Program Reviews

You will always have more than 1 city to choose from if you want to come and study Chinese in China. After living in a few places in China such as Shanghai and Zhejiang, I consider Yangshuo to be the best option. Yangshuo's picturesque Chinese-paint scenery and laid-back local atmosphere will keep your motivation high. When you are in the process of learning Chinese language and culture, the more motivation you get, the more persistent you become, and the more likely you'll be able to not only learn the language, but also understand the culture. In my own experience in Yangshuo, Omeida was the perfect link to master these skills!

I came to Omeida to improve my Mandarin language abilities and my two teachers (Abby and Zhuge) were very helpful and professional. The staff always helped too, especially Daisy, Wanda and Leva. I had a great time there and there were plenty of opportunities to practice Chinese. I would even say that there were more opportunities and activities then they advertised. Their advertisements were also accurate about their offerings on the whole, so I have nothing to really complain about. I was also very fortunate to meet someone very special here too. Anything can happen at Omeida!

My experience in Omeida was very nice, everyone there was so friendly and helpful, besides the normal classes there are many cultural classes which is very important to understand the Chinese culture.
Another thing I like about Omeida is that they are not so rigid with the classes schedule, I had to change my classes more than once and there was no problem, they are open to do the best for the students.
I definitely recommend Omeida if you are looking to learn Chinese and experience China, not forgetting to mention that Omeida in located in Yangshuo, just google images for Yangshuo and it will blow your mind!

I've only been in Yangshuo for 1 month, but if the 5 next are as good as this one then i'm the luckiest girl on earth.
Omeida school is unbeliveable, you feel at home, you feel relax and safe. You know that they will take care of everything, they give you good tips and exellent chinese education. Studying here it's being at the same time at school and in holiday, how times in your life can you say these kind of thing ? You are exiting about going to school, you want to have a lots of homework and the longer your inside the school the better you feel.
Even if your chinese is not great it doesn't matter, there is always a way to understand people, these people are so hospitable it's impossible not to be friends with them !!!
So my advice is : if you want to have the time your life come here in yanshuo come to Omeida =-

All teachers are very professional, most of my lessons are mostly more than a discussion or dialogue then like school lessons. All the teachers always are well prepared, they speak english fluently but they always tried first use chinese for teaching if possible. In the morning we used a book to learn grammar an vocabularies. The afternoon lessons we used for training listening and free speaking.

Having lived in China for two years previously, without ever formally learning the language, I started at Omeida with a very basic understanding of pronunciation, tones and everyday phrases. I had spent much time preparing for my time here by learning the pronunciation and basic meaning of the most common Chinese characters, which I found extremely helpful, as that is one of the most time-consuming parts of study.

I found that the first six weeks of study especially were an absolute explosion of new information that pieced together all the material I had studied by myself. My classroom instruction loosely followed the Boya Chinese textbooks, which I believe are excellent resources for my level.

Once I had learned several dozen grammatical structures and knew how to use them, my lessons became more focused on new vocabulary, new characters, and frequently used idioms that increased my understanding of casual speech. I also at this point needed to constantly review and practice writing all the new grammatical structures so I wouldn't forget them.

Since the number of students at Omeida varies greatly between summer and winter, and since students progress at different rates, there is a lot of continued rearrangement of classes to maximize each student's progress. As a result, in my time here I had five different teachers, and all were excellent. From July to December I never had more than two classmates, and in my final month I had one-on-one lessons exclusively (something you would normally pay extra for). The teachers put a lot of effort into tailoring their teaching style so that the challenge was appropriate for the student, and that we focused on the areas we had the most difficulty in.

The teachers all followed a general structure for the three classes each day. Typically, the first class was entirely conversation, while the second and third would focus on new vocabulary, grammatical structures and forming spoken sentences out of these. Homework was given daily, often a writing assignment that focused on writing a short composition, or a series of made-up sentences, that included the vocabulary and grammar of that day. The homework was checked each day and the teachers were very helpful in not only correcting our mistakes, but also suggesting alternative, more "Chinese", ways of saying our clumsily English-style sentences that, although grammatically correct, would sound a little peculiar to a native speaker (much like the "Chinglish" of the locals that often makes sense but occasionally leads to hilarious misunderstandings -- one time one of the staff referred to the Senior's University as the "Senile University" and we all had a good laugh about it).

In my time here, almost everyone I've met has been highly positive about the quality of the teachers and their Chinese progress. There were one or two students who expected to have learned more, but I'll point out that these particular students also expected that simply attending class, without any review or self-study, would be enough for success. Disclaimer: if you don't put the work in outside of class and you don't practice your speaking in your spare time, you're not going to get very far!

