An August 4th Newsweek article by Mary Hennock titled The Mandarin Scam has been stirring up spirited debate over the article’s assertion (and subtitle), “So you want to learn Chinese? Your best bet these days is to stay at home.” Hennock writes that, “most,” of the 100,000 or so foreigners coming to China every year to learn Chinese, “end up with a raw deal.” Hennock’s prescription for successful Mandarin education? “Either pay the much higher rates in the West,” she writes, “or go online, where plenty of interactive systems offer fresh modern content.”

Photo: zoezolka

Response among expats and Mandarin learners has been varied – some agree with the author’s claims that teaching methods in China are outdated, while others reply that the benefit of living in a Mandarin speaking environment outweighs deficiencies in the teaching methods.

Do you agree with Hennock that learning Mandarin in mainland China is waste of time and money? Do you think online programs and western classes are the way to go? Do you think Taiwan is a better bet for Mandarin learners?

A recent Newsweek article says China a bad place to study Mandarin, what do you think?

Perspectives seeks to promote dialogue and cross-cultural understanding by featuring Chinese and foreign responses to a single question. Email us to be added to our weekly question mailing list or to suggest questions of your own and feel free to add your perspective in the comments section below.

China is a great place to study Mandarin if one is disciplined enough to make the most of his environment. While Chinese universities and language programs might not be the most beneficial, if someone acquires a basic foundation in Mandarin before coming to China, then China is the best place to refine one's skills and to learn spoken Chinese especially. Foreign languages are not learned in the classroom, but out in the real world, using the language, and where else but in China would one find an environment as suitable for actually using Chinese?
J / US

Photo: gotplaid?

I can imagine why. The thing about Chinese is that once you've learned the basics (and it's not like that's easy), there comes a huge amount of variations in both the tones and expressions. China is too large and people are too diversified. Each place you go to exhibits a different dialect that can be very different from the other ones. Foreigners in China, especially those that move around a lot, find it extremely confusing – things they remember from last time do not apply the next time. Maybe it is a nice suggestion to study the basics at somewhere other than China, and come back to roll it over with a few regular local natives, and keep doing that for a while.
I / China

I think that's not correct! China is still the place to learn the language (because you have to practise what you've learned), BUT just don't do that at a University or Language School (and help the authorities to balance their budgets). I'm not an expert, but I believe the most effective way of learning the language is to get a private tutor, or enroll for an online course (with sound) and then – the secret – go out and practise your day's progress on your Chinese friends or in the streets at the markets, or wherever appropriate. If the Mandarin teachers approach the teaching of the language in the same way the Chinese teachers are teaching English to the Chinese school students, then no wonder the foreign Mandarin learners get a raw deal! My two pence worth!
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Photo: Helga’s Lobster Stew

China mainland is the best place to learn Mandarin because that’s where it’s spoken best and spoken most. It’s the official language. In Taiwan and Hong Kong people speak Cantonese and Taiwanese more and usual traditional characters which are different. Chinese don’t want to go to the Netherlands to learn English, why would Americans go to Hong Kong or Singapore to learn Mandarin? Or stay at home and learn. Many Chinese learn their only English in China and progress is very very slow and hard without the language environment.
X / China

I agree to some extent. It's overwhelming to be in this country, and the cultural differences don't sell the country or culture or people. It's hard to stay in awe of the language when every day people stare at you like a monkey in a zoo, while people spit and blow their noses on the
ground and kids pee and the air is toxic and the sky is never blue and everyone tries to cheat you because you are assumed to be wealthy, and people just throw everything on the ground with complete disregard to public health.
R / US

If you think that China is a bad place to study Mandarin, where else do you think are better ones that can achieve this goal?
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Related Links

Where to Learn Chinese? University vs. Private Language Center
Should Mandarin Be Mandatory for Foreigners?
7 Reasons You Should Learn Chinese: 1-3

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