion in Taiwan, not China.
Yes, in China they say Dongbei people have some of the best accents, very clear
Since when has the US State Department been right about Taiwan ;)