Great school that will help you to immerse in the culture of China

I first came to Silk Mandarin about two and a half years ago, just going to classes on the weekends because I lived a little bit out of Shanghai. Right from the beginning, actually from our very first demo class, the staff were extremely friendly (in a good way, not a creepy way) and made my girlfriend and I feel right at home.

This for me is actually the most salient point. Speaking a language is difficult only in a psychological sense. If a student has motivation and confidence then they will learn the language, whatever it is.* Motivation can only really come internally from the student, but the confidence part can be nurtured externally. This for me is where Silk really excels. They will help you to have the confidence to speak, what is for Westerners, a very difficult language. They will speak to you frequently in Chinese, with enthusiasm and genuine warmth. They will encourage you to speak back in Chinese, with patience and an open ear. From the teachers to the support the staff, the whole environment is geared towards speaking Chinese. They will help you to feel like speaking the language is not only very possible but also enjoyable, and in my opinion there is no greater thing a language school can do for you than this.

Speaking of teachers, it's been a while now but my first teacher was Amelie老師, teaching me from 0 to HSK 2. Teaching grown men who can barely say "tingbudong" correctly, Amelie is of course extremely patient, and also extremely funny. I enjoyed my classes with her and she helped me to get progress quickly even when I wasn't being a good student. (do your homework in the HSK books, it makes a world of difference).

My latest teacher for HSK 3 was Jessica老師. Jessica is an enthusiastic and positive teacher, who knows a lot about the ancient origins of many 汉字. She also has a good story to share which helps to form a mental connection between words in your language and in Chinese.

As I said, it's not just teachers that help you learn at Silk. Amy/Lina, always comes over for a chat in Chinese, which is super helpful for applying what you've learned. I really want to thank Amy for this because it must be extremely boring listening to my baby Chinese, but it's always something that I've really appreciated.

Likewise my thanks also goes to Jasmine. At one social event of Silk, over a beer she asked me about my studies and told me that she was worried about my motivation - which was completely accurate. My job at that point was very stressful and I wasn't applying myself properly to my studies. This chat was a good wake-up call to me, and a reminder that people cared about my progress. It's easier to motivate when other people also care about your success. After that I took my homework more seriously and tried to go over the weekly characters that we had learned more often. The results were instant and I was able to stay comfortably on top of the material for the remainder of the term's classes.

I'm not just recommending Silk in words. I've put my money where my mouth is and purchased an introductory class for a colleague and friend from work. He enjoyed his first class very much and has gone straight from HSK1 to 3 with Silk in the space of a year.

If you have the motivation and put the work in, you can progress very quickly with Silk. And if rather like me, you are an interested learner, but sometimes life gets in the way, Silk will still help you to slowly improve. Your progress is largely down to you, but for the learning environment, support, and teaching quality I would find it hard to imagine a better school in Shanghai, or indeed in China for that matter.

*this is obviously just my opinion.