Hello! Can you please state your name and current occupation?

My name is Holly Priestland I am a college student at Edinburg University.

Why did you want to go to China, now?

When I finished school I was studying European languages like French and German and I really wanted to learn a more interesting language; a really different language. I have always been interested in Chinese culture and how China has come to the forefront in our society so I decided to study Chinese for that reason.

Why did you want to study Chinese now?

I really wanted to improve my spoken Chinese. I feel like if you live in a different country it is really easy to ignore that aspect. If you are immersed in the culture of a country you can bring up your level of spoken Chinese up to speed. I also found it hard to experience Chinese culture when you can’t interact with the culture you are in.

How did you begin your search to find study abroad immersion program and how did you hear about/discover NSC?

My year abroad is next year so over the summer I wanted to improve my spoken Chinese and I was looking for summer programs and found Next Step China.

Why did you Choose NSC?

I liked Next Step China’s website. I thought their website was organized and well presented. I noticed other (study abroad) programs were geared very much towards beginners whereas Next Step China made it really clear that you could be at different levels but still have it tailored to the level of Chinese that you are at. .

I also really liked the hands on approach and how much attention was paid to you as an individual. I got a response from Next Step China within about 10 minutes of sending my e-mail which was really fast and made me feel that they were there to organize everything and that everything was going to be well organized.

What do you think of our website?

I thought the website looked very clean and liked the layout of it. There was a lot of information on the site but it wasn’t crammed (like other companies) into one page. The information was spread out so that I didn’t have to read some really long page. It was much easier to look through.

What were your goals in choosing the program you selected with NSC?

I was really much focused on improving my spoken Chinese. I can already read a lot of characters and my writing is pretty good. But, my class in university was a large class and we didn’t have the time to spend on the practicing our speaking and pronunciation, you can’t do that in a class of 30 students. Through the tutoring program I though it would be good to have as much one on one time as possible because that way you are forced to speak, you can’t sit in a class and choose whether or not you want to speak. I figured it would be the best way to improve my spoken Chinese as much as possible.

What have you gained during your stay in China?

I feel like I know a lot more about the Chinese culture and its people. I also feel that my Chinese has advanced so fast as opposed back home where you can kind of pick it up and ignore whereas in China it is always there.

How did you feel about NSC’s accommodations?

I thought the accommodations were so much better than I had expected because I traveled to a (different city in China) several years ago and I stayed at a University dorm and there was 9 of us in one apartment, it was really cramped so I set that as my expectations. However, the accommodation is probably nicer than any accommodation I lived back in England, that’s pretty cool.

I like how everything is well organized, Next Step China takes care of paying your bills. The apartment complex is really close by to stuff and area is very friendly and clean, there is no problems with the accommodations at all.

The neighborhood is really nice it isn’t too busy or frantic but at the same time it isn’t too far away from the center of Beijing. Also, you have to take taxis, buses and subways and even all of that is part of the experiences it is all part of the fun. I also like using the Transportation card that Next Step China provided.

How did you feel about NSC’s tutoring program?

I really enjoyed the tutoring program I like having the two different tutors so you have two different teaching styles it also means you are doing two different textbooks so you have the language of both complementing each other as you go along and you recognize structures from both tutors and that is encouraging because you can feel yourself improving. I also feel the tutoring program, because it is one on one, your Chinese improves vastly as opposed to being in a University with so many students where teachers don’t have the time to focus on you because they don’t have the time to sit down with you for that length of time and go through every problem you have. With a tutor any problems you have you can ask them straight away and have it explained to you for as long as you want so that you avoid making the same mistakes.

You can definitely tell that the tutors were carefully chosen, each tutor has different styles of teaching but each style works it in its own way because one tutor will be focused on conversational aspects while the other will focus on the grammar and you need both types to improve your Chinese as a whole.

I also like that the tutors come to your accommodations because it means you have a lot of time to do whatever you want in case you have something to do or use that time (traveling to meet with a tutor) to study more.

How do you feel about NSC’s service?

I feel like Next Step China makes you really feel you are part of a community as soon as you arrive. They come straight to the airport and then you have the welcome dinner and get to know everyone else at the same time. I really like the community approach of Next Step China because everyone in the program has similar goals as you.

Did Next Step China meet or exceed your expectations?

Next Step China exceeded my expectations as a summer program I didn’t expect such a really well organized and friendly company. I have traveled to different countries for volunteer programs and felt these other companies didn’t know what they were doing, with Next Step China I always felt I was in safe hands.