Keats Chinese School Reviews

Truly an unforgettable experience! Everything was fantastic—from the people and the food to the places visited and the progress made in Chinese. I recommend this experience to anyone wishing to immerse themselves in Chinese culture and language within a highly competent, well-prepared, supportive, and stimulating environment! This past month with my teacher, Willow, also led to an unexpected friendship—forged largely through the language—with a truly amazing person who manages to make entire days of lessons fun. An experience I highly recommend to everyone!

I had a lot of fun at KEATS, and Kunming is a beautiful city! The daily activities were a great avenue to not only experience Chinese culture, but make friends with fellow students. Classes are engaging, dynamic, and fast paced, and every student received personal instruction from the teacher, even in group classes.
Kunming’s weather is great, spring-like weather for my whole stay, without either sweltering heatwaves or cold days, making every outdoor activity comfortable. There are countless wonderful spots to explore around town, and my favorite place I’ve seen is Green Lake Park (Cuihu), a peaceful garden in the city center with clear lake water, ancient bridges and lush plant life I don’t see in the states.

I spent a wonderful 7 weeks studying Chinese with Keats program. I chose to study one on one in different small towns in Yunnan. My teacher, Du Laoshi, was very flexible and let me choose what I wanted to focus on. Our first lesson, she reviewed the Chinese pronunciation of Pinyin and tones. She corrected me when I made mistakes and this helped me a lot. I brought my old textbooks that I used before so we could review grammar and vocabulary. I wanted to learn songs and she found the music and shared videos I could watch and also wrote the lyrics in Pinyin and English for me. Later, we ordered books of children's stories and idioms. Each place we went was unique and beautiful! We started in Puzhehei, which was full of lotus blossoms, then Jianshui which had a lot of history and felt very authentic. Then, we went to Pu'er to Jingmaishan where tea and mountains felt like heaven! After, I opted for a week break with a tour of Dali, Lijiang and Shangrila. I wish I had a week in both Lijiang and Dali! So cool and beautiful! After, I spent a week in Tengchong which I would definitely go back to. The old town is lovely and the views so peaceful. Finally, my last week of studying was in the Miao village. It was on a hillside and I climbed up and down 200 stairs everyday, but it was worth it! My last week is a tour of Chengdu. Everywhere is so much to see and lots of domestic tourism, but it is an experience of a lifetime. I can't wait to come back again and see more of this beautiful country!

I have been taking online classes with Keats for over 5 years, and have spent well over 2 years with Pi-laoshi. i was so happy to finally meet her in person and truly experience life in Kunming. Our lessons are always fun, relevant, and challenging. Additionally, Pi-laoshi was always available for questions related to navigating daily life as a foreigner in mainland China. At her recommendation I visited Cuihu lake, the Botanical Garden, Heilongtan, and a number of beautiful cafes and bookstores, all of which I was able to visit with the language skills she helped me develop to ask for directions, make small talk with locals, and navigate the public transit system.

Additionally, the extracurriculars and events at Keats make our learning experience even more meaningful. Keats offers living accommodations as well as daily meals for all of their students, which is not only thoughtful but fosters student camaraderie. Kunming is such a beautiful city and for anyone who is interested in visiting while also learning Chinese I highly recommend the Keats school program.

Thank you Pi-laoshi and thank you Keats school for this wonderful experience. I only wish that we could have shared more time together!

Overall, this programme has exceeded my expectations! It is a perfect blend of language learning and learning about Chinese culture. All of the activities were dynamic and well organised. Through this programme, I was able to greatly expand my Chinese vocabulary. Furthermore, this programme helped me understand Chinese culture and how life is in China beyond the headlines. In conclusion, this programme is perfect for young people who want to experience something new while learning a new language.

Ich war drei Wochen lang in Kunming an der Keats School. Angekommen bin ich ohne jegliche Sprachkenntnisse, nach drei Wochen habe ich HSK1 erreicht (und bin sehr nah an HSK2).

