Different school of thought

Jeremie Rossignol's Hutong School in Beijing provides Chinese language teaching and internship opportunities for European students. [Zhu Xingxin / China Daily]

Frenchman sets up first European-run Chinese language school in the capital

With only a 20,000 yuan (2,300 euros) budget and a few friends in support, Jeremie Rossignol followed his dream and started his own business in a traditional courtyard house in one of Beijing's classic hutong. His group of young foreigners wanted to set up a school that offered Chinese language, culture lessons and internship opportunities in a unique China setting. At that time, in 2004, there were not many foreigners offering such a service.

Rossignol saw a need for such a niche business because although he lived in China two years earlier as an intern at the French embassy, he felt he had only scratched the surface of the local culture.

"Though I really appreciated the culture here I was too busy to integrate into the society," he says. "So after finishing my higher education in France, I came back to Beijing to open the school to help foreigners to truly adapt to Chinese society."

The Hutong School is very much a labor of love for everybody involved. According to management, it is the only fully licensed Chinese language school in Beijing under European ownership. Today it is filled with Westerners looking for internships and opportunities to learn the most spoken (and resume-boosting) language in the world.

A class has about four to five students who are given about 20 hours of Chinese classes a week as well as the opportunity to work as an intern in a business in Beijing. They get a taste of the city life by joining in weekly cultural immersion.

"Most of our activities are free. Students can be exposed to traditional Chinese culture such as calligraphy and the game of Go. And they can learn how to cook Chinese food. During weekends, we organize hikes and the Great Wall is a frequent destination," says the 33-year-old.

Learning Mandarin is a priority for many newcomers to China and the school offers different programs to suit different needs. Tuition varies from one-on-one classes from 110 yuan an hour to group classes of 50 yuan to 60 yuan an hour.

Thirty European businesses as well as a number of European chambers of commerce are linked with the Hutong School and help provide internship opportunities for students. The school also provides accommodation through a partner company, which has a portfolio of about 20 apartments.

Students are mostly European and say the school is a great first step into their China journey.

"The Hutong School teachers made my time in Beijing great and brought me much closer to China and its culture," says German Ulrike Trepte. "Very soon I felt at home in Beijing and wanted to stay longer."

Rossignol says there are students from different ages and backgrounds.

"We have a representative in Ireland, who manages promotion and helps students in Britain and Ireland come to study in Beijing."

Like many of the students, Rossignol had an interest in the Middle Kingdom before coming to China.

"I was studying law at university but after graduation, I wanted to experience more about different cultures because I loved travel and was eager to know more about other countries. So I enrolled in international relations in a higher education school.

"Although I had learned Chinese at that school for one year, I really did not know much about China. The language raised my interest during the study period, I started to be curious about China."

It was this curiosity that brought him to Beijing to open the school and develop it as an expanding business.

"I am the co-founder and co-owner of the school. As the chairman, I only focus on the development prospect of our school, rather than the daily issues," he says.

Now the school has a branch in Beijing's Sanlitun, an area with many popular bar streets and international stores. While his courtyard location is popular, it has been a good move to expand to Sanlitun.

He says the new working place provides staff a comfortable and convenient environment and small classrooms for students.

"Besides the management of the school, we have foreign staff here to work on internship business and other issues. We have an international team to support our students. We even arrange accommodation for them while they are in Beijing. So I can say, when our students enroll in our school, they do not need to worry about their study, work or living."

With such a multicultural team, Rossignol says the Chinese language sometimes comes in handy. "During our meeting, we often talk in English, since it is the international language in the world although neither mine nor many staffers' native language is English.

"But if anyone in the meeting cannot speak English, I speak Chinese, though I learned the language mostly by myself. I cannot read or write much, but I can handle daily conversation and business negotiations in Chinese," he says.

Equipped with Mandarin-speaking skills and seven years' experience living in Beijing, Rossignol says he still faces challenges in China.

"When I see something that I really cannot appreciate, I just make fun of it because I cannot change it.

"For example, as an European I am accustomed to solve problems directly. When I start a meeting, I prefer to let everybody talk and then find the way to tackle troubles. But here in China participants in a meeting like to beat around the bush. But surprisingly, the result is quite good. Everybody knows what to do and does it efficiently. "

With the business growing well, the ambitious man is planning to open a branch of the Hutong School in Shanghai in February of 2012.

"I hope to open more schools in China and all over the world," he says.