CLI: Chinese Immersion Program in Guilin, China

CLI is an amazing experience and is equally amazing in helping your language. This was my second experience ; once with my family for a 2 week stay in an apartment - this was a wonderful experience all round. I returned alone ( I am 14) for a 4 week stay with a homestay family. This experience was even better! My family were wonderful and included me in many activities. The 4 week immersion was really really helpful to language learning and I cannot wait to go back. CLI acivities and excursions are fun and the teachers and interns are so kind and helpful. They are there to ENSURE you learn Chinese, but in a really good and professional way.

I spent 2 months at CLI improving my Chinese. The support was fabulous from the beginning till the end, exact and prompt, providing proper answers to all my questions. The teaching was brilliant as I had three different one-on-one teachers who all had different styles and from whom I can learn different things. They were all really caring that I progress and used various methods. They were also very flexible - if I asked to change something, they were eager to follow, and I personally find them all very nice people. The programs CLI organized were all very diverse and quality programs from tea house visiting to weekend trips. The area where the school located is a bit out of the city center, but it is a very nice area with all facilities nearby. I can only recommend CLI to everyone, who wants to enjoy a personalized and flexible Chinese learning experience!

I went to study at CLI for 3 weeks. Previously I had been doing self study at home partly with a teacher for two hours a week. I thought that the CLI immersion program was great. I particularly enjoyed the one on one lessons but also liked having three different teachers. My aim was to improve my listening comprehension and my fluency in speaking. I really enjoyed studying at CLI. The teachers are great and very enthusiastic. I will I could have stayed longer.

My two sons attended CLI for a 2 week immersion experience. As one of the boys is just 13 my husband and I decided to go along too. We didn't attend classes, but explored the city of Guilin for 2 weeks. I had reasonably high hopes of CLI, but my expectations were well exceeded. The whole experience was so positive I will be re-booking my children to return in 6 months time. The boys' teachers were patient, professional and fun. Their language learning was really accelerated over a fortnight. It isn't just the lessons, but the whole culture of CLI which is so fantastic. The boys chose to stay on at school every day for many hours playing Chinese games, chatting with the wonderful student interns and enjoying the community aspect of the school. Numerous activities are available to enjoy each week - bowling, visiting a local school etc, and these were great fun. CLI apartment accommodation is first rate - big, roomy, pleasant, and at all times we felt safe and secure. The city of Guilin is charming, deliciious cheap and safe-to-eat food, excellent public transport and everything you might need in the shops. When one of us had a small medical issue CLI helped us enormously by sending a student intern to help with translation.
We were picked up from the airport, dropped off at the station, welcomed, farewelled - honestly it was just exceptional. I couldn't recommend CLI more highly.

I spent 4 weeks in Guilin at CLI, and cannot imagine a better experience for improving my Chinese. Having previously self studied Mandarin for 2 years, I was a potentially difficult student as I had a reading ability and vocabulary way above my speaking level. However, my teachers were extremely helpful and able to adapt to my needs so that my Chinese speaking progressed rapidly.

The service was very professional and the language school is a relaxing environment to study or relax. Particularly valuable were the many opportunities to speak to and make friends with native speakers, whether during lunch, activities, or talking to the language school's interns who are always around. Guilin is also a pleasant city with a relaxed environment, good air quality and relatively few locals who speak English, encouraging you to use your Chinese.

I genuinely would recommend CLI to anyone who wants to learn Mandarin and has the opportunity to do so in China.

I came to Guilin with the goal of getting a lot done in a very short span of time. I did not go away disappointed. CLI does a great job, even for those only staying for a short spell, of sweeping away most distractions so students can concentrate on improving language skills. As I said at my farewell dinner, I was most impressed at the dedication of the teachers, which ensured I came to class as well prepared as I could be. In my view, nothing substitutes for one-to-one engagement between student and teacher. On top of that, having three teachers gives real depth to the instruction. Well done CLI!

