Singapore Expats

Hi, I'm looking to take a mandarin class to learn a bit more chinese. My background - have taken a year of mandarin classes during university, practice it here and there when the occasion demands it (but not very frequently). Also speak a dialect at home, but not very well.

Basically, I'm looking for a class or a teacher to learn conversational mandarin... have pretty much given up on learning the characters as it will probably be too much effort. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

One note - I actually audited a class from some language school in International Plaza a few months ago. Maybe my expectations were too high, but the teacher/teaching style was pretty crappy and so were the students (they were grossly mispronouncing many of the words and the teacher wasn't even correcting them). Would be nice to know which language schools people had good experiences with.

thanks,
ken

chopstix wrote:Hi, I'm looking to take a mandarin class to learn a bit more chinese. My background - have taken a year of mandarin classes during university, practice it here and there when the occasion demands it (but not very frequently). Also speak a dialect at home, but not very well.

Basically, I'm looking for a class or a teacher to learn conversational mandarin... have pretty much given up on learning the characters as it will probably be too much effort. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

One note - I actually audited a class from some language school in International Plaza a few months ago. Maybe my expectations were too high, but the teacher/teaching style was pretty crappy and so were the students (they were grossly mispronouncing many of the words and the teacher wasn't even correcting them). Would be nice to know which language schools people had good experiences with.

thanks,
ken

Hi Ken,

I was taking the Putonghua Proficiency Test in HK for most likely one year. You can try to find those schools/institutions that they would provide you the test that I memtioned above. Or their teachers are also qualified by the above test. This test is organized by the China gov which is a very important test to show your mandarin conversational standard. All artists/singers in China must get a First Class Upper grading when they star their media life. Hope it helps you abit to get your right mandarin class.

Is there any chance of taking the Chinese Proficiency test without taking the course? I guess the test will be needed if I have to work in China. ^^ Anyone has any idea of how to take the test in Singapore?

rakyomin wrote:Is there any chance of taking the Chinese Proficiency test without taking the course? I guess the test will be needed if I have to work in China. ^^ Anyone has any idea of how to take the test in Singapore?

Rakyomin, its me again. From my experience, if you dont take a course for this test, the passing rate is very low. Even a native mandarin speaker might not be pass the exam. There is some skills for this test. I agree that it is an advantage if you are going to work in China and got the cert of this test.

Rakyomin, its me again. From my experience, if you dont take a course for this test, the passing rate is very low. Even a native mandarin speaker might not be pass the exam. There is some skills for this test. I agree that it is an advantage if you are going to work in China and got the cert of this test. [/quote]

Hello Winny ^^
Where can I study for the Chinese Prociency Test Course in Singapore? Any idea??

rakyomin wrote:
Hello Winny ^^
Where can I study for the Chinese Prociency Test Course in Singapore? Any idea??

Good evening rakyomin, sorry I have no idea where you can study this test here since I'm newbie in Singapore. Maybe I try to ask my friend see if any information can get for you.

Is this Chinese Proficiency Test the same as HSK (Hanyu Shuipin Kaoshi)? I know that HSK is a known qualification in China ... n this test can be taken without taking a course. You could contact HSK Centre for details. Hope it helps.