Affordable China Study Abroad Language Programs

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.

From start to finish it was such an amazing experience. Due to the extreme wind turbulence my flight was delayed by a couple of hours and I was scared that there'd be no one to greet me. Wrong, a CSA staff was waiting there! With the orientation, getting started and registered on the course, the staff was there to help me every step of the way. With awesome activities planned by CSA, there was never a dull moment. If you go to Beijing, you have to go on the Great Wall camping trip. It's one of the best trips I'd done and I like to think I've done quite a few. Going to a deserted section of the wall, hiking up vertically, camping in a guards' tower... It was an incredible experience. All in all, I'd do it again and again!

Going to China was a hard decision, but going with CSA made it easy and fun. I had a really good time and did not have any problems. The CSA staff help me solve all my problems

I went on a 10 week trip to China in January of 2011 with CSA and it was awesome... So awesome, in fact, that I went ahead and stayed for a year. There were super awesome and their help was great and they were flexible with their plans and schedules and let change stuff around quite a bit. They even let me overstay for a week or so. The apartment I stayed in was really good too and way exceeded my expectations by like 100 times. Also my roommate (Jessica, who also happens to be member of the staff) was super cool and accommodating. I'll admit I was skeptical at first, but once I got there it was better than I ever could have imagined. Also BeiJing and China in general was super amazing and the trips to the Great Wall and stuff were awesome. I would totally without a doubt do it again.

Domenik<3

BLCU is a great university. Has a lovely campus, a great international student base and most of all, has excellent Chinese teachers! I did a semester at BLCU and I found that the teachers made a massive impact on my learning; being able to fully understand what my teacher was telling me and finding the classes interesting and getting to grips with the chinese language, helped me progress faster. The teachers are very helpful, and are very good at setting homework so I am always studying hard! My class mates were great as well. Most of my class mates couldn't speak english very well, so we would spend the breaks and off campus talking in Chinese! Another way I felt helped me progress more. BLCU is a great way to meet loads of students from many different nationalities, you will be amazed what you learn from being away from home!

The China Study Abroad staff are friendly, helpful and are always there to help if you have any problems! They picked me up from the airport and showed me around Beijing so I got to know the area. They helped sort out my visa and registration with BLCU so was very convenient for me to have someone being able to help me for a first timer to China! I also had a CSA network of friends out side of BLCU which was nice to go around places with CSA students that already knew Beijing very well. CSA also organise trips to the Great Wall, Forbidden City and more which were all once in a lifetime opportunities to visit these amazing place!

I would definitely recommend China Study Abroad and the BLCU program.

Chinese in 4 weeks!
Had a truly awesome time at the CSA Beijing, where I did a 4 week Chinese course.
Despite the fact that 4 weeks really is a short time, I accomplished to reach a level of 5-6 month students with the from the best tutors in the world from CSA and classes that could challenge my level daily.
In the weekends and also during some week days, many social events where up for the taking and many good friends were quickly made.
Overall, an experience I'll never forget!

I studied at BLCU through China Study Abroad for 2 semesters starting Sep 2009. I was pretty apprehensive about coming to China, as I knew little Mandarin and I had never really studied Chinese properly. Hence, I was looking for a study abroad program that I could trust and rely on.

I do a fair amount of pre-judging, based on website design and functionality, and CSA's was the best by far. Their responses to my inquiries were quick and informative. I didn't really shop around, but I felt that I had chosen a good program.

Those feelings were backed up on arrival, when I was picked up at the airport by a CSA staff member. I was settled into my apartment quickly and given a tour around the area, and I quickly made some friends who were also CSA students.

The CSA staff were really friendly and helpful, always able to answer questions and offer help. They also organized trips and activities around Beijing almost every weekend, which I took full advantage of, especially the Great Wall camping trip... what an experience!

I met some really great friends through CSA, and we still keep in touch though we are far apart. I know I wouldn't have had the same experience without CSA, and I know I couldn't have had the easy introduction to China without their help.

At the end of my 2 semesters, I had learned enough Mandarin to be conversational in it, and I decided to stay longer in China to find work and experience more of this awesome country. I guess you can't say much more about a study abroad program than that!

CSA is really well organised and they understand what makes a good language experience, making my own experience something I will remember forever! I was lucky enough to stay with a wonderful home stay family which was understandably difficult at first but is really benefiting my Chinese and means I have seen the city with the help of locals. Thanks to CSA I have learned so much about Chinese culture and made loads of new friends. The CSA weekend activities have shown me new areas of the city and helped me meet some really cool people, and although I am only a beginner BMA is bringing my Chinese along in leaps and bounds. The school is easily accessible from my place and the area is really fun to hang out in with my classmates. I would really recommend CSA and BMA to anyone wishing to learn Chinese, make new friends and have an awesome time!