My name is Merlone Kevin Axel Bofela. I’m from the Republic of Congo. I have been studying in China for four years. Recently I wrote an article about my experience in China in French briefly. So, today, I’ll try to give more details and share my experience with you. I came in China in September , 2011 and I went to Beijing Language and Culture University where I learned Chinese language for a year before getting enrolled in a degree program at Shandong University in Jinan (Capital city of Shandong province).

I think, being an international student in China is an unforgettable and immensely rewarding experience. From the point of me, not only will you be able to witness the firsthand Chinese historic transformation from an underdeveloped country into a major global power, but you'll meet people from all over the world . Every year I take advantage of the two long holidays, both of which last from one to two months in an academic year to travel around China. I have been to most of the cities in China from the north to the south. Nowadays, more and more international students from the whole world are becoming interested in studying in China. China is a beautiful and fast growing country with a wide variety of cities and cultures, beautiful architecture and an intriguing way of life. China is home to some amazing colleges and universities with many different degree programs.

1. My experience about learning Chinese language (Mandarin):

Learning Chinese was a challenge. But I didn’t find it impossible in any way. There are many parts of learning Chinese that are more difficult than European languages. On the flip side, there are many parts of Chinese that are genuinely easier in comparison. By plunging in at the deep-end and using the full immersion approach, I forced myself to make thousands of mistakes as I learned Chinese. From every mistake I learned something. Over time, I developed effective techniques of learning Chinese. These techniques are my language hacks for becoming a Mandarin speaker.

Talking about my first year in China, I was just like every foreign student. As you know , in my country, the official language is French, and I hadn’t learned any Mandarin before. When I was in Beijing most of the books are explained in English or Korean, so I had to make like a “huge work” to understand them, but I had the aim and the will to study that language, which was the reason why everything went well. Trust me, speaking a new language was feeling like being exposed to different traditions and the need of more attention than I had ever done before, it was not easy for me, but after a couple of time, I started feeling good and comfortable when talking in Chinese.

Let me say that I consider knowing 3000 characters to be fluent; this means that if you can read and speak 3000 different Chinese words, I believe you to be fluent due to the fact that you can thrive in an all-Mandarin speaking environment. Writing is a bit more difficult, but in my experience if you can't write 3000 characters you will still be able to thrive in an immersed environment , so reading and speaking are the most important skills to master.

You may have heard that Chinese is one of the world's most difficult languages to learn, and indeed, many foreigners struggle with pronunciation and writing characters. However, Chinese grammar is largely straight forward and logical. For example, verbs do not conjugate and tenses can be expressed simply by saying what time an action occurred. If you come to China with no or minimal language skills, you might actually be surprised how quickly you can pick up basic phrases. That was also my case because after six months, I was able to write, speak and even sing in Chinese.

I’ll advice foreign students that when you’re studying in China, you need to take part in many cultural activities and spend your time watching Chinese movies and even listen to the Chinese music, which will help you to improve your Chinese level after such a few times. It is certainly possible to live in China without speaking Chinese, but it can be a struggle and you will need plenty of patience.

2. Interaction with the Chinese:

An integral aspect of any cross-cultural experience is time to interact with citizens of the host country. The China Studies Program includes excellent opportunities for interaction with Chinese, especially teachers and students. During four years, I made deep friendships with Chinese students and teachers, I think we will maintain those friendships long even after returning to my country.

Like other languages, the best way to improve your Chinese or to study here is to live among, and converse with native speakers. Studying in China will give you the opportunity to use and improve your Chinese every single day and you'll be capable of knowing things that are more than what your teachers will be teaching you in the classroom. Mandarin or Putonghua is the official language which is spoken throughout the country. As people from different parts of China bear unique dialects. I’m living in Jinan for three years and trust me, I learn to speak even Jinan dialect only by being with my Chinese friends and classmates or taking part in several TV shows and on. Shandong province is known as one of the original lands of the standard mandarin and is also the birth place of Confucius (the great Chinese ancient philosopher). For my experience, I can tell you that Beijing Language and Cultural University and Shandong University both boast the highest HSK pass rate among Chinese universities and I’m proud of being one student of these two universities.

3. Bachelor degree in Chinese:

I think that everybody will read this part carefully. I can say that studying in university is hard no matter where you are. Doing your degree in a foreign country is even harder, and studying in China in the Chinese language is particularly tough. It is challenging emotionally and academically, and there are no guidelines for surviving.

First Point: Every year more and more foreigners are coming to obtain their bachelor degree in a Chinese University. The popularity, in part, is due to the China Government Scholarship. The scholarship is worth, which covers the university fees, medical insurance and living allowance. But it is not easy as students awarded the scholarship must study Chinese language in an accelerated language program. Like other students, I have passed my HSK 4 just after eight months; one month later I have to be interviewed by a scholarship representative, and I must be ready to start my bachelor degree in China with Chinese students. Of course, you need to study hard, but you cannot spent five years of your life being locked in your room studying Chinese.

So, there it is. If you are doing your bachelor degree in Chinese language at a Chinese University, make sure you turn up early and get everything in on time (regardless of quality); find yourself a Chinese study partner; research the topics in English, French, Spanish, Portuguese, Arabic...if that helps.

Second Point: Now let me tell you that, studying in Chinese is not as hard as we always think. Most of my foreign friends have said, “… Studying in Chinese is not only hard for us, but it’s also hard in absolute terms…If you don’t believe this, just ask a Chinese person.”

I’ve heard this broken record of “Studying in Chinese is the hardest thing to do in China”, so many times over the last three years almost every time I’ve taken it on, I consider it nothing more than the opinion of everyone. Each time the person who tells it to me will be absolutely sure even though they usually have no basis of comparison.

People’s opinion of their own language is clouded by ego, pride and lack of familiarity with other languages in most cases. If the opinion isn’t helpful in any way, discard it as irrelevant.

Studying your major in Chinese is difficult for sure because we are not Chinese speakers, but I can tell you something, my friends: Ignore the scare tactics. Studying in Chinese isn’t as hard as you think. Take it easy – if something challenging comes up, take it in your stride and remember that many people before you mastered this particular point, and that for every aspect of Chinese that you could complain about, those learning every other language in the world have a completely different list of reasons why they should be complaining. You aren’t going to get a medal if you beat someone into admitting that your task is harder than theirs – nobody wins in such competitions.

In conclusion, If you are doing your bachelor degree in Chinese or you’re just learning Chinese, then forget how “damn” hard it is. You’re fooling yourself and you’re wasting time if you think it’s impossible to live and study here in this big country. Stop thinking about it, and focus on learning. It’s not that bad, and when you do conquer some of your biggest challenges on this adventure, then you’ll be ready to use the language with a very large number of interesting people and a pretty huge chunk of this planet.

Having been deep within China, I can confirm that ignoring how hard it is compared to other things that you are not even learning, and focusing on the task at hand instead can get you very far. Come on !