Program Reviews

I have been learning Chinese at Silk Mandarin for only one extremely amazing month. My experience in this school is one of its own. Even if I have been learning already 3 languages in different methods and schools, I strongly believe that Silk Mandarin is providing the best way to learn the Chinese language. It is not about just learning vocabulary but mostly about being accurate and consistent when I speak. To learn such a language I had to be an active learner by practicing real Chinese. Silk Mandarin is providing such an environment: I was lucky to study with people from different countries, learn from them as well and make this journey much more enjoyable. I have been able to talk with Chinese teachers during free time and getting my Chinese improved even during break time and still have a lot of fun!
In my opinion, professors are very professional, they did not only taught me the language but also the culture behind and its mindset.
Everything gets so easy when you have a clear structured map in mind and you turn your mind into the "Slow Motion Mode".
加油😄

Lexie Liu is an outstanding teacher. Her classes are great fun und highly effective at the same time. The course is well structured and she takes her time to explain questions and problems that might arise with grammar or vocabulary. She uses the slow motion technique of Silk Mandarin to teach sentence structure. She has patience and is always of good humor. She gives out additional vocabulary at request and tries to organize class in an interactive way. Every lesson comes with a grammar review and vocabulary handout in addition to the course material.

I am so excited to write a review for my Chinese classes.
I have lived in Shanghai for 2 years, and it had been really hard for me to find qualified Chinese teachers. I FINALLY FOUND ONE (SILK MANDARIN!)

- qualified teachers in teaching Chinese with good English communication skills
: Easy to ask questions to teachers (especially for students in the beginner class)
- Relatively well-organized curriculum
- Clean and nice classrooms (the location is really good)
- Make an effort to make the classes improved based on students' reviews

I have taken group classes for a while, and now I am taking private classes. Both have advantages and disadvantages. You can try both, and choose one. They always respect students' opinions.

* The only problem is that the class fees are quite high, (and not refundable esp. when taking group classes) but still I feel like it's worth to pay that amount. (Compared to the other Chinese classes)

I highly recommend SilkMandarin and Lexie for anyone who aims to learn Chinese and get to know Chinese culture in a friendly and professional atmosphere. While always focusing on your individual study goals, Lexie always makes you see the bigger picture by helping to understand Chinese history as well as Chinese daily life; be it explaining why a specific radical is re-appearing in different characters, sharing colloquial words, showing regional differences, giving examples of typical misunderstandings foreigners have or explaining traditional Chinese sayings. This makes her classes specifically lively and fun. As much as the classes are fun, Silk team is also very helpful on many aspects, also give a nice atmosphere, they also let you improve your language skills quickly through a well-balanced mixed of prepared materials, adjusting to your individual questions and identifying your weaknesses and pushing you to overcome them. Questions you have never go unanswered and the explanations given through Lexie make you understand language and culture better. Lexie always impresses with her rich knowledge. Whether you have a good or a bad day Lexie always adjusts the pace and content to your daily capability. I specifically appreciate the balance of motivating through showing your achievements while pushing you to go a little further.

Silk Mandarin provides the perfect environment for learning Chinese. The rooms are nice, the book and the learning method help you to understand the Chinese language and the teachers are the best. My teacher Marsha encourages me to study more and more and helps me to achieve my goals during the learning process. Silk Mandarin provides the perfect environment for learning Chinese. The rooms are nice, the book and the learning method help you to understand the Chinese language and the teachers are the best. My teacher Marsha encourages me to study more and more and helps me to achieve my goals during the learning process.

I have been in China for many years now, and for all these years, I have attempted to learn Mandarin. During my time in Shanghai, I have tried countless tutors to apps and other language centers. I had all but given up hope that I would find an approach that worked for me, then a friend referred me to Silk mandarin. Signing up with them was the best choice I could make! My teacher Lexie is perfect for me. She is able to clearly explain with many examples the most complicated grammar structures making them easy to understand. She helped me a lot to improve my pronunciation and my character with the most suitable way, a thing that other tutors and schools were not able to do. also the activities in Silk Mandairn is another great part for me, a lot of fun with Chinese speaking, and making more friends. Overall my experience with Silk Mandarin is great and I am very satisfied with both my teacher and all the staff that makes me feel like I am part of a family!

Before attending Lexie’s classes in Silk Mandarin, I often felt uncomfortable when speaking Chinese. I thought that I could not express my interests or feelings clearly. I even thought that I would never be able to express myself, and that there wasn’t a way to express myself in chinese. These thoughts made me feel very sad, and sometimes I felt like giving up. However, Lexie quickly understood me, and taught me the vocabulary I needed to know to be myself. Many times I found myself saying what we had learnt in the classroom the next day. Now my vocabulary allows me to express myself, and I identify with myself when speaking Chinese. Additionally, because Lexie deeply understands her students, she can successfully predict reoccurring mistakes. As a result, before you develop bad habits she can solve the problem. Through Lexie teaching me and my connection with her, I feel like myself when speaking Chinese.

I came to Silk Mandarin with a clear goal of going to HSK 3 to HSK 4 in three months with daily classes. The school devised a program for me. I had one teacher the whole time Lexie who was a really great teacher, taught me the content in an interesting way also helped me express myself better beyond the syllabus. As I got better she encouraged me to really to talk about important things and have an opinion in Chinese. She is a hero. Sylvia and school management is also very good. To make it better value they found me a classmate and we did it together.

My only caveat is the price. If you are not in a group class it is expensive. If you are sponsored by a school or company it is a no brainer because of quality and easiness, but if you are price sensitive I would recommend also seeing if you can find a private teacher.

After I had finished HSK1 private lessons, I found Silk Mandarin on facebook for HSK 2 level in Suzhou. From the first meeting my consultant has explained to me every detail and also the method that this school uses (slow motion method) and I was convinced from what I saw that it is a very nice organized training center. Now that I finished the lessons for HSK2 I have to mention that my choice was successful. Well educated teacher, nice environment, convenient location, lesson hours according to student needs, the teacher replied to all of my questions even at not office hours. I really enjoyed the lessons and the best thing I trully enjoyed was the explanation from teacher about the formation of Hanzi characters.
Highly recommended! Next to Suzhou center mall.

I was searching in the internet for a language school in Suzhou to start learning Chinese language. The Silk Mandarin website catched my eyes. So I contacted the Shanghai office. From the first moment I had a good feeling about that school. I did try to learn at home first. But I realised it is much too difficult for me to do so. I needed a system and a schedule. Both I found at Silk Mandarin. The school in Suzhou is located in the trousers building at Jinji Lake. Don´t know why, but I like that place in general. First contact in Suzhou I had with Amy. She´s a very friendly and nice lady. She explained me everything perfect. We created a suitable schedule for me. The introduction lesson I had with Shirley. She is also a nice teacher and explained me everything about the learning system. My lessons for HSK1 I had with Hailey. I felt myself in best hands with her. She is a very patient teacher, always friendly and competent. We had a lot of joy during the lessons but never lost sight of the goal. The teachers also offered nice weekend activities like Tai Chi, dumpling course and hiking in the Mudu mountains. Even during these activities we improved our language knowlwdge. Finally I must say it was a great experience. I can recommend the school to everybody who is looking for the best. Thanks again to all the teachers and staff.