Silk Mandarin Language Institute HSK2 - February to May 2024

I took Silk Mandarin’s HSK2 course from 5 February - 7 May 2024. The class was held online, twice per week with 90 minutes in each session. The course was taught from 1000-1130 AM, Monday and Wednesday (time in China). Because I’m in the USA, the course times were perfect - it was the day before in the evening for me so I could do the class after work.

I was extremely impressed with Silk Mandarin and the course. They excel in so many areas, but the following items are particularly noteworthy:

1. The teacher - Qiying
2. Class size
3. Course Material, including presentations and videos
4. Course curriculum and approach
5. Homework and exercises
6. Silk Mandarin’s Slow Motion Technique
7. Silk Mandarin’s support staff - Nissa

I have struggled trying to learn Mandarin on my own for three years through the normal approach of apps, YouTube videos, and even some online courses I took. I wasn’t satisfied with my progress. I came across Silk Mandarin and did a free online trial class and was immediately impressed - so impressed that I signed up for the HSK2 course. I was struck by the proactive nature of the teacher, Qiying. She reached out to students prior to the class in the Classin platform (where the courses are taught) to prepare us for the course. Qiying is one of those rare teachers in life that you just can’t help but learn from. She has a gift for teaching, but she goes above and beyond what’s required to ensure her students are learning - and learning the right way. That comes from a genuine love of teaching and concern and care for her students. I still recall my best teachers from college many years ago whose teaching methods, style, and talent enabled you to absorb the material like a sponge, get straight As, and advance at an unparalleled rate. More importantly, I was able to retain the material with such teachers. Qiying is such a teacher, and it’s rare to find a teacher like her. She’s fluent in English (my native language), personable and fun, and extremely knowledgeable and dedicated. Qiying is simply stellar. When you couple that with her teaching abilities and the curriculum, you will quickly advance. I have a long way to go to be fluent in Mandarin, which is my goal, but I’m finally on the correct path to achieve that goal with Silk Mandarin’s and Qiying’s help.

Silk Mandarin’s class sizes are phenomenal. They intentionally keep the classes small, no matter what course you take. This enhances interaction, learning, and cross-talk between the students, which also improves the learning experience. I loved my class time twice per week with Qiying and the other student because I knew my learning experience was being optimized. I knew that I would be forced to engage and show what I learned each class session, but it was a friendly and nurturing environment - and it was fun. It was a non-threatening environment and was a recipe for advancement, retention, and learning.

Qiying’s and Silk Mandarin’s course material, curriculum, and approach are exceptional. The course I took was based on the HSK2 book, but the class was so much more than that. Qiying taught the key teaching points, grammar structures, vocabulary, correct usage, and provided many examples with detailed explanation; she had us do practical exercises, speak, read, and even learn characters. It was comprehensive in its coverage. I was doing homework throughout the week and prior to the next class, just like in college - but it was so much fun and rewarding. This is how you learn. The set of videos that Silk Mandarin uses are exceptional. They are meant to build upon the HSK2 grammar and vocabulary, and they are extremely helpful. I even got to the point where I could follow along with the dialog and theme of the videos. It was wonderful. I think the videos are a keep part of the multi-pronged approach Silk Mandarin uses to instill the foundation of Mandarin in the student; they then enhance the keep points of the video with exercises - speaking and written ones. Qiying was the guide in pulling all of this together, and she was masterful in doing that. The course material, curriculum, approach, and videos are rock-solid. The content is outstanding.

The homework and exercises were meant to reinforce what I learned in the prior class. Once done, I had to post my homework, and that resulted in a detailed and helpful review by Qiying. I found those reviews very helpful because it showed me where I needed to concentrate my attention and focus to grasp the concepts and improve. The next class was spent going over homework when necessary and in review of the concepts from the previous class. I felt like the homework, teacher’s reviews, and class reviews built upon each other to instill what Silk Mandarin was teaching us. I loved it.

Silk Mandarin has a concept that they call “Slow Motion Technique”- SMT. It is unique, brilliant, and extremely helpful. Any Chinese learner is eventually struck by how complex the grammar, sentence order, and structure can be in Mandarin once you get past a simple Subject-Verb-Object sentence. The SMT is meant to simplify the task of ordering words correctly. I think I will forever remember the words: “What comes first, we say first”. That simple realization is so helpful in assembling Mandarin sentences correctly. Silk Mandarin dedicates an entire video series to the SMT, and I learned so much from this approach when it comes to grammar, structure, and more importantly, how to think in Chinese. It’s an eye-opening way of thinking about Chinese sentence structure, and it is indeed brilliant. I will carry that teaching point with me forever.

I would be remiss if I did not mention the support staff at Silk Mandarin. From the first moment I came across Silk Mandarin, I was trying to figure out how to enroll, pay, attend class, participate, and execute this learning experience. Silk Mandarin assigns you a course proctor, and mine was Nissa. She’s amazing, professional, knowledgeable, fluent in English, and just made everything easy. She took care of everything, was extremely helpful, guided me, and let me focus on the task at hand - learning Mandarin. All my worries about the logistics and signing up just went away with her help. I am so impressed with Nissa and extremely grateful for her knowledge, help, and engagement. She’s also awesome, just like Qiying. Nissa also went above what’s required, and her professionalism, knowledge, and love of what she does will always stay with me. Thank you, Nissa - you’re awesome!

Overall, my learning experience with Silk Mandarin was exceptional, rewarding, amazing, nurturing, and worth the time and money. The classes are cheaper than college semester courses in the USA, run longer, are more personable, and better value. It was worth every penny, and I have already signed up for HSK3 with Silk Mandarin. I intend to keep learning with them and Qiying, all the way through HSK6. Silk Mandarin is a treasure if you are trying to learn Mandarin. After this experience, I can’t imagine trying to learn Mandarin any other way. I would recommend Silk Mandarin to any Chinese learner. Their course offerings are comprehensive, tailored, flexible, and in-depth, no matter what your learning goals are. My Chinese learning adventure for the next several years will be with Silk Mandarin, and I look forward to the exciting, rewarding, and fulfilling learning that lies ahead - thanks to Qiying, Nissa, and Silk Mandarin. This is a stellar language school. Thank you Silk Mandarin, Qiying, and Nissa!