Kunming hat mir sehr gut gefallen. Im Gegensatz zu den großen, bekannten Städten Chinas ist es hier viel entspannter. Die Einheimischen sind aufgeschlossen und freundlich, außerdem spricht fast niemand Englisch. Mir hat das sehr geholfen, da ich dadurch mein neues Wissen sofort verwenden konnte. Im Notfall hat aber natürlich sowieso jeder eine Übersetzungsapp. Schön an Kunming ist auch die wunderschöne Natur und die Nähe zu Städten wie Dali, sodass man am Wochenende gut die Gegend erkunden kann.

Die Schule ist gut strukturiert, mit hellen Klassenzimmern und vielfältigen Kursangeboten wie Kleingruppenunterricht oder Einzelstunden. Ich habe zusätzlich auch Kalligraphieunterricht genommen, der mir sehr gut gefallen hat. Die Lehrmaterialien sind aufeinander abgestimmt, und das Personal kümmert sich zuverlässig um alle organisatorischen Belange. Abends gibt es vielfältige Angebote für alle SchülerInnen. So lernt man - wenn man möchte - die anderen SchülerInnen näher kennen.

Meine Lehrkraft war absolut genial. Der Unterricht war exakt auf mein Niveau und meine Bedürfnisse angepasst. Am Anfang war Chinesisch für mich ein absolutes Rätsel, aber meine Lehrkraft konnte mir wirklich jede meiner zahlreichen Fragen beantworten. Ganz ehrlich, ich werde den Unterricht wirklich vermissen! Ich hätte mir keinen besseren Start ins Lernen wünschen können.

Ich empfehle die Schule allen, die solide Chinesischkenntnisse in einer immersiven Umgebung erwerben wollen.

I leant a lot during class. The exposure to Chinese culture and language helped me learn and improve a lot. The food at the school was good and the rooms were cozy. The school provided a variation of afternoon activities such as going to night markets and sight seeing and the whole trip was a lot of fun.
Kunming is a beautiful city which feels very green and vibrant. I would definitely recommend visiting.Yunnan snacks taste incredible. I love shengjian buns and cross‑the‑bridge noodles most.
Moreover, my Chinese teacher is helpful. She arranges outdoor lessons so that I practise Chinese in real‑life situations.
I make steady progress in listening and speaking.
In short, I feel happy and fulfilled while living and studying in Kunming.b

Course, the town itself, climate, grennpark, restaurants.
Kunming is a wonderful city. First of all, its climate is really comfortable. The weather is pleasant almost all‑year‑round without extreme heat or cold.
The town‑centre looks beautiful. Modern buildings and traditional‑style houses mix nicely here.
There are many green parks around the city. Green Lake Park is very famous. You can drink coffee beside Green Lake and relax yourself.
Lots of nice‑quality restaurants provide different kinds of delicious food.
Besides, the Chinese course here is fantastic. I learn useful knowledge and make great progress during the course. Overall, I enjoy staying in Kunming very much.

The experience at Keats Kunming campus was great because it is a complete package: everything from arrival to accomodation and social activities is arranged by the school, so you can focus on learning and improving your Chinese.

Intensive teaching really helped me advance and make progress in my language skills. The 1:1 environment allowed to tailor to my interests and focus on my learning gaps.

The school is very supportive and there are also a lot of opportunities to meet others and have a great time while learning.

My stay at Keats School was an unforgettable experience. I improved my Chinese every day through engaging classes, patient teachers, and constant practice with classmates from different countries. The supportive environment made learning enjoyable and boosted my confidence in speaking Mandarin. The cultural activities, local excursions, and opportunities to interact with native speakers helped me understand both the language and Chinese culture. The staff was always friendly and willing to help. I would highly recommend Keats School to anyone who wants to learn Chinese in an immersive, welcoming, and motivating environment. It was truly a life-changing journey that exceeded expectations.