Im gonna lose my mind up in here, up in here

Okay calling all forumosa suport,

This is term at ShiDa has been soooo frustrating for me. I am seeking anwsers or at least a point of view that will help me get out of this feeling.

I had a teacher from the beginning who didn’t want me in her class because the class ‘was full’. I tried to switch classes, but all the other teachers said the same thing. so, i went back to her class, where i have been struggling, but did okay on the first few tests (91,89) but suddenly when i swtich to her 10 am class and retook those same test all I got was 80’s. She like to say that it was me, i was rude, and i should have gotten lower score, but I believe it was because I had already taken those tests, as she told me that i had. When I confronted her, she yabbed away about me and what I was doing, when I had told her that I was seeking advice as to how I could improve. But agian it was all my fault, Im rude, etc. Eventhoght this teacher helped me switch classes when I missed so many of the 8 am (to which I thanked her for) she still never made me feel welcomed iin her class,i.e. I never had a place to sit at the table, I was always uncomfortable, and when I told her, she told me that there wasn’t any other classrooms avalible and she always spoke to me in rapid chinese and taiwanese in class. :unamused:

  1. I am black, so sometimes, not all the times, wonder if this has anything to do with it.
  2. I am wonder if this was the teacher’s passive aggressive way to get me out of her class.

Also, this term , chinese has been really hard for me to grasp. i can’t go back to book one at shida, cause I know I will be bored out of my mind. I know I can do it, cause I can do other things in my life (like read the dammed newspaper with somewhat of a decent compreshion,etc.) Im ready to give up but my heart isn’t a quiter… I need advice… :help:

I have zero experience at Shr Da, but one thing I thought of was calling on some kind of ombudsperson to help you sort it out.

The teacher, as you describe her, sounds inflexible and you may need to deal with the situation using a third person, for clarity/sanity.

I’m sure you know this but the less agressive about it you are with her directly, when you actually do talk about the issues, the more likely she’ll listen.

Hang in there, kiddo! Don’t let one bad experience put you off of Chinese. If all else fails, you can always go to conversation partners to help you through the books, and you might find some of them are better teachers than your formal teachers. Jia1 you2!

[quote=“rooftop”]
I’m sure you know this but the less agressive about it you are with her directly, when you actually do talk about the issues, the more likely she’ll listen.[/quote]

Yea, that maybe the solution, cause I’m still dealing with it with American mentality. But I didn try my best being less aggressive,ie. talking to her asking her about what I should do to improve… I just feel like I lost the ‘battle’ and that I could/should be doing better…ahhh. if anyone had trouble learning chinese the first year let me know, cause i don’t think i have the correct reality check… :laughing: :bravo:

I would have been so pleased with 80’s when I was at ShiDa :blush:
:laughing:

If you don’t have the scholorship don’t worry. If you do, don’t worry. Do extra work outside of class and sleep in class.

Hang in there. The teaching is terrible at Shida but you will eventually learn if you stick it out. Almost everyone has a miserable experience learning Chinese for the first few years. If you don’t need the visa, I would suggest going to the Maryknoll center instead.

Why are you worried about your scores? Unless you have a scholarship that shouldn’t matter, as long as you’re learning.

As for the teachers, stick it out and ask the other students which teachers are good so you won’t have the same problem next semester. I spent 9 months at Shi-da before and didn’t have any problems.

Was 3 month at Shida. First teacher said, my Chinese totally sucks, cause too much of a Taiwan accent. What the f#%&$%…this is Taiwan, don’t Chinese people always tell you how important it is to 入境隨俗?
Changed class and got a very nice teacher and had a good time. Still I prefer Wenhua over Shida, cause Wenhua is less stubborn and the office staff is friendlier.

Don’t fight with women teacher. They can be real bitches. Change class and everything will be fine…=)

Feiren, could you tell us some more about this place? (I know I should Google it, but I thought you might have some comments about it). Is it in Taipei?

I studied at Shi Da before, but I would be willing to give this place a try, especially if you recommended it.

Thanks.

[quote=“namastestore”]Okay calling all forumosa suport,

This is term at Shi-Da has been soooo frustrating for me. I am seeking anwsers or at least a point of view that will help me get out of this feeling.

I had a teacher from the beginning who didn’t want me in her class because the class ‘was full’. I tried to switch classes, but all the other teachers said the same thing. so, I went back to her class, where I have been struggling, but did okay on the first few tests (91,89) but suddenly when i swtich to her 10 am class and retook those same test all I got was 80’s. She like to say that it was me, I was rude, and I should have gotten lower score, but I believe it was because I had already taken those tests, as she told me that I had. When I confronted her, she yabbed away about me and what I was doing, when I had told her that I was seeking advice as to how I could improve. But agian it was all my fault, I’m rude, etc. Eventhoght this teacher helped me switch classes when I missed so many of the 8 am (to which I thanked her for) she still never made me feel welcomed iin her class,i.e. I never had a place to sit at the table, I was always uncomfortable, and when I told her, she told me that there wasn’t any other classrooms avalible and she always spoke to me in rapid Chinese and Taiwanese in class. :unamused:

  1. I am black, so sometimes, not all the times, wonder if this has anything to do with it.
  2. I am wonder if this was the teacher’s passive aggressive way to get me out of her class.

Also, this term , Chinese has been really hard for me to grasp. I can’t go back to book one at Shi-Da, cause I know I will be bored out of my mind. I know I can do it, cause I can do other things in my life (like read the dammed newspaper with somewhat of a decent compreshion,etc.) I’m ready to give up but my heart isn’t a quiter… I need advice… :help:[/quote]

That’s Shi-Da for you. Deal with it or find someplace else to study at. Next semester it’s probably going to be even harder finding a teacher to your liking.

Did you indeed take the same test more then once? You don’t know if you have taken the same test twice? Did you ask her in advance if you should take the test? Some teachers say you don’t have to.

You were rude and thus got a lower score? Perhaps you were.
Maybe you did something wrong. If you care about your grade then, NEVER confront a Shi-Da teacher, especially not the older ones. You wouldn’t want her to lose face now, would you? Don’t inqiure about teaching methods or whatever. The “80” was your exam’s score or the “4 chapters” grade? If the last, then it indeed depends on her discretion and this is solely based on if she likes you or not (politeness + a diligent student). That’s what counts. If you were impolite – in her eyes – or gave her the impression that you don’t “work hard” (this includes NOT missing classes in the morning. Why did you?) then you messsed up. That’s how it is with many teachers at Shi-Da. Never let them know you work part time. If they ask how many hours you studied the previous day make sure the answer isn’t “two hours”.

Goodluck :wink:

[quote=“mesheel”]
Change class and everything will be fine…=)[/quote]

You can only change classes for a period of two or three days, after that you are stuck with whatever. This semester they decided to open even less morning classes so it was near to impossible to get what you wanted unless you were one of the lucky first to aplply. BTW they payment method at Shi-Da is such that first you pay them and only then you get placed.

0.01 cents rant of the day.

I know that, sorry. What I meant was, next semester. But obviously it seems like you can’t change classes that easily. So how about changing schools? Why not find a school that gives you an equal amount of service for the money you pay instead of staying at Shida, where you pay a lot, but can’t choose your class, can’t choose your teacher; in short: don’t get what you pay for!?

[quote=“mesheel”]Was 3 month at Shi-Da. First teacher said, my Chinese totally sucks, cause too much of a Taiwan accent. What the f#%&$%…this is Taiwan, don’t Chinese people always tell you how important it is to 入境隨俗?
Changed class and got a very nice teacher and had a good time. Still I prefer Wenhua over Shi-Da, cause Wenhua is less stubborn and the office staff is friendlier.

Don’t fight with women teacher. They can be real bitches. Change class and everything will be fine…=)[/quote]

They said you had to much of a Taiwanese accent? WTF!!! See, that’s along the lines of the insanity I have been dealing with. Today, I went in to change, the next teacher refused to speak to me in English(long story but it was nessary) and then she tells me that her class speaking level is to high for me. :unamused: :unamused: :unamused: Mind you this is chapter one in book two… So, back to office again where the woman tells me that this is special that I am getting to do this because I already changed once…

You are the thrid person to have told me to look iat Wenhua, I don’t need anymore signs, come Dec, Im there. I wish I could tell ShiDa to kiss my arse in chinese when I leave…

[quote]
That’s Shi-Da for you. Deal with it or find someplace else to study at. Next semester it’s probably going to be even harder finding a teacher to your liking.

