Besides Language Courses at Tsinghua, most find it helpful to get outside language stimulation as well, such as buying books, getting a language partner, hiring a tutor, and etc. The following are some common methods most students employ to get the most of their language learning immersion in China. 

Language Partner 

This is someone that you meet with regularly to speak for the purpose of language exchange. Usually your language partner will want to be your partner so that he/she can practice in your language and you can practice in their language (Chinese). Some partnerships are a combination of you speaking in the language you are trying to learn, while they correct you in the language they are trying to learn (which is your language) and you correct them. There are of course other successful ways. This is usually the most popular method at first because of its casual nature and free cost.

How to Find a Language Partner:

• Ask a teacher for help
• Contact AICE This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it
• Attend Chinese Corner 中文角 （zhōngwénjiǎo) , keep an eye for posted ads, their meeting place changes periodically
• Scan bulletin boards for personal ads

Tutors: 

A tutor is probrably the best supplemental resource for studying Chinese. Unlike a language partner, the entire time you interact with a tutor, it will be devoted to helping you. During my stay at Tsinghua's Language Program (Fall 06 to Spring 07), we had a good tutor whom we paid a rate of 20-25 RMB per hour.  Your rate may vary.

To find a tutor:

• Ask a teacher
• Ask friends
• Contact AICE
• Look at campus bulletin boards
• Visit BLCU (Beijing Language and Culture University) and look at their bulletin boards 

Special Note on getting close with native Chinese people:

Experience has it, amongst foreign students, to be wary of getting too close, too fast, to natives that you don't know too well, such as language partners, tutors or new friends. Oftentimes foreigners may think it is a true friendship budding, but watch for signs of ulterior motives, such as the native just wants you for free meals and entertainment, to be cool, getting your family to be a foreign host for them, and even marriage for a foreign citizenship.

Tsinghua & Beijing University students tend to have less such motivations, but students from other non-brand name schools or people who are not students, that come and participate in on-campus activities (such as Chinese Corner), where they can meet foreigners, usually are more worrisome.

A good tip-off to try, if your language partner/friend is of the opposite sex, invite a friend along of that sex, and see if your language partner/friend ignores him/her or acts less than friendly or warm.

Extra Classes: 

Extra classes offered by programs not affiliated with Tsinghua University can sometimes help you fine tune and hone you weaknesses into strengths. Global Village Language Academy (地球村 dìquícūn) by WuDaoKou is a good place for those types of specific training courses. This place is especially popular for HSK studies.

HSK: 

The Chinese Proficiency Test, commonly known as HSK, is a standardized test for foreigners. The test scores reflect the level of proficiency in Chinese by a foreign student. Though this test has become very much a cash cow and oftentimes the content of the test has little relevance to what you will actually need to know in real within China, some places still require these test scores. HSK results help determine university entrance and some jobs may require it.

More detailed information on HSK 

Bookstores: 

Books in China are extremely cheap. Beware if you buy from a street cart that sometimes a chapter might be missing, repeated or some other strange thing might happen. The HSK bookstore is a popular place for students in WuDaoKou. They offer 20% off all books in the store and are located by the Jingyu Hotel. This is also the bookstore that Tsinghua Language Students get their textbooks from. There is also the large 3-4 story Haidian Bookstore in Haidian District near Zhongguancun.

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