I was presented with an internship opportunity here in Beijing following my university graduation, which as a Chinese major, was perfect for me. This was my opportunity to put my 3 years of learning to good use and practice, so to make my experience more worthwhile, I wanted to take extra Mandarin classes outside of my working hours.
I started searching for language learning options online prior to my departure, but all I could find were textbook curriculum based programs offered by universities – a lot like what I’ve gone through at my home university already. My internship was at an international company where the lingua franca was English; the last thing I wanted in addition was to study at a university in a class full of English speaking students. Where’s the advantage of being present in China if my work and study environment remains the same?
Then I came across CSA, a study abroad company in China who after consultation recommended BMA (Beijing Mandarin Academy) for me, a private language institute that offers practical, conversational lessons in smaller classes with flexible class hours ranging from mornings to evenings. It was everything I needed; I couldn’t study during the usual class hours, I didn’t need to learn the order of strokes of characters or memorize long lists of vocabulary, I wasn’t looking for homework and exams and I didn’t require a certificate upon completion of the course. All I was looking for was to polish on my under-utilized Mandarin skills and familiarize myself with the local usage of the language; and I was able to do just this at BMA, by participating in interactive, practical lessons with professional and experienced instructors. The best thing was that it was all at my own discretion.
The classes are small which means that the teachers are able to establish a closer rapport with the students paying more attention to each individual. I had at maximum 6 people in my class and on some days as little as 2 including myself – on days like this I almost felt like I was getting my own private lesson. The majority of the students at the school were non-English speakers; in my class there were Korean, Indonesian and Hungarian students and one American student, so nobody used English and all discussions were carried out in Mandarin, helping each other out if somebody got stuck on a word or a phrase. BMA has really creates an environment where you have to force yourself to learn and speak the language, all the while having fun doing it without any pressure or stress. I always came out of my classes having learnt something new and feeling good about the progress I had made. It was the perfect way to end my day after work.
I can feel that I have improved rapidly since coming to China and attending these lessons, and I’m not the only one to have noticed it. My Chinese colleagues at work tell me that I sound much more confident and professional with my Chinese now than when I first came. CSA was right in recommending BMA to me and I’m absolutely glad I took their advice, now I give the same advice to people around me who wish to learn Mandarin in China. As long as you’re not looking for a certification or a credit transfer to your home university, I strongly recommend BMA or other private language institutes; they offer a much more worthwhile and effective way to learn the language.