A quick note on the accommodations -- I found the dormitories to be very clean and comfortable. If you're not okay with using a squat toilet, worry not: they supply you with a plastic seat that fits over it, just for us Westerners. (That being said, you really should try to get used to doing it the Chinese way -- it really strengthens your quads over time.)

Anyway, bottom line: I worked pretty hard for five months and spent a lot of class time asking clarification questions, and I went from only being able to utter a few caveman-level phrases to conversing relatively proficiently with native speakers, in Chinese, for an hour or more. I got exactly what I'd hoped for, and if I choose to study Mandarin again I will certainly return to Omeida to do so.

- Colin, 28, Canada

I recently spent two weeks at Omeida Academy in Yangshuo. Overall it was a great experience however, being a complete beginner I wouldn't recommend people engaging in the program for any less than a month unless you plan on moving to China or are about to start course work in University or elsewhere. Two weeks was really not enough time to substantially immerse yourself as a beginner. I imagine if you are experienced two weeks would be enough to help sharpen your skills or focus on a specific weakness, but without applying the skills everyday I didn't feel like it was enough time to set up a solid foundation.

Additionally, given I was only there for two weeks, it was a bit disjointed that I had two different teachers each week. Both teachers were excellent and I would rate them individually very highly, however given the different styles I had to change the way I was learning and it made it a bit more difficult. Again if I was there for longer it would not have been a problem, but for sure I short time I would have preferred some continuity.

Overall I would definitely return and recommend it to friends though.

Actually, I couldn`t have imagined before how nice it is. Teaching is very much based on what you know and need and it`s very personal. Classes are small, indeed I had two weeks of face-to-face training and one week we were two students with one teacher. That makes it quite intensive.The teachers are highly competent, and remarkably friendly and helpful. Classrooms are very clean and bright and suitable. I liked the tea room for breaks, but we also played badminton or even volleyball on the street between the lessons (and afterwards). The cantine provides nice simple Chinese food and you sit together with Chinese students from the English school, so you can always try and speak a little of what you`ve learnt. One of the great advantages of the place are the learning partnerships between English and Chinese students. We met every afternoon to practice especially pronounciation. The Chinese are very friendly, open, and very patient with Chinese beginners. The staff of the school are extremely nice and helpful with whatever problem you may have. I liked the organized trips by bike or hiking, which also offer another chance to use your Chinese, and the surrounding is beautiful. Social atmosphere is very good and I felt welcome and integrated from the very first day. I wish I could have stayed much longer!

If you want to learn Chinese, explore China, meet some great people, try new foods and enjoy the social side of life then Omeida is definitely the place for you.
I had some great teachers at Omeida who were effective, patient and humorous. Lessons often consisted of reading, writing and a lot of discussion. I believe my lessons were tailored to my learning style and speed which made my short week at Omeida very effective. Some lessons involved walking around outside with my teacher where I was able to practice saying my directions in Chinese. This became very useful in Taxi and scooter rides. We also walked to markets were I was able to practice food names and purchase different fruits.
My two language partners also helped me with pronunciation and enjoyed telling me about Chinese history and myths.
As a student who was studying at Omeida at a beginner level, a struggle was using Chinese websites to book flights. However, this was not a problem as there was always someone to help me. Overall, everyone was very helpful and supportive whether it was with homework, organising flights, adapting to China, anything.
During my ten days in Yangshuo, I conquered TV tower three times, sped in and around the county many times by bike, was challenged mentally and physically during two rock climbing sessions, sung my heart out at KTV, taught my Chinese friend some swimming techniques, enjoyed several very humorous nights in the town, and all of this was done with my new friends, both Chinese and foreign. Additionally, every morning I would open my curtains to see the beautiful peaks scattered throughout Yangshuo. I always enjoyed going to markets where I bought cheap, delicious and often interesting food and ate them while watching the local skills and talent. Adding to these great experiences, I was very happy to be surrounded by a group of like-minded people, all wanting to learn, make new friends and have a great time.
This trip was recommended to me by the International Marketing Manager, Sarah, who is also from New Zealand (go the Kiwis!) She told me that Yangshuo would be a great introduction to China and she was absolutely right. I highly recommend Omeida and Yangshuo.

I do however have one regret... That I didn't stay longer.

Very impressed with the efficiency of Omeida's staff from the moment they started helping me with the Chinese visa back home. Excellent teachers, small groups, lots of social activities. This combined with the beautiful countryside around Yangshuo and its world class rock climbing made of th seven weeks I spent her an unforgettable experience.