Tips for Studying in China

While the thought of studying in China may seem intimidating at first, it is actually not a hard thing to do. The costs are low (both in terms of fees and cost of living) and there are few barriers to entry for foreigners into most courses. The two main factors which make it hard to study in China are the relatively small number of people who go to China, and the fact that those interested may not be aware of where to search for information on Chinese schools. 

Why I Chose to Study in China

I began studying Chinese when I was thirteen years old. At the time, I didn’t think it would lead to my studying in China, but it was definitely a factor in my choosing to come here. After studying the language through high school and then university, I found that I still only had a rudimentary grasp of the language. Now, had I put more effort into studying, I definitely could have reached a higher level of proficiency, however a large part of the problem was related (I feel) to two issues: 1) specialist language study in Australian universities is not nearly intensive enough; and 2)without having the proper language environment, fluency is very hard to attain.

When I first came to China, I had plans to improve my Chinese while teaching English, but I abandoned this idea after one year. My reason for this was simple: when teaching English, the classroom environment is an English-language environment. Between this, and the fact that the nature of English teaching means that you’re surrounded by students and colleagues who can all speak English (meaning that there’s less incentive to study the local language), I found that during my first year in China, my Chinese speaking skills improved the most dramatically when I went on holiday and talked to people on the train. I would recommend that anyone who wishes to teach English overseas as a way to expose themselves to a foreign language keep this in mind. I’m not saying that my Chinese didn’t improve during this time, but at the same time, it didn’t improve as quickly as I would have liked.

Why study a foreign language?

One of my favourite books is Spring, the second book in the Torrents trilogy, by Ba Jin. While the first book in the series has been translated into English, neither of the sequels has. Likewise, one of my favourite tv series has never been given English subtitles. I have friends who do not speak English, and my university is taught entirely. in Chinese. When I travel through China, my knowledge of Chinese history and culture – gained largely alongside my study of thelanguage, has made me feel more connected to the places I visit. Even my daily life is made more pleasant through my numerous small interactions with the people I run into. Needless to say, my life today would not be possible had I never studied Chinese.

Studying Chinese has opened up avenues for me. Not so much in terms of what I do – after all, I can still watch television, read books and make friends without speaking the language – but instead with the range of people I can do that with. Speaking Chinese gives me over a billion potential friends, and it opens up a pathway for me to explore their culture and media.

A Different Perspective

My friend wore a suit underneath his leather jacket. He even wore a tie, which I had never seen him wear before. It seemed strange – usually when I saw him he preferred to wear casual clothes to class. I knew that in his country, formal attire was normal for university students, but he had been in China for two years, and had, in his own words, “let himself go”. Recent events, however, made him decide that he should go back to acting the way his countrymen should.

He explained to me that someone important to him had died, and he had been in mourning since last Monday. He had even missed classes on Tuesday due to grief. Even now, he said, he often had to fight the urge to cry. He explained to me that the one who had died had helped him a lot: it was only by the grace of this person that he was able to study in a foreign country. Even talking to me in private, he still called this person “great”.