not sure if you mean a formal program or what, but berlitz seems to be the most well regarded by many accounts i think...pricy though...

i did part-time night school classes for a term at a local college which weren't bad, but required discipline which i don't have much of...most universities should have some sort of extension program classes too...

what about coming to china and doing a summer program? mught be a bit late to sign up for something like that, but they are generally quite cheap...friend is doing one in beijing now, 6 hours a day, 5 days a week with lots of homework, at a chinese university program for foreigners...the cost is about $1500US for a 4 month term, but you get 100% tuition refunded of you score over 90% as your final grade, which my friend is on target to do...

learning at home, another well regarded program locally in china is: www.chinapod.com
put together by a bunch pf foreigners, its been a runaway success here for people who use it as filler in their busy schedules...you manage what you want to learn, when, and how quickly...if i wasn't leaving china, i'd sign up and take my language to another level with a method that really works for me...

I've been using Pimsleur "Tapes" to learn Mandarin. From what I heard the Pimsleur method was developed so that CIA agents could learn a given language fairly quickly. After going through the first level (30 lessons @ 30 minutes each) I found that I picked it up pretty fast. They use a question and answer method so instead of just repeating what they say they teach you how to say it first and then at various times in context they ask you to say something in Mandarin before they give you the "answer" so you actually have to start thinking in the language (that was a run-on sentence and I don't know if it made any sense).

To make a long story short, nothing beats practicing with a real person or in context (China) but if you want to pick it up quickly without spending too much time (3 levels @ 30 lessons each @ 30 minutes/ lesson) Pimsleur is the way to go.

thank you guys. Yes i am thinking of attending a "formal program", either by language schools or universities. I might be able to learn better in the classroom setting...

To learn Chinese language scientifically and properly you need to study abroad in China. Apparently it may sounds odd. But while you'll mix with their culture you feel easy enough to learn their language. So in my suggestion just log on the site http://www.mindsabroad.com/ and get info. on proper Chinese learning and get ready to go for China.

HI jimi20,

Your input is valuable. The site is attractive, has a lot information. It seems that their program is really appealing.

I really like their travel part. Never hear of Yunnan before, but it makes me want study there. However I need to confirm with them some more details before I make my decision...

Thank you...