Silk Mandarin Language School

Program Reviews

Robert
5/5
Yes, I recommend this program

Learning Chinese at Silk Mandarin, Suzhou

I have been studying at Silk Mandarin in Suzhou for three months now, both in online and onsite classes. It has been a great experience, thanks to my teacher Christina, who encourages conversation beyond the textbook and helped me to activate much of what lay dormant as I had previously only learned from books. Silk Mandarin has a friendly and supportive team, and classes can be flexibly arranged to fit my busy schedule. The local manager, Siqin, organises a lot of extra curricular activities as well.

Kengo
5/5
Yes, I recommend this program

1-1 lesson at Silk Mandarin

I have been studying for SHK1 at Silk Mandarin in Suzhou, and it has been a great experience. I had no previous experience of studying Chinese, but my teacher Christina really knows how to guide you from the beginning. It only has been about a month since I started my lessons, but I can already feel a lot of progressions which makes my life here more comfortable and enjoyable. Everyone at Silk is very friendly and supportive, and it is overall great study environment. It is also nice that they offer a lot of activities outside of class room where you can practice your Chinese and meet other expats studying Chinese.

If you did this all over again, what's one thing you would change?
I chose private lesson because my work schedule is rather irregular, but I would love to do group lesson if it was possible.
Omer
5/5
Yes, I recommend this program

So much fun to learn Chinese with Silk Mandarin!

Silk mandarin is such a professional Chinese Learning School in which you will work with professional teachers who understand students very well and tailor the best learning method for their development. You will feel much better once you learn better reading, speaking and writing of Chinese for work, travel, study or fun! I highly recommend you to get started ASAP! You will discover a total new Chinese culture and experience with your new skills and Silk mandarin, with online and off-line class options, can help you to reach your dreams. Practicing regularly will definitely help you!

What is your advice to future travelers on this program?
Get a trial course and you will see their techniques. Then only thing you need to do is some practice and you will see the development soon.
Sally
5/5
Yes, I recommend this program

A friendly and fun place to learn Chinese

I have studied HSK 1 and 2 at Silk Suzhou branch. It's been a great experience; I've improved my Chinese a lot and have become more confident in using it. My teacher Lindsay is very nice and puts a lot of effort to make the classes enjoyable.  She often teaches extra material that we might find interesting or useful, such as vocabulary or some everyday idioms. The materials such as the Silk PPT and flashcards are good and they help to make the meaning clear. Siqin the CC is always very friendly and welcoming too. It's a great place to study if you want to improve your Chinese quickly.

If you did this all over again, what's one thing you would change?
If I did it again, I would start coming to classes a lot sooner - I'd already been in China a year before I started at Silk. I learned more in the first few weeks of classes than in the whole of that year! :)
Heleen
5/5
Yes, I recommend this program

Silk Mandarin

Our teacher, Christina, is great! She understands what the difficulties are for foreign people to learn Chinese. Silk Mandarin also organizes outdoor activities so we can learn to speak Chinese in the real world. I learned a lot in a short time. They have a clear structure, which makes the class interesting. Silk Manderin also offers a lot of digital help so you can practice your Chinese at home. And off course, they are really flexible, you can say what suits you and they try their best to organize the classes.

What was your funniest moment?
At the end of HSK 2 we got the assignment to go to the streets and ask questions to people. It was really funny, at the end we where able to get all the questions!
Jenni
5/5
Yes, I recommend this program

Christina @ Dongfangzhimen

Silk Mandarin in the pants building in Suzhou is a great environment for learning. There are open classrooms with beautiful views from the 53rd floor. All of the teachers are lovely and fun to hang out with. They sometimes organize activities for the students, such as Chinese New Year dinner or calligraphy lessons. I was very fortunate to take my Chinese classes with Christina. Studying HSK 5 is no joke, but Christina and I got along well from the beginning, often laughing and bonding over our mutual love for cats. She is a wonderful and thoughtful teacher, always prepared, and willing to tweak the class to fit the needs of the students. Overall I have had a great time at Silk! ~ recommend !