Did you indeed take the same test more then once? You don’t know if you have taken the same test twice? Did you ask her in advance if you should take the test? Some teachers say you don’t have to.

You were rude and thus got a lower score? Perhaps you were.
Maybe you did something wrong. If you care about your grade then, NEVER confront a Shi-Da teacher, especially not the older ones. You wouldn’t want her to lose face now, would you? Don’t inqiure about teaching methods or whatever. The “80” was your exam’s score or the “4 chapters” grade? If the last, then it indeed depends on her discretion and this is solely based on if she likes you or not (politeness + a diligent student). That’s what counts. If you were impolite – in her eyes – or gave her the impression that you don’t “work hard” (this includes NOT missing classes in the morning. Why did you?) then you messsed up. That’s how it is with many teachers at Shi-Da. Never let them know you work part time. If they ask how many hours you studied the previous day make sure the answer isn’t “two hours”.

Goodluck :wink:[/quote]

Here’s irony for you, from march to may, i had a class with that teacher’s bf, he’s old ass fat arogant american. But where the irony comes into play, is that he’s been studying at Shida for 4 years, he lives with her, and was on Book One for the 4TH TIME with no hope for improvement. And to add insult to injury, the teacher we had was very well qualified, an authentic teacher, but he always, always corrected her english in class and held up class time with his rants on what was wrong with the textbook,if he wasn’t holding up time with his drama about speaking chinese ?:noway: Yea, my impression with shida, is that the teachers there can’t teach worth sh@@T. I have had two good teachers, one decent one and the the other two were siting on their arses collecting a paycheck. sorry, but I do have a bit of American mentality when it comes to my money. and meechel you are right about these women being bitches, but that’s only because they are threatened by something…

I’ve never gone to Shit-Da. I’ve always thought it was a krap hole.

Their books suck. I went through all four of them at 成功 in Tainan.

The best Mandarin books that I’ve seen come out of the school up in Mucha - the one on the mountain:
http://lc.nccu.edu.tw/msp/msp_e.htm
And, it actually has an aesthetic campus.

If there was nowhere for you to sit in the classroom, then they should have given you your money back, so that you could have gone to a better place like NTU.

[quote=“Bigus Dorkus”]I’ve never gone to Shit-Da. I’ve always thought it was a krap hole.

Their books suck. I went through all four of them at 成功 in Tainan.

The best Mandarin books that I’ve seen come out of the school up in Mucha (Muzha) - the one on the mountain:
http://lc.nccu.edu.tw/msp/msp_e.htm
And, it actually has an aesthetic campus.

If there was nowhere for you to sit in the classroom, then they should have given you your money back, so that you could have gone to a better place like NTU.[/quote]

Thank you Dorkus, I will apply to two schools for the winter term and see what happens thanks for the info. and as for getting my money back. Shi-da is very firm on not giving money back, so that was never an option from the get go…

I think also think that you should change schools.

I went to Wen Hua two years ago and they were fine. The office staff were helpfull, the teachers were good, it was cheaper and they had classes start every two weeks.

Good luck with your next school

The 文化 school is right next to 大安 park. It’s in a gorgeous new building with an excellent little coffee shop on the first floor (which actually used to be The Coffee Bean before they left Taiwan.

NTU’s program isn’t bad either. It’s pretty expensive, but from what I’ve heard it’s quite intensive and if you’re planning on going to “real” school here in the future, that’s a good place to get prepared for that. Good luck!

I’ll second that. The teachers at ShitDa are 99% sphincters. They’re 99% former junior high school teachers and some high school teachers who couldn’t hack it and figure foreigners are just kids anyway. Most of their students are Korean and Japanese who are used to being treated like cr8p by their sensei anyway and will put up with the same from a teacher with Asian features.

I have been told by a former WenDa teacher that WenDa at least requires it’s teachers to prepare for class and be nice to students.

I urge you to write a letter of complaint to the Ministry of Education or the Presidential office just to make yourself feel better. If you write one to the ShitDa director she’ll pretend to care but won’t (and to think I was mad when the guy before her didn’t even pretend to care). If you write to ShitDa’s president (of the uni) he’ll just forward it to her).