Silk Mandarin Logo

Silk Mandarin Language School

Why choose Silk Mandarin Language School?

We at Silk Mandarin believe that understanding each other’s language and culture unites people. It is our mission to teach Mandarin and Chinese culture to all who have an interest in it, whatever their ambition, background or age, and wherever they are.

Since we opened our doors early 2015, our ground-breaking Slow Motion Technique has proven to be the key to learn Mandarin faster and with fun. Our high quality teaching and service has helped thousands of students to reach their learning goal and turned their dreams into reality.

Silk Mandarin offers flexible learning with online and offline classes, intensives and part-time courses, and Chinese camps for kids in Shanghai and Suzhou. Experience our innovative Blended Learning, the perfect combination of video classes and face-to-face sessions.

Founded
2015

Reviews

Default avatar
Davide
5/5
Yes, I recommend this program

Great experience - suitable for europeans

I've been studying at Silk Mandarin for approximately two months, and as my time here concludes, I want to share my positive experience.
Silk Mandarin has been instrumental in organizing my journey to China, and their welcoming and supportive approach made the transition seamless.

The staff is genuinely welcoming, and the teachers' dedication, coupled with a well-structured curriculum, fostered a positive and effective learning environment.

I highly recommend Silk Mandarin for anyone considering language studies in China. It has been a rewarding experience, and I am grateful for the support they provided.

What is your advice to future travelers on this program?
They will help you a lot and make the trip to China safe and easy
Default avatar
Lucia
5/5
Yes, I recommend this program

Flexible and Adaptable

I undertook Chinese classes for a period of three months, and the experience was incredibly beneficial. The classes were tailored to my specific needs, taking into consideration aspects related to my job. This personalized approach added a practical dimension to the learning process, making it directly applicable to my professional context.
A notable feature of the classes was their flexibility. My teacher, Christina, demonstrated a willingness to adapt the schedule and content to accommodate my learning pace and preferences.
I've found my classes at Silk Mandarin Language School really helpful for improving my Chinese. I highly recommend Silk Mandarin Language School to anyone who wants to learn Chinese effectively.

Default avatar
Felix
5/5
Yes, I recommend this program

Awesome Experience with Silk Mandarin!

Mandarin Chinese is a very distant language from my mother tongue. After nearly two years of weekly classes, I struggled to construct long sentences. My writing and listening improved, but I needed help to express more complex and informative ideas.
I was looking for a school, and a friend recommended Silk Mandarin to me as she has been a student for the last two years at their school and praised the high standards and enthusiasm of the teachers. After contacting one of their staff members, I quickly understood that Silk Mandarin was a well-organised school with various teaching plans that could be rapidly adapted to my schedule. The one-on-one class perfectly matched my preferences, and the online platform provided all the material to study at my own pace outside of class hours.
Silk Mandarin made a massive difference in my daily learning of the Chinese language. The school provided me with listening, audio, and visual material beforehand to prepare for each lesson. Following the class, the teacher adapted each homework according to my progression with an efficient review for me to understand my mistakes. Furthermore, the teacher was always available to answer my questions and inquiries.
One of the most surprising experiences was the online teaching. I was initially sceptical about having one-on-one teaching lessons entirely online. On the contrary, the online platform allowed unique learning tools, which enhanced the overall quality of the teaching. Another aspect was the teaching methodology of the Slow-Motion Technique. As I always had difficulty in Chinese to organise sentences grammatically, the Slow-Motion Technique set the guidelines to establish the order of each character. With the excellent methodology provided by my teacher, it is far easier for me to learn and understand the Chinese language.
I strongly recommend Silk Mandarin for any student wishing to improve their language skills, succeed in standardised HSK examinations, or have their first experience with Mandarin Chinese. I guarantee it will open a whole new world of knowledge and opportunities.

Default avatar
Abbass
5/5
Yes, I recommend this program

Online Chinese Lessons were Excellent!

I came into Silk Mandarin without knowing much Chinese. And after completing the course, I can definitely see improvements within a short amount of time. My teacher (Christina) answered all of my questions that I had and provided me even with external resources to aid in learning Mandarin. Classin (Teachable) is also a great platform that worked really well.
For an online school, it's very organized and the videos aided with the lessons. Hoping to continue my Mandarin learning journey with Silk Mandarin.

What would you improve about this program?
Everything was good!
Pros
  • Flexibility
  • Expertise
  • Availability
Cons
  • none
Default avatar
Michael
4/5
Yes, I recommend this program

Accommodating and Relaxed Atmosphere

Silk Mandarin has a nice and convenient location in downtown Shanghai and is very accommodating to all language levels and all schedules. They provide the HSK books for use in class and the workbooks for test practice. They also provide classes twice a week, every day, and even online classes for whichever is best suited for you. The teaching and marketing team are all friendly and welcoming and are willing to assist you in any way they can. Silk Mandarin utilises a blended learning method where online materials are used prior to class to present new vocabulary and grammar and then you get the chance to practice using it all in lessons with your teacher and classmates. It’s a relaxed atmosphere for learning and a good way to build up your proficiency.

Programs

Displaying 1 - 3 of 3

Alumni Interviews

These are in-depth Q&A sessions with verified alumni.

Matthew Fidler

Matthew Fidler has lived and worked as an educator in the cities of Shanghai, Taipei, and Suzhou. He has a great interest in studying Chinese culture, history, and (of course) language. He began studying Mandarin at National Taiwan Normal University and thanks to assistance from teachers at NTNU and Silk Mandarin has achieved success in the HSK exams.

Interview

Why did you choose this program?

