Combine holiday in China with Chinese Lessons and Study

I would be weary any schools offering intensive courses that promise results after such a short period. They'd most likely be quite time consuming and expensive. For me personally, a "holiday" in the classroom is not at all a holiday. Honestly, if you're looking at advancing your Mandarin, your best bet would certainly be practicing with the locals on the street, in restaurants, around tourist sites, etc. I bet you get a much more culturally enriching experience this way as compared to being in the classroom.

I like the idea of walking around with a magazine or newspaper. You can refer to specific topics listed therein for conversation.

I agree with Kyle that practicing with the locals is the best, but not as simple as it sounds. Even if you're out-going, you can easily find yourself limited in the discussions topics unless you're engaged in activities that involves extended interaction - that can be as simple as a long-distance train ride though, but you gotta make sure you're not dragged into getting them to practice their English. As a French national I could get away by making clear I don't speak any English, but I have been caught off-guard more than once. I would also suggest to ask the CPod staff, I will actually be in Shanghai early October for almost 2 weeks and still haven't worked out how to make the best of my practice plan while there. What I personally wouldn't do is taking classes with other foreigners which those probably overpriced combos offer. If you're into taichi, I'd try and join the locals (that's very early morning). While there isn't much talking going on, you'd get to meet the locals. You can then get to spend time with them afterwards, particularly retired folks. I did some of it in Zhengzhou last year, with people practicing diabolo. Also spent time in parks with people feeding their birds, and others practicing 'water calligraphy' where they draw poems etc. with huge brushes on the ground that quickly evaporate. Small food joints in back alleys are good too, small temples also and areas around them, temple keepers, go into little shops buy little things etc. But unlike Kyle I think smaller cities and away from tourist sites is way better. Don't be in a rush, just hang out, and if you're on your own so much the better. What I once did in Taiwan was 3 hours/day of individual lessons in a language school for almost 2 weeks. I thought that sort of immersion would be beneficial but I came out completely exhausted and I think it was rather counter-productive.

I'd also recommend not signing up for any formal classes. I suggest bringing some Cpod lessons along for travel scenarios, like asking directions (even if you're not lost :-) eating a meal, where I'm from (and what it's like there), buying stuff etc, practice right before then do the best you can. At one hotel late one night, I practiced with front desk people. It was a blast! Know and use other friendly phrases besides 'Ni Hao'. I spent 3 weeks in China and any of that time spent in a classroom would have been unforgivable.

I'm going to agree with everyone else who has commented regarding not signing up for any formal classes. My friends and I have tried out a variety of Chinese language programs in China, and they vary tremendously in the quality of teachers and students. All good programs I know of last at least a month. I'm not sure what level you're at now, but, to be perfectly honest, 2-3 weeks of Chinese classes will not have a huge effect on your knowledge of Chinese. I'd say a combination of CPod and interaction with the locals would be your best option.

Actually, I think "smaller" cities are a much better choice for learning than the major cities (Beijing, Shanghai, etc.). I live in Harbin, which is not a small city, but it has all of the benefits of being in the middle of nowhere. Perhaps most importantly, no one here speaks English. This is huge. Imagine you're in Beijing or Shanghai and you're walking around looking for locals to with whom to practice your Mandarin. The chances of you finding someone who will insist on speaking English as opposed to Mandarin is much higher in these types of cities. Not too mention those practically hysterical college kids that just won't leave you alone and incessantly badger you with their English. (Sorry, bad experience =) so I'm jaded.)

I like Yangshuo.

I agree with RonInDC's suggestion to bringing some Cpod lessons along. I actually carry the full gamut on my smartphone at all times, and while I seldom use the audio I often refer to the html for dialog/vocab. One reason I developed the little script on my website is to easily search and organize lessons (can use offline too). Combine that with Plecodict and I can handle pretty much any situation.

...another thing about CPod lessons is to do it in the open. I hadn't come across CPod when I went to China last year, but just walking around checking an electronic dictionary, checking mail on my smartphone, reading a map or whatever was often enough to be approached and enter into a discussion (young and old alike). The Chinese seem to have insatiable curiosity, which I guess can be a drag in the long run, but in this case is just what you need

Yes, Mike, I am also considering something like you are. That tai chi one sounds interesting. How can I get more info on that. A friend of mine went to China and found that he got a lot of practice just speaking with his guide who was very patient with his bad Chinese and still e-mails him for practice. Maybe you'll be lucky!

or ask the cpod-staff, maybe they can arrange something :-)

I was too opinionated in my prior post about not taking lessons. I once read of a program where there were organized evening outings into the city to practice what they'd learned that day. That seemed like a pretty good idea to me. Maybe that would be something to look for.