What would you improve about this program?
More simple group activities would be great, especially for students who do 1-1 and don’t have the opportunity to meet classmates.
Charlie
5/5
Yes, I recommend this program

Silk mandarin

I was sceptical about joining a training centre when I first heard of Silk Mandarin. However, after a free trial class and experiencing all of the in house resources along with the welcoming teachers and host, I was convinced!

The school in Dongfangzhimen is small and has a lovely small community feel. The teachers are all lovely and very experienced in teaching Mandarin. Siqin - the consultant is always very welcoming and helps with any problems you may have!

My teacher Christina, thoroughly prepares for classes and constantly double checks my understanding of new grammar points and vocabulary.

Being in this training centre has definitely motivated me and kickstarted my studying! Highly recommended!!

If you did this all over again, what's one thing you would change?
To be honest, if I was to do it again I would either:
a) buy more classes in the package deal (to make it cheaper)
b) study with a partner together in class.
Litvinenko
5/5
Yes, I recommend this program

Подготовка к 5 НСК

Translated by Go Overseas:

She completed a month-long preparation course for the fifth NSK at the Silk Mandarin Chinese school in Shanghai. I passed 5 NSC successfully. I was pleased with the result. I really liked that the lesson plan was individually selected for me, based on my wishes and learning goals, which was very important in my case, since I already had a certain knowledge base, and I just needed to fill in the existing gaps and work out weak points, and do not engage in any pattern.
Special thanks to teacher David Wang for the work done.
I also want to note the atmosphere at the school, pleasant, polite staff and clean, cozy classrooms. My rating is five out of five.

Original review:

Прошла месячный курс подготовки к пятому нск в школе китайского в Шанхае Silk Mandarin. Удачно сдала 5 НСК. Осталась довольна результатом. Очень понравилось что для меня индивидуально подобрали план занятий, исходя из моих пожеланий и целей обучения, что было очень важно в моем случае, так как определённая база знаний у меня уже была, и мне нужно было именно заполнить имеющиеся пробелы и отработать слабые моменты, а не заниматься по какому то шаблону.
Отдельное спасибо учителю Девид Ванг за проделанную работу.
Так же хочу отметить атмосферу в школе, приятный, вежливый персонал и чистые уютные классы. Моя оценка пять из пяти.

Elaina
5/5
Yes, I recommend this program

Learning Chinese Online

If you want to learn Chinese, I think this program is perfect for you!
 
I wanted to brush up and improve my Chinese abilities. I was introduced to this company through an acquaintance. My classes were conducted online, and this worked perfectly with my schedule. I loved that I can be in the comforts of my home and attend class with qualified teachers that are trained to teach foreigners Chinese. The classes are conducted on the platform called “Classin” and to this day it is the best learning platform that I’ve used.
The staff who registered you with the course will be in charge or will assign someone to check-in and assist with any issues that you might have; they are all super friendly. My teacher Yanqin, has been exceptional, carefully guiding me with my studies. She is not only bubbly but made each lesson comfortable and enjoyable. What I appreciated the most was her adjusting each new learning curve to my study needs. I highly approve of this program!
 
If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to talk to the staff at Silk Mandarin.

Jairus
5/5
Yes, I recommend this program

American Student Online Class Review

Coming into the Silk Program, I had 0 experience in Chinese. The only language I could speak was English. I started in the middle of July with no knowledge of speaking, tones, or writing, and now I am studying for the HSK3 test. That being said, studying Chinese as an American has been extremely challenging, but studying at Silk has made the process quite enjoyable. They tailor the classes to your schedule to help you get the most out of their program. I personally work two jobs so I don't have the time to dedicate myself full time to studying Chinese. My teacher understands this situation, so we set up classes and workload accordingly.

Lastly, I want to speak a bit about my teacher Yanqin. Starting my first class I felt so uncomfortable with myself because I didn't know anything. Really, Yanqin made me feel very comfortable from our first class. There was no judgement on my abilities, but rather patience and understanding. We are taking Chinese step by step and I can feel the improvement each month. Our first class we could only talk about what our names were, but today we talked about the Coronavirus vaccine.

It really has been an amazing journey to learn Chinese and I think that learning at Silk (online) is a great investment of time and money. I highly recommend this program 10/10 for everything (staff/teachers/program).