When I arrived in Suzhou for work I wanted to expand on my Chinese reading, writing, speaking and listening. To that end, I needed a school which would be willing to go beyond simple conversational lessons and be willing to help me with my reading and writing as well. In addition, because I was working, I required an institution capable of working around my busy schedule. During my first visit to their facilities I was very impressed by the professionalism of Silk Mandarin’s staff and the quality of their instructional materials. I knew that it was the right place to achieve my goals.

What did your program provider (or university) assist you with, and what did you have to organize on your own?

Since I was already living and working in Suzhou I thought there weren’t many things I needed my school to set up for me. However, my program still assisted me with many things to facilitate my language learning. My school provided textbooks and workbooks, as well as access to their library of graded readers. Most conveniently, when the time came, they arraigned for me to take the HSK test appropriate to my level and handled the shipping and reception of my official scores. I was responsible for helping to select a class and homework schedule which worked for both me and my teacher.

What is one piece of advice you'd give to someone going on your program?

Do not allow setbacks to become disasters! Learning any language is difficult and learning a language with a completely different writing system is doubly so. I personally had many situations where poor pronunciation or imperfect use of grammar led to a misunderstanding in my daily life in China. This can lead to a decrease in your motivation to learn and a decrease in your practice time. Fortunately I had a great teacher who worked hard to reignite my passion for Chinese and this kept my motivation from fading away. The only way to fail at learning a language is by giving up!

What does an average day/week look like as a participant of this program?

The average day or week in this program varies based on the needs and situation of the student. For my part I attended an individual class three times a week for two hours before heading off to my workplace. Students with a less hectic schedule can opt for longer group classes and can take advantage of the many recreational and cultural events that the school organises for weekends and holidays. Still, no matter your schedule, there are always opportunities to interact with staff and other students as part of the Silk Mandarin community.

Going into your experience abroad, what was your biggest fear, and how did you overcome it? How did your views on the issue change?

My biggest fear in going abroad was that I would not be accepted into a community and that I would fail in my language learning goals. My language program and the welcoming people of China helped me overcome these fears. I always felt like I was part of a learning community among my fellow students and my accommodating teachers. When you have people you can ask questions to and bounce ideas off of the day to day difficulties of living abroad become much more manageable. My fear of failure was further mollified as I saw my conversations with locals become more fluid and comprehensible. Over time I started to view interacting in Chinese not as a frightening prospect, but as a fun and helpful way to test knowledge and learn new ways of communicating.

How did this program accommodate your unique learning style and language goals?

Silk Mandarin was extremely focused on my goals from the outset: when I explained that I wanted to pass HSK tests within a certain timeframe they immediately started working out a study plan to get me where I wanted to be when I wanted to be there. As my unique weaknesses and strengths started to become apparent my teacher adjusted our activities in class. For example in order to address my low HSK listening scores much more time was spent on listening practice. What’s more, as time went on and my priorities shifted my teacher was willing and able to help me with new goals and ambitions. A good example of this is when I wanted to become more proficient in writing Chinese characters from memory and so my teacher assigned and even graded additional writing practice on top of the program’s standard workbook homework. The flexibility and individual care I received is perhaps what I found most impressive about Silk Mandarin’s program.

Staff Interviews

These are in-depth Q&A sessions with program leaders.

Cong Meng

Job Title
Teacher
8 years of Chinese teaching experience since graduating. Worked for some places Chinese training institutes like Mandarin Morning and Mandarin House, also a Chinese intensive program at Shanghai University of Finance and Economics.
Cong Meng with brunette hair and red lipstick smiling with her head resting on her arms

What is your favorite travel memory?

I have lots of travel memory, but my favorite travel memory was the trip to Chengdu & Chongqing in 2016.

That was my first time travel to see my net friends. Chengdu &Chongqing were such big difference from my hometown. The foods, the people, the life, the traffic left me a really deep impression.

How have you changed/grown since working for your current company?

I feel like I changed a lot compare to the beginning. When I just join Silk Mandarin, I only want to do is just have classes, I really didn't want to join any school activities. As time changed, I changed my opinion, activities really can help our students to enjoy real Chinese life and they have more chances to practice their Chinese not only in class. I'm also studying hard for myself about more fun teaching skills to be a popular teacher.

What is the best story you've heard from a return student?

Recently I have a student who's from the United States. When I first received her informations, I was surprised that her Chinese was quite good. I was so curious that how she learned Chinese in only one year. And she told me she learned Chinese only because she watched a very popular TV show called <Mó Dào Zǔ Shī>, and she was really be attracted in that world what the story built. And one of the main actors was also her style. So she really wants to know the real Chinese culture.

If you could go on any program that your company offers, which one would you choose and why?

I would like to choose product development program. As time changing, the way people learning also needs to be changed. A smart learning way is becoming more and more important. I want to find out more interesting products to help Silk's students's Chinese learning.

Although this would be a big challenge to me, but I would like to try.

What makes your company unique? When were you especially proud of your team?

I have a lot of different experiences before I worked for my current company. I do have to say, a good company needs to have a wise boss!! I have seen many different types of bosses, and I really like Silk's bosses. They really have a very clear goal and a very clear steps to made us achieve this goal. They also know us well, and always understand us. I think it was the time when we had our yearly summarize meeting this March. Specially I've heard a lot of institutes closed at 2020, but we still did our best last year. This really made me proud of my team.

What do you believe to be the biggest factor in being a successful company?

I believe that in being a successful company, we need have a very clear mission. And need to have a very clear way to achieve this mission step by step.

At Silk Mandarin, we are all good partners. We always have passions for working and living. You can always feel friendly, Kindly, warm-hearted, and help from your colleagues. And these will also make you enjoy your work.