Program Reviews

Three words: you won’t regret it :) I perused Reddit and message boards for a couple months before deciding upon LTL; small classes with option of 1:1 tutoring, practical learning that could be immediately applied to daily life, and frequent opportunities for cultural experiences and hanging out with peers (new friends!) drew me in. The staff were friendly and helpful with the start. Greta answered my plethora of questions, set up my schedule, and Alin had a video call with me before starting to assess my current Mandarin abilities in order to place me at the right level of class. Their personable attitudes extended to the teachers and other students and I was surprisingly assuaged upon arriving. My classes have ranged from 2-4 students which is comparatively small compared to other schools I looked into, and provides much more individual attention and learning capacity. All teachers have been effective and lovely, and all have their own style which shapes a holistic learning experience: Alice takes us on helpful deviations from the book so that we can apply the lessons to everyday life in Taipei, and supplements it with games and additional phrases and vocabulary of common situations; Sissi is proficient at deconstructing grammar and sentences so that we internalize their roots and logic; Tammy conducts classes in Mandarin for an immersive experience. All have welcoming friendly demeanours while balancing strict corrections to ensure our pronunciation and grammar is as native as possible. Greta and Alin have remained indispensable as I extend my classes (3 months total) and Riona has made our time outside of class especially enjoyable by corralling us to different spots for daily lunches, dinner, cultural spot, or activity excursions, and the occasional party and holiday gathering. Highly recommend!

Great school, Riona and co made it a very welcoming community that I looked forward to going to everyday with daily lunches and occasional social activities. I had daily 4 hour 1-1 lessons with teachers Shu and Zhang and have made huge progress. Teacher Shu is very experienced allowing me to improve very quickly, while teacher Zhang has helped me correct mistakes and have lively conversations.

Through my intro call with Alin I was able to customize the lessons to my needs - forgoing learning to write, and making the transition from simplified to traditional Chinese, which was not too bad.

I did a 3 month program with LTL Language School in Chengdu. All teachers and staff at LTL Chengdu were great! Since the beginning I felt welcomed and included in all activities that took place. I am grateful to my teacher Panpan. She is professional and friendly at the same time. She was enthusiastic in every class which made classes a lot of fun but also ensured that lessons matched my learning pace. Panpan was a huge support inside and outside of the class. I am also thankful to Giulia, who was a great help as I navigated many things while being in China for the first time. I am glad I choose LTL Chengdu. It was a memorable experience. I highly recommend LTL Chengdu.

My journey to Chengdu for immersive study with LTL has been an incredibly positive and rewarding decision. From the very beginning, the personalized approach has made all the difference. My teacher, Pan Pan, exemplifies this perfectly; she is exceptionally attentive and dedicated, actively experimenting with different learning styles and techniques to discover what truly works best for me as an individual student. She has a remarkable talent for breaking down complex concepts, which makes the entire learning process feel engaging and, most importantly, surprisingly simple.

After just one intensive week here, I am genuinely excited by the progress I can already see in my Mandarin ability. As an HSK 3 level student, that sense of forward momentum is incredibly motivating. Combining Pan Pan's expert instruction with the full language immersion of living in Chengdu creates an ideal environment for rapid improvement. I am thoroughly enjoying the experience and look forward to every lesson.

I’ve been studying at LTL Shanghai for the past two and a half months. Prior to coming my mandarin was A1+ level, with some prior experience, however in the short time I have studied at LTL, I’ve already reached B2. The environment is very friendly and welcoming and I’ve gotten to know many people from around the world. My teachers Anne and Katniss have been so helpful on my journey, especially Anne, who is also my 1-on-1 teacher. Thanks to their guidance my mandarin has improved so much and I’m much more confident in my speaking ability.

I did two weeks of classes at LTL in Taipei and had an extremely positive experience. I stayed with a host mother and daughter and found that, compared to a previous school I'd been to without a homestay, it helped a huge amount with language progress – living with them and travelling in by train to school each day, I was surprised by how quickly I felt that I was living a real life there. I did 4-hour group classes each morning, and had lovely teachers – Chienyi, Thomas and Tammy. The class was small too (three other students, and on some days only two), so I got a lot out of these. Then I did two hours of 1-to-1 tuition each afternoon with Jessica, and these were some of the very best classes I’ve ever had: the time flew by because the conversations were always so stimulating, and yet used very little English. Jessica was clearly skilled at gauging a student’s level and then tailoring to suit that. Alin set everything up smoothly and professionally in the weeks before arrival. And in Taipei, Riona was fun and generous – always setting up activities and outings, and escorting students to a different eatery for lunch almost every day of the week. Highly recommend this school. And it’s a breeze to jump on the train after class and head to nearby Elephant Mountain to see the sunset!

You know it’s often stressful doing these kinds of things overseas, finding accomodation and wondering about whether you’ll fit into the social scene. But all my fears were forgotten immediately! What a fun experience I’ve had in China — made possible through the people and education I’ve met and received at LTL. The biggest of thanks to my main teacher Anne in Shanghai, she was incredible and I certainly hope to visit again soon for more lessons, and of course to Katniss as well. Both were just incredible. Of course, it wasn’t long before I started meeting people from other classes - especially the other staff who were lovely (and Jason, many thanks for taking the students out to different spots). I wasn’t in a homestay, but I wouldn’t hesitate to do it considering what I’ve heard, just convenient that I had a friend in Shanghai. The community at LTL is super healthy, I’ve made so many new friends who I really miss already. So I guess it’s not a question of if I’ll be back — but when?…

I sent my daughter to LTL Taipei for 5 weeks of intensive one-on-one Mandarin training. While researching schools, Greta, Riona and Alin did a great job of answering all of my questions. Their clear communication gave me confidence that we made a good choice. My daughter's teachers, Pinwei and Jia were enthusiastic, kind and attentive. Between the Safari upgrade and the community-oriented atmosphere, (students eat lunch together everyday and there are plenty of scheduled activities) LTL has allowed my daughter to have a well-rounded experience learning Mandarin while also gaining an understanding of the culture and history of Taiwan.

Very good Mandarin course. Home staying was extremely good because it was a mix of homestay and shared appartment, it took both of two words to have a lot of place and privacy and still have a host family to ask questions and have diner together everyday. The Taipei city is very international and surprisingly a lot of people could speak good English as second language. People are very friendly and the food is affordable and delicious. The teachers in the course adapt very well to the requests of each student and group.

The first time I knew about LTL is when I was looking for a tutor class to prepare for my TOCFL test in 1 month. When I arrived on the first day, I was still unable to speak mandarin fluently. I only know the basic but because of my lack of experience in communicating with other people, it was very hard for me to get used to speak mandarin. However, the teacher and the students beside me are very helpful on how to speak clearly, learn new vocabulary, as well as know how to use the proper grammar structure. I am grateful to be here as a learning experience to know a lot about mandarin as well as meeting with a lot of foreign friends from all around the world.