Private 1-on-1 Chinese Language Programs

That's Mandarin is a good school with enthusiatic teachers who are patient and helpful. Jane has also been very helpful especially in helping me when I first arrived. And my classes have been worthwhile and fulfilling as I feel as though I've learnt a large amount of Mandarin and I've improved drastically.

Finding That's Mandarin was a real blessing. So far I have really appreciated my experience here, both from an academic point of view and a social one. The one-on-one program that I am attending is tailored to my needs (I came in here knowing less than nothing!), and now, after only two weeks, I am able to understand what's going around me and to make myself understood in everyday life situations. Moreover, the school is attended by the most diversified crowd, which adds value to the overall experience.

I had never studied any Chinese before and wanted to learn some basics before I traveled around China for a few months, so I signed up for a two week course with That's Mandarin in Shanghai. I'm certainly glad I did. I steadily progressed in my very basic Chinese every day. Their method really is to have the student jump right in, and after learning just a few words and grammar rules to go ahead and start practicing saying the kinds of sentences that are most used on a daily basis (often using role play interactions, such as pretending you are communicating with a waiter in a restaurant). The teachers would ask us to come up with unique, original simple sentences using the new words and grammar rules we learned each day. Then the teachers would write these sentences into their computer program and print them out at the end of the day so we could study them at night and review them again in class the next day. It was a great balance of keeping us on our toes to come up with sentences, but also feeling that is it was totally fine if we got something wrong, forgot a word, or took a while to complete a sentence.

The teachers were very friendly, knowledgeable in methods of beginner language instruction, and were an overall pleasure to work with. Each day we had one teacher for the first two hours and another for the second two. However those two teachers never changed - this worked quite well. We also had plenty of laughs in class and learned a little about each other. I only had one other student in my class (I believe all their classes are one-on-one or very small groups) and the small group setting made for an effective yet relaxed learning environment.

This course was the ideal way to begin my travels in China. For an introduction to beginner Chinese I definitely recommend That's Mandarin.

Before coming to Beijing, I had studied Mandarin in high school 6 years back. Naturally, I had forgotten a lot of characters and was not able to communicate as well as I had anticipated. Starting to learn again had its challenges - I often found myself flustered and frustrated.

While coming to the school, it's good to know that the teachers had the capability to adapt to my present level and were able to help me reach my person goals.

The unique teaching style of the That's Mandarin allows students to remember characters for the long term, and also provided me the ability to retain key grammatical structures. I think in a sense, this comes down to the management of the school, and the ease of communication between teachers who teach the same students.

To provide an example, during high school, I had a habit of forgetting characters a week after studying, but over here characters are reemphasized often enough to remember them for the long haul.

The other thing that was particularly useful was the fact that the all the notes were printed soft-copy & hard-copy. I was therefore able to go through my notes while sitting at dinner via my ipad or taking the train / bus / public transportation.

Program's strength is its flexibility and ability to meet students where they are at. If you have clear goals, That's Mandarin can help you get there. However, some teachers seem overworked/too many hours. Though they are exceptionally professional, there are limits to any one person's ability to pay attention.

I like comimg to That's Mandarin because everyone here is kind and patient. I love how the classes are desgined to fit my specific needs and ability, even on days when I am struggling the teachers are very encouraging.

The course coordinator Molly was very easy to talk to, very helpful and always contactable. I am doing a small group class with 2 people and we get maximum opportunity to learn using dialogues such as ordering a meal or asking for directions.

I think the teaching method is very effective, combining vocabulary, grammar and dialogues in each section.

Chinese language is hard to master, but the teachers at this school have proved to be very skilled in showing that even though it may be hard there are many ways to approach it.

The program is much better than many of the other programs I have encountered. The online platform offered is a precious resource for reviewing your work after class.