Anyone study at Zheng Da recently?

I studied at shida for a while before and i took a year off this year to do some work and earn some money. I have a scholarship for next year and I’m planning to go back to studying full time and am interested in hearing from anyone who has studied at Zheng Da recently.

I read on there website that they have a limit of 5 students per class. Is that true?

My main problems with shi da were

the number of students (up to 10 in a class)
the varying quality and style of teachers (which i guess will be the same everywhere)
the fact that most of my classmates were there solely to get a visa and had no interest in studying (most of them had already studied the material before anyway)
the incompetence and outright rudeness of the office staff

So I’m looking at Zheng Da now as an alternative and would like to hear opinions fro anyone who has been recently (especially if you have studied at shi da too)

Send me a PM or post here! Thanks

Wow! Color me Perplexed! I studied there for a while this past summer and found that Jenny, the English language secretary, was always approachable and very kind and E-Z to deal with. The young lady in the office across from the computer room was nice as well. I had limited dealings with the people in what I guess is the main office, but those dealings were by and large OK. I’m sorry you had a bad experience with them. :dance: No real reason for this emoticon; it just looks cool.

I had bead experiences with them for every one of the 5 semesters that i studied there and so did all my friends who have been there too. That and the class size are the main reasons i don’t want to go back.

I don;t remember anyone called jenny. I do remember Miss Shi though. Lovely woman.

[quote=“Mugatu”]I don;t remember anyone called jenny. I do remember Miss Shi though. Lovely woman.[/quote] I think I remember her, a very gentle lady who wears glasses, small in stature, yes?, but a heart as big as Texas (where the stars at night, are big and bright, fa la la la).

I’m with you on your first 2 bullets (big class size + the variety in teacher abilities), and I recall one classmate who may have fallen into your “just here for a visa” category. The guy didn’t seem to study or to even try, but on the other hand, those people don’t affect me in my studies. If anything, they’re a plus, because it’s like having an empty spot in the class that gets me more Face Time with the prof, sort of a de facto reduced class size.

I met another Corn-Fed American Boy who did one of their 1-on-1 tutorials, and it seemed to work out really well for him. Cost a few bucks more, but he got 100% Prof Face Time + all the benefits of being a student: visa, computer lab, library, etc.

Best of luck in your new study venue; please let us know how that works out.
:bravo:
I love these emoticons!!!

Mugatu, I haven’t studied in ZhengDa recently, but a few weeks ago we hosted a group of foreign students -adults, professionals- from there and they were happy about it, and talked enthusiastically about their lessons and their teachers. They were also quite fluent -most of them without previous studies in the field- and motivated.

I have always had a favorable impression of the language center at ZhengDa. Some of my IMBA classmates took their Mandarin courses -they even designed a special one for them to fit their schedule- and I was impressed by how quickly they became profficient.

As to Shida, I am with you on the complaints department. I do have some horror stories, both mine and from others, but the most recent was when I asked for a certification of my studies there, in English and Chinese. Not only do they show a gap in my studies -that shouldn’t be there- but also the papers show different info in both languages -should be the same, duh!- for instance different grades, the gap is there but in different dates, etc. Knowing their attitude towards pointing out their mistakes, I am quite hesitant to raise a fuss.

Mugatu, I congratulate you for spreading your options. people should know ShiDa is not the only option.

I’m interested in exploring options. Thanks. :notworthy: ORZ!

“I studied there for a while this past summer and found that Jenny, the English language secretary, was always approachable and very kind and E-Z to deal with. The young lady in the office across from the computer room was nice as well.”

[forumosa.com/taiwan/viewtopic.ph … ight=shida](Shida Rant

One’s experience at Zhengda might not be different. In a Confucian society ‘you are just a student and nothing more’(as a Shida administrator said to me). So you will be treated according to your (low) status. Maybe after the original poster has studied there awhile he can tell us whether Zhengda is any different from Shida.

I have heard good things about studying Mandarin at Zhengda. When I mentioned to my Chinese history prof. that I was planing on returning to Taiwan to study Chinese at Taida he immediately expressed his opinion that Zhengda was better for ‘hittin’ the hua’. Small class size, four hours a day, very few English speakers he said all make it a great environment for serious Guoyu study.

I think for myself the most important aspect of the study environment is the ‘no English’ thing. Learning Mandarin in Mandarin is defiantly the way to go, even if it means not understanding 50% of what the teachers saying. The greatest improvement, and least amount of comfort, I every had was studying at a buxiban with some Japanese folks and a teacher who didn’t speak English, all that’s needed is a good dictionary and grammar book to consult after class. I’m hoping the class I’ll be in next year at Taida will have minimal English.

And what color MRT line and stop is it close to?
Thanks!
:rainbow: This is a passenger headed to Zhengda as the MRT passes through different stops and the outside lights flash over his face.

[quote=“Texas Guy”]And what color MRT line and stop is it close to?
Thanks!
:rainbow: This is a passenger headed to Zhengda as the MRT passes through different stops and the outside lights flash over his face.[/quote]

You need to take the brown line (Mucha) out to the last stop: Taipei Zoo and then transfer to a bus which stops at the school. The stop is called: Zheng Da (oddly enough).

Practical Audio-Visual Chinese, that is, the usual/norm all over Taiwan.

Thanks.
:notworthy: