I'm seriously considering studying intermediate Mandarin at Kunming College of Eastern Language and Culture starting 2009 Fall semester. Does anyone have any experience, good or bad, with this school?

Thanks!
Meilin

Hello,

Yes i have some friends studied there .They have got their chinese improved .The college also has many international students.

I also plan on studying there. Which campus do you plan on going to? e-mail me at zanthrick@hotmail.com

Here's my two jiao on three of the language schools in Kunming:

Yunnan University - Though the tuition is about the same for all three schools, I've found Yun Da to be slightly more expensive in the past, especially for one on one teaching though I do not know their current pricing. Other issue is that the lower level classes tend to be bursting at the seems (my class had about 30 students). In addition, the school is not located within Yunnan University campus, but is separated from the local student population. On the upside, I had the best teachers at Yun Da, the location is quite conveniently placed near Green Lake Park, Wen Lin Jie, and Wen Hua Xiang (foreigner street) and the next door Yunnan University campus is beautiful. The class set-up is comprehensive class from 8-10am and listening/reading/speaking class from 10-12pm. Most students (when I attended) studied for 20 hours a week with a combination of comprehensive and listening/speaking classes. Thus, Yun Da offers the most amount of class hours per week compared to the other schools (I believe it's 16-18 hours/week for the other two). I'm not sure if the 10 hour/week package is available there. Please keep in mind that this is based on my experience 3 years ago.

KCELC: At the moment, has the cheapest tuition of the three schools mentioned, but the prices are rising. They are by far the most flexible of the three schools so you can tailor your study experience to cover comprehensive, listening, speaking, reading, small classes, or one-on-one. Class sizes usually range from 5-15 with probably the smallest teacher to student ratio of the three schools. The downside to the school is the location and the teaching staff. Comparatively, the school is located in more a business district while the other two schools are definitely in a more academic environment. True, it is conveniently located across from Wal-Mart and Kundu, but you are far removed from any Chinese student atmosphere. In addition, I've heard the teaching staff can be hit and miss. I personally like my instructor, but the first time I went to KCELC a few years back, the teacher I tried out was horrible. She didn't know how to teach and made us recite words all day without using them. In general, the KCELC teachers tend to have less experience then their Yun Da or Yunnan Normal counterparts. That doesn't mean you won't find a great teacher at this school, it just means you may need to search a bit for the right fit.

Yunnan Normal University: Out of the three, it has the best environment as the classrooms are located at Yunnan Normal University campus and there is a Chinese language club set up by the YNU foreigners to facilitate cultural and linguistic exchange. YNU also offers a 10 hour program though their class setup is a little different. From what I was told, you would do 6 hours of comprehensive (maybe in the morning from Monday to Wednesday) and then do either listening or speaking for 4 hours. They do offer a 18 hour program I believe though you'll have to contact them directly for details. Keep in mind that they schedule their classes differently from Yun Da and KCELC. The downside to YN is that you cannot try out the courses without paying money. Both Yun Da and KCELC let students try out courses before they pay, but YN requires a 150 rmb office fee in order to attend. In addition, YN has the policy that a student can only change classes twice, then must stay in that class, Yun Da and KCELC allow students to try out different classes and teachers until they find the right fit. Then the students register. I find this method of YN to be a bit anal, but I can understand the reasoning given: Teachers want to know who's in their class and the office wants to know who has paid and who hasn't. As far as the teaching staff is concerned, I'm not really sure since I've actually never studied there. Anyone else have feedback?

All schools offer elective courses such as Tai Qi, Calligraphy, and HSK prep. Comparing Yun Da and KCELC, KCELC offers more variety of electives and the course are not built into the curriculum. What that means is KCELC does not try to pad the number of study hours per week by adding elective courses (I believe this is done at Yunnan Normal), but offers the courses in addition to the study. All three schools offer school trips to various locations, though I have yet to hear about a good school trip that introduced Chinese culture or something of interest. Most of the time, it's about going somewhere to get drunk and eat free food.

There are other alternatives to the three mentioned above (Yunnan Minority University and two or three language schools,..some have posted their advertisements in the forum if you are interested). Something tells me most of this information can be found elsewhere or on previous posts, but I thought it might be worth reiterating.

For more information, check out previous posts.

Good news for another option in northern area.

Kunming Univ of Science & Technology Opening New Chinese Language

Classes in the North of Kunming, near METRO

Small classes, student visas available, flexible timetables and convenient northern location with clean modern facilities.
Address: 317 Jinsexi-lu, Luozhang-cun, Panlong-qu, Kunming, Yunnan 650224 CHINA

中国 云南省 盘龙区 罗丈村 金色西路317号

Classes run for 14 hours per week (10 hours per week Chinese class, 4 hours per week elective classes such as calligraphy, taiqi). With classes of 3 or more students, the time can be tailored to fit your schedule including evenings and weekends.

Student Visas can be provided for 6 months or 1 year upon registration with the school.

Costs per semester as below:
•3600元 per semester
•150元 registration as a student(Original 240 元)
If you have any questions or would like more information, please call:
Administration: Tel- 0871) 431-6005, Fax-0871) 431-3859 or mail spencer1222@hotmail.com

Hi - I've decided on KCELC for next semester (it was the price that swung it for me, but glad to see the good feedback above). I am slightly confused over the address though - they say they have a new campus address on their website, but I am unclear as to whether this means the whole facility has moved, or there are now to campuses, or what. Their admin person told me this is their current address:

东风西路218号富春大厦A座5楼 NO.218 DONGFENG WEST R.D.A.5TH FLOOR FUCH BUILDING

Can anyone confirm this? She also said this is very central (I am not familiar with Kunming) - important as I will be flat hunting in a few weeks' time.

Cheers,

www.gokunming.com/en/listings/item/kun_58/ is the main branch of KCELC. there's a map marker on that page, and a somewhat tidier version of the English address.

a less talked-about option for Chinese study is www.gokunming.com/en/listings/item/kus_31661/. this place is less central, but works well if you choose to live in the north.

Yep, there are three campuses, but the one you've pasted is the main one. Be aware that although the address is Dongfeng Xi Lu, you actually enter from small side street that run from Dongfeng lu around to the back of the office building.

i can only advise you to stay away from KCELC !
great chances of bad teaching because high turn over due to very bad conditions. more interested in your $$$ than anything else. i think their discrimination behaviour is not acceptable. no consideration for the students (teaching stuff is better). and if you look, the price are not so cheap and continuously rising. stay away and you can only make a better choice

and the problem is that the situation is getting worse and worse ...