Thanks to everyone who has replied to my questions. Regarding the suggestion to hang out with the locals, I have a number of concerns. For example, do the locals speak Mandarin (in Shanghai for example)? – My experience in Guangzhou is that most of the locals only really speak Cantonese properly. Also, I am not sure that employing this strategy as the prime way of practicing is very reliable. I felt that some amount of structure (some instruction) would be potentially more productive. Incidentally, I noticed that some of the courses suggested accommodation with a Chinese family, which would probably provide very good opportunities. Ideally I was thinking along the lines of RonInDC, ie a program with some organisation of outings to practice what has been learned. Maybe more significant though is whether I have the courage to ‘go it alone’ and hang out – I have done similar things (in my youth!) but with mixed results. I spent a miserable holiday in Yugoslavia by myself where I actually got very lonely. Again some sort of lesson/ group seemed more attractive. Perhaps I should admit to getting old. I have no illusions about what can be achieved in improvement in a couple of weeks, and am certainly looking to have a holiday first with improving Chinese as a bonus. Indeed, has anyone at Chinespod got any ideas on this topic? Wei1xiao4: I will send you a link to the tai chi holiday website.

You might have trouble finding standard mandarin speakers in Shanghai. There are plenty, but with standard mandarin comes a good education (or is it the other way round) so most standard mandarin speakers will be hard at work. The old people sitting in parks, who are most likely to be up for chatting to some random person, probably won't speak standard mandarin. Nor will security guards, traffic 'assistants'... As for the 'courage' thing, you should ask John老师。。。see his 'how I learned Chinese' series in his blog.

Don't have pudency!Take more oral practice!And you will find it's very useful after you do it!You speak english and i speak mandarin ,but most of us don't know syntax at all,do you?I can tell you that i'm not good at my chinese.And my exam just B or C.But my passage is so good.so ,don't care your syntaw,just take more oral practices. If you haven't an mandarin oral practicess partner,and don't mind you poor english,email to me ~ brianhuazhong@gmail.com

If the first priority is just to have a good holiday, and learning Mandarin isn't much of a focus, then I think you could go just about anywhere and have fun. However, if improving your Mandarin is a focus of your trip, then I'd aim for somewhere in the NE as a holiday destination. Maxiewawa suggestion about the availability of locals in places such as Shanghai sounds right. Perhaps the CPod team could enlighten us further?

Surely there must be neighborhoods in Shanghai away from the tourists / expats paths where to meet the locals, or smaller cities around worth a visit (since I'll be going soon I certainly would like to know). I remember s.o. mentioning such a place in a podcast once as an alternative to Hangzhou, I think it was John

Mike, you raise a good point about meeting other people with the same interest. Such a thing as a tour of Mandarin learners? Maybe finding a class in a city would give you a chance to meet other learners, then head into the city to have fun. In my very-limited time in Guangzhou, I didn't find it too tricky to find Mandarin speakers. While Cantonese may be the native language, most seemed to know Mandarin well- at least for what I practiced- asking directions, where they are from, restaurant talk, etc. Also, there are many not native to the region.

Mike, Just go to the North. If you stay in Beijing the dialect thing is not that big of an issue. You justmight run into a few 儿s (OK, meeting the wrong counterparts it all melts down to a series of differently modulated 儿s). I am also sceptical about taking classes - sitting in a classroom is nothing I would prefer to do after spending all that time and money for traveling to that rich place. The CPod-preparation of everyday situations seems like a good idea. It also depends on your level. I found that the more I bring with me the more I am able to pick up. I hardly learned anything during my Newbie times in Beijing (classes would have been not that bad of an idea back than) but last year (after I reached some kind of lowish Intermediate) new vocab streamed into my brain from everywhere. Reading characters adds an additional learning factor.

I guess it's bad to generalize, but in my experience, many schools that focus on improving oral Mandarin will pair you with other learners in order to practice. Logically, this is the most time-efficient method of practicing (15 students,1 teacher, the teacher can't speak to everyone at once, but each student can speak to another in pairs). The downfall of this approach, however, and especially with a language in which pronunciation is so important, is that a fellow student cannot correct your bad pronunciation and tones. Now, granted locals may not do this either, you'll most likely be in a situation where it's a hit or miss. The locals will understand, or they wont. If they don't understand, you're obviously off. I also like goulniky's idea of taking along some CPod material as conversation starters. I bet a couple days worth of smoozing with the locals will do much more for you guys than a few hours in the classroom.