Chinese Programs in Shanghai&Suzhou with Silk Mandarin

I studied HSK2 and 3 with Silk Mandarin online from the US, then came to Shanghai in person for HSK4. I am currently taking HSK5 with them in Shanghai. They are a really great school, and my language skills have improved tremendously. I studied Mandarin previously at an American university and found that Silk's methods of teaching grammar are far better. The teachers are all really nice and encouraging. This is so helpful for a language course, as I can practice speaking without being afraid to make mistakes. The school also prepares students really well for taking the official HSK exams; I just passed HSK4 on my first try.

In addition, the experience abroad itself has been amazing. Silk set up housing for me, helped me get a Chinese visa and even picked me up at the airport. They've offered many fun cultural opportunities to meet with students from other language classes, including mahjong lessons, karaoke, and trips to hotpot restaurants.

Most importantly for me, having a motivating and friendly teacher - Qíying did a great job.

Besides that, I like the learning platform and materials provided. Support for homework is always provided by my private group chat with the institute. The slow motion technique helped me a lot to understand sentence structures.

Overall I can recommend Silk Mandarin to anyone who's looking to start their Chinese language journey. I'd choose it again - also to continue one day on my language skills.

Silk Mandarin is an excellent chinese language school from all the standpoints. From the study plan to the amazing teachers. The study plan is tailored on the single person and the teacher focus on your capabilities helping you to go through learning difficulties increasing your strenghts. Plus they provide a very good package of multimedial materials that is very helpful for learning such a difficult langhage. If you choose Silk Mandarin you are going to learn from the best in the fastest way with a lot of fun!

From June to the end of November, I attended an online HSK1 course. The course was held once a week. We started with three students, but due to health reasons, one of the students could no longer attend, so in the end, there were only two of us left. This made the course very intensive.

The organization of the school was perfect. They managed to quickly set up a Sunday course. Additionally, the staff was always available to answer any questions.

I studied with Jane 老师 . I had an excellent experience because we studied in a relaxed and very friendly atmosphere. Moreover, Jane 老师 is very kind and extremely competent. With great patience, she guided us through learning pinyin and always answered our questions with kindness.

In a short time, I was able to construct simple but very useful sentences for everyday conversations.
谢谢 , Jane 老师!

I had a week of intensive 1on1 course with Silk Mandarin.
Coming in with practically zero knowledge, I can read pinyin now, understand the tones and even can put together simple sentences.
They have a great set of learning materials with videos, audios, and quizzes, so you can self-study at home and get much more out of your course.
My teacher Jane was very knowledgeable, engaging and friendly, which made the classes really enjoyable.
The other teachers and school stuff are also very nice and friendly people, which creates a very good atmosphere.
Overall, definitely recommended!

Before studying at silk mandarin I was experiencing many difficulties regarding my sentence structure and my listening and speaking ability. My sentences were disorganised and misunderstood by others. I was able to read some basic texts, but unable to comprehend their meaning in real time.

Before my departure to Shanghai, I was frantically polling anyone I knew that had ties to China about in-person language schools. However, all the recommendations were either online-based or located outside of Shanghai. While reading online forums, the name ‘Silk Mandarin’ kept appearing. I emailed multiple Shanghai-based schools, but found that Silk Mandarin was by far the most responsive. After a quick online assessment of my current ability, they provided detailed study options.

The intensive HSK3 course really accelerated my learning journey. I found that every lesson logically built upon the previous one, and it teaches Mandarin in a modern and practical way, unlike many outdated textbooks.

They use many unique teaching methods and provide you with an established mandarin-speaking community that I otherwise may not have had in my short stay in Shanghai. Silk Mandarin organised my routine into intense-three hour classes in the morning, establishing a solid allocation of my day in which to routinely learn and practise mandarin. The small class sizes make it impossible to hide, encouraging all students to interact evenly with the content. I was especially impressed by the capability of my teacher, Jane Wu. She is patient, easy going, and shows genuine interest in your background. This creates many opportunities to practise speaking mandarin in a more natural way. Creating a great environment to learn Mandarin.

I’ll be the first to admit that I still have a long way to go on the road to fluency, but Silk Mandarin has helped to form a solid foundation which I can I build on.
I would be quick to recommend Silk Mandarin to any aspiring students.

I took both HSK 2 and HSK 3 with Jane 老师 at Silk Mandarin.

Jane 老师 was not only incredibly knowledgeable (always had an answer to any grammar question, and her English is impeccable which helped with explanations of concepts and accurate translations).

Upon starting HSK3 I didn’t believe Jane when she said I’d know hundreds of Characters in about 2 months time, but here I am, I just finished my HSK3 exam. Thank you @Jane老师 and @SilkMandarin!

What sold me on SilkMandarin vs other schools I’ve been to, is that Silk doesn’t waste your time. You get perfectly structured preparation and review materials so that you can focus on PRACTICAL APPLICATION during class rather than reading a textbook. This is what sets Silk apart from many other schools and/or studying with online HSK videos.

Jane老师 created such a productive and fun classroom environment that made class so enjoyable and always something to look forward to despite having a full work schedule. Sometimes I doubted my abilities to make it through the challenging parts, and if ai had studied alone I’m almost certain I would’ve given up. But Jane老师 helped me succeed by being compassionate, motivating and encouraging. Having such a skilled teacher is absolutely priceless!

And the icing on the cake: Besides the classes there is also optional group outings and activities. We played Mahjong, ate Hotpot and shared many fun coffee breaks together. Jane老师 and other teachers would always be there to assist with real-life application of the language.

Thank you @Jane老师 and @SilkMandarin for bringing me to HSK 3 level in such a short time and which so many meaningful and memorable moments on the way. 100% worth it, 100% recommended.

My experience with Silk Mandarin was excellent from the start.
I started speaking to Amy first and she really took the time to understand my goals, assess my skill level, and patiently answered all my questions.
I took the intensive HSK3 course with Jane, an experienced teacher who structured the lessons well and was able to explain complicated grammar structures in a way that was easy to understand (also, her English was great which helped). The best part about the classes was all the practical speaking and listening exercises which I think is what really propelled my learning and confidence in the language.
Jane knows the HSK curriculum so well - it really helped that she could pick the right level of words and grammar to incorporate into conversations and give us the best opportunities to practice.
The teachers and staff created a fun and engaging learning environment. Breaks were great for practicing what we had learned with other students and teachers, and we often went out for lunch together after class, which allowed us to experience more local culture and food.