<p>If this should be in A/T or the Business/Careers forums, I apologize.</p>
<p>I am a senior at UC Berkeley who will graduate in 2009 (hopefully) with a degree in Economics. I will graduate with about a 3.2 GPA and I have no experience successfully learning foreign languages and speak nothing but English.</p>
<p>I am Chinese but because of my upbringing, I lost all knowledge of the language growing up and now know nothing but a few words.</p>
<p>My mom has been suggesting I learn Mandarin for years but I brushed it off because I tried before with little success. However, now she is offering to pay for language education in China for an extended period of time. I'm convinced that immersion is the only way for me to learn a difficult language like Mandarin. With the economy being as horrible as it is, especially in real estate and finance which were my two career prospects, this is now an attractive option.</p>
<p>I am seriously considering becoming a military officer regardless of what happens with my learning Chinese.</p>
<p>A study abroad program for complete beginners is offered by my school next summer at Beijing Normal University. However, since I would likely be graduating or graduated by then, I would like to stay in the country longer if I make an attempt to learn Mandarin at all.</p>
<p>My questions are:
-Is this a good idea?
-Would I be able to get into a masters program for economics in China? What about an unrelated field like history?
-Would I be able to become decent at Chinese in the meantime if I do not concentrate solely on learning Chinese but stay in the country for up to 2 years?
-Would teaching English in China provide enough income to break even? I would rather not have my mother pay for my education if I could avoid it, though it would not be much money for my family.
-Any recommendations for a specific program or degree?
-Is living in Shanghai/Beijing fun? Part of my desire to explore this possibility/jump off this particular cliff is because I am dissatisfied with my current lifestyle.</p>
<p>Got it. Carpe diem. Seize the day. Seize the opportunity to learn Chinese IN China. A difficult language like Chinese is best learned in its native country. You're looking for a change of pace... here you go. Don't feel guilty about your mother- she wants to give you this opportunity. Not many parents do this kind of thing.</p>
<p>Go ahead and go to China to learn the language if you want to, but don't try to get into a degree program there. Two reasons: first, you'd have to get proficient at reading and writing, which would be really difficult. Second, you would be able to get in to a better quality program in the U.S.</p>
<p>I wouldn't care about the prestige of a degree there. I'm sure I'd learn better economics at Berkeley than Fudan but why not get a degree while I'm there if I will stay there for a while?</p>
<p>I do not plan on getting a masters (besides possibly an MBA) in the US. I would only do it because hey im in China for 2 years, I need to do something productive!</p>
<p>Why not study Chinese history or culture in China?</p>
<p>Believe it or not, good language immersion programs will be full time! Not only you have a lonnngggg class but there are going to be a lot of homework and things to do. I've been there (not with Chinese) and... I didn't really need a job! If I had free time on my hands, I just traveled... and China's a big country...</p>
<p>A friend of mine spent a year at the Dongbei University of Finance & Economics in Dalian as an exchange student. She LOVED it and came back with a Business Chinese certificate on top of the language course certificate. If that's something you might be interested in, check it out - she didn't spend a lot at all (I think tuition for the year was $1,500 and she said everything, including a really nice apartment she shared with a friend, was really cheap).</p>
<p>I've studied Chinese for about three years and spent the last six months or so in Shanghai. </p>
<p>The sort of program you are describing does exist--english language degrees at Chinese universities. Most of good ones are at Beijing University, Tsinghua University, Fudan University, and to a lesser extent, Nanjing, Hangzhou, and Jiaotong universities. They are mostly easy to get into and don't have much cachet outside of China. </p>
<p>If you go that route, however, you will not learn much Mandarin. The language is tough and learning it requires massive amounts of rote memorization. To really get it, you need to be studying for several hours every day or living in a place where you can't use English. </p>
<p>I would recommend taking a year in China just for studying Mandarin, and then staying longer if you want a grad degree. All the schools I mentioned also have language programs, but you would probably learn more if you went somewhere further West with fewer foreigners. Teaching English is also an option. The salary is OK--enough to live on if you spend like a local, but not enough to save anything. </p>
<p>As for Shanghai and Beijing, they are fun in a big-city way. Shanghai, in particular, is like New York. You can get any sort of food, do any sort of activity, go to any sort of club (and all very cheap because of the exchange rate). That being said, both places tend to ensnare people in the expat subculture and cut them of from 'real' China. That's not to say that Shanghai and Beijing are any less Chinese than, say, Kunming, but they are less 'in your face' about it.</p>
<p>This sounds like great life experience. You'll have plenty of years of boring work (particularly if you plan on going into real estate), this may be an opportunity you'll never get again.</p>