Chinese Language Comprehensive Course + Culture Immersion in Yangshuo, China

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.

My experience in Omeida was amazing. Besides, I've been studied a lot of Chinese language and characters, a I've been deeply sunk in Chinese culture, I mean I recomend this school, you wouldn't be regret.

Hello, my name is Jana an I come from Germany. I stayed at Omeida for 2 weeks in summer 2014. I think, I improved my Chinese, because the classes were small an d the teachers were very engaged. The contact with the other teachers and students were really relaxed. You can come into the office when ever you want and get a tea or coffee and a good talk. It was also a good combination of staff-organized events and self-organized activities of the students. To have one or two language partners I liked, I ´ve got more informations about the daily China (and they helped me to do my homework...) Yangshuo and the region offer such a lot facilities, that I must come back to use them all. At the morning my daughter and I had Tai-Chi-lessons and if we have had time, we mostly went by bike in the wonderful landscape. We also enjoyed the food at Omeida cantine and at the restaurants of Yangshuo and the fruits from the markets.
I hope, I will have time to come back sometime! It was a really great experience.

I just spent two weeks at Omeida (which is actually too short) but I really enjoyed them. The landscape is amazing and the school as well as the teachers are very good. I took intensive courses (lessons in the morning and in the afternoon) and had a language partner. Both was good, the intensive courses because you have a lot of time to study Chinese with a teacher and the language partner program because I learned so much about Chinese people and Chinese culture. However, doing both means I had little time to do other things including reviewing the Chinese words. I had some time during noon, when I reviewed what I had learned during morning classes and I had time after dinner and in the night to review the content of the afternoon lessons. But sometimes you just want to go to a bar or so with others, which means I was really struggeling to find the time to get all of the grammar and the words into my head. However, staying at Omeida was a great experience for me and I learned a lot of Chinese within those to weeks. I hope I will come back some day but than I probably won't take intenisve courses.