intensive language courses

[mei]

not sure if anyone comes into this part of figjam, but it seems like the appropriate place...

I'm researching language schools in Shanghai to study Chinese for a few weeks in January. I'm hoping to find somewhere that can tailor to my kind of specific needs and a bit of a strange combination of starting level for this course.

for those of you (riverhorse, Tulipana, others? who have done any intensive language courses: what are things I should look out for? things that are good/not good, suggestions, etc?

I'm a little unsure if a group course is the best way for me to learn, but on the other hand not only learning 1-on-1 will be good I think (and somewhat affordable!)
thanks!

[Tulipana]

Learning in a group will actually be a good thing if it's an international group who doesn't speak each others languages. I was in Spanish class with two Japanese girls... we only could speak Spanings if we wanted to talk. So that helps.

You could maybe go to a regular language school in the mornings and have a business tutor in the afternoon for an hour or two hours? I bet many language schools can help you with that.

I think Shanghai has a 'Nederlandse vereniging', maybe you can contact them and ask them which language schools they use for their newly arrived expats? I can recommend organisations like EF and StudyTravel. Both of them used to have information evenoings or afternoons, so that may be something for you.