The learning experience at CLI is second to none. I have been to CLI twice now and will return again as soon as I have time. My first stay was for 3 weeks when I learned all the basic tourist Chinese that I needed to get around China on my own. The second time I went back for 7 weeks and I am hoping to return next year for a few months in pursuit of my goal to become fluent! With 4 hours of one-to-one lessons everyday and numerous other opportunities to learn such as during meal times and evening/weekend activities my level of Chinese progressed very quickly. I don't think there is a faster way to learn a language. But the best part of CLI is not actually the speed at which you can learn it is the atmosphere both at CLI and in Guilin. Guilin is a very beautiful and friendly city which I have visited many times and being at CLI is like having a second family in China. You will never be short of company or things to do while at CLI!

After taking one year of Mandarin at a local community college in the U.S.A. I was looking for the next step. After researching a number of options, I decided to attend CLI's immersion program in Guilin. As this was my first time traveling overseas, I was very careful about selecting a program. After reading CLI's website, scouring the web for feedback, and speaking with a person at CLI, it all sounded to good to be true. I thought it was unusual that I could not find one negative comment about this school. Anyway, I decided to give it a try. The registration/pre-departure process was extremely organized and helpful. In no time, I had all my questions answered, had assistance with applying for my Visa, and was provided with very informative pre-departure checklists and information. I decided on taking 6 weeks of classes at CLI. You can read about the details of how this works on their website. I was assured that even though my flight arrived at around 1 am in Guilin, I would be met by someone with a CLI sign at the airport and they would bring me to CLI. Even though my flight was a couple hours late, CLI made good on their promise and someone was waiting for me and drove me to CLI. It was after 3 am when I arrived there. Two interns were waiting for me at CLI, escorted me to my room and provided me with all the necessities and information I needed to get through my first day. Even though I had first year Chinese under my belt, I was really not confident that I could carry on a conversation before coming to CLI so I was happy to find out that the interns and pretty much everyone at CLI could communicate with me in English if there was a need. Having local college interns work at CLI is genius. It was like I was in this protective bubble until I felt comfortable going outside on my own. They escorted me outside to show me places to eat, helped me find an ATM, and a store to get started with some daily necessities. As time went on, I met many interns. Not only did they help me adapt to life in China, they helped me when I needed assistance after hours with my homework/study. They were there for me to practice listening, and speaking as I interacted with them, and they quickly became my friends.

I lived at CLI and attended two 2-hour one-on-one sessions per day, five days per week. I had three teachers. I met with my comprehensive teacher every day. I was with my conversation teacher 3 times per week and my reading/writing teacher the other 2 days per week. They customized my classes based on assessing my level on the first day and also discussing my goals with me for this trip. All three of my teachers were awesome! They were all extremely good teachers and each did their part in contributing to my Chinese education. I am 54 years old, have a horrible memory and therefore I think I have to put a lot more time into learning than most people do. I have also never learned another language before. Everyone was extremely patient and understanding with me. I spent a great deal of time outside of class doing my homework and studying. I had no illusions about becoming fluent in just 6 weeks. My goal was to be able to carry on a basic conversation with a Chinese native speaker by the time my six weeks was over. With the help of my teachers, the interns, other students at CLI, and a great deal of studying, I was able to reach and exceed my goal. If it is possible, I would recommend staying at CLI for a longer duration. Many students stay for 4 months to 1 year. Even though that was not possible for me, I found my six weeks of intensive study was greatly valuable and I plan on returning to CLI in the future.

In addition to my daily classes, CLI has a large number of organized activities to choose from most evenings and weekends. I participated in a number of activities, including several weekend excursions and even one that included an overnight stay. These activities and excursions were awesome. I had a great time sightseeing and making friends with other students and CLI staff who also participated. Guilin is one of the most beautiful and Scenic places I have every been to.

I chose to purchase all of my weekday lunches in advance (meal plan). This is basically having a home-cooked at CLI for lunch every weekday! The two ladies who cooked these meals for us are amazing cooks! I had a lot of good food during my stay in China. The lunches were as good or better than even the best restaurants that I frequented.

My stay at CLI flew by. Before I knew it was time to go. I learned a great deal, made many friends (who I continue to communicate with now that I am home), and had a remarkable experience that I will never forget.

I mentioned before that when I was doing my initial research it all seemed to good to be true. Well, I can tell you that not only was my experience everything I read about and was told about, it was much much more!