Chinese Programs in Shanghai&Suzhou with Silk Mandarin

I moved to Shanghai in April this year knowing not one word of Mandarin, and started 1-one-1 classes with Christina at Silk Mandarin in May. 6 months later I am half way through HSK 3 and I have not looked back. Thank goodness I was lucky enough to find Silk Mandarin (through word of mouth) right at the beginning of my learning as my proficiency in the language has already surpassed many of my expat friends and colleagues who have lived here for 3+ years. Mandarin has a reputation for being a challenging language to learn, which makes it all the more critical to find a good teacher and school to make you feel confident with your ability and most importantly motivated to progress through the course. When speaking to my friends who haven’t had good learning experiences, the common theme seems to be it’s hard to retain the discipline to keep studying when you don’t see your ability improving and so life inevitably gets in the way! I am happy to report that my ability to interact with Chinese people improved so remarkably that if anything, I became more motivated to continue my learning as my original objective was to learn ‘survival Chinese’ only. I really enjoy my lessons with Christina as she tells me lots of anecdotes and funny stories to make the content more interesting and memorable, and because I want to get the most out of her classes I always try my best to do self review. I would highly recommend Silk Mandarin to anyone wanting to optimize their learning in the most efficient and enjoyable way. Thanks!

I did a 6 week course of intensive Chinese. It was 4 hours every day from Monday through Friday, 3 hours with 2 others as a group class and 1 hour one on one. Teacher Christina was great. Instruction was very fast paced, clear and organized with substantial homework. We have covered up to Hsk 3 in that time frame. I haven't been to any other Chinese school in Shanghai, which I am told there is a huge number of, so I can't compare and contrast the overall quality but I had no issues with Silk Mandarin, it is a good place to learn Chinese. Everyone, from teachers to staff at the School is encouraging of students' learning Chinese and help converse with you in Chinese any time you want. Since I was there through December and January, there were no activities at the school besides one Christmas party mid December, due to it being offseason.

First, I want to say that Silk Mandarin is by far the best school there is to learn Chinese. I have tried many other schools and most recently I tried studying at Jiaotong University. I wasn't happy with all their teaching methods. Specifically with Jiaotong the classes were to big, and there was no feeling of connection with the teachers. My good friend Alex gave me the recommendation to try Silk Mandarin. After the first trial, I was hooked. One thing I love is their use of the flash cards. These are really creative and help me a lot with my reading and vocabulary. The most important thing though is it helps with my grammar. Jessica was my first teacher, and she helped me so much. I needed to start HSK3 intensive course, but I never studied characters before. She used these cards by making me create sentences, and it made the class fun. Again, it wasn't just learning vocabulary and characters. This helped tremendously with my grammar. Jessica is such an enthusiastic and motivated teacher. After all our sessions, I was sad to leave her class. Teaching Chinese is her passion, and you can see that every time you walk into the classroom. David and Marsha are both my teachers now for HSK3. Once I met David, I knew this intensive course was going to be so much fun. David gives off a very welcoming vibe. We joke about each other and share stories. He is also super knowledgeable about characters. He knows anything and everything about radicals and how to help remember these new characters you start to learn. Marsha has been helping me now for a few weeks with extra practice on material learned from the intensive course. She helps me review translations and answers any other questions I have that I missed. The most recent grammar structure I learned was "把“. It didn't sink in totally after the first class, so she grabbed a separate grammar book with multiple examples in English. I then translated these into Chinese, and she continued to help through step by step. Overall the teachers are all professional, patient, and outgoing. They truly care about your learning experience no matter if you are doing part time or full time. It's a family at Silk. I am real happy with my decision studying here, and I suggest to everyone to at least try it for yourself.

In September last year (2018) I started learning Chinese with Silk Mandarin in Shanghai. From the first visit I felt in very good hands. Since I had some basic knowledge of the language, especially through several individual lessons with a private teacher, the Silk Mandarin team used the trial lesson to test my Chinese knowledge (if there has been any). So I didn't have to start all over again. The demo lesson was also a great opportunity to get to know Silk Mandarin's learning method and, together with a teacher, to set up the individual curriculum according to the learning goal. All materials used are perfectly coordinated and allow each student to deepen their knowledge after class easily.
After the trial lesson I was assigned a teacher - Amelie. Amelie is a great person and teacher, always in a good mood and makes learning Chinese fun while pushing me to reach the next level. She adapted the curriculum based on my language skills initially. Contrary to my experience with private teachers, with Silk Mandarin you are pushed and driven to perform. Every teacher has the goal to make his/ her student better; I didn't have that feeling with any private teacher before. The pace is demanding but with, reasonable learning effort, feasible. The lessons are fun, even on days when you are not convinced of your learning process - it simply takes time. But all teachers (Amelie in my case) always manages to motivate me in a low.
The school also offers several activities (excursions etc.). So far I have only made it to the Christmas party, which was a nice and well-organised event, which left a great impression on every visitor.
Silk Mandarin literally focuses on the learning success of its students and focuses everything on supporting every single students to master Chinese.
I can highly recommend to learn Chinese with Silk Mandarin.

The first time I heard about Silk mandarin it was through a friend. My friend in question had another friend who worked there. While the thought of learning chinese attracted me it was not feasible at the time with my schedule. After a while my schedule allowed me enough time to begin my studies and so silk mandarin was my first option after my friends compelling recommendation.

I have now been studying at silk mandarin for over a month. Before enrolling at silk mandarin my chinese level was bare minimum so when I began，at first I had some private lessons to give me the systematic basis I needed to continue ie pinyin. Within month I went from none to hsk one and on then to hsk two. I feel I can now confidently have a basic conversation with a native speaker.

At the moment I am studing hsk two as mentioned before，my teacher Hannah has made learning chinese a breeze with her marvelous explanations and methods. She is very helpful even when it comes down to answering all of my vexing questions. In all honestly I could use a bit of her patience in my daily life. I can not emphasize how brilliant she is.

When I am not at the school I use the magic pen and cards to revise the new vocabulary I have learnt，both the pronounciation and charachters. I can not imagine revision without them they truly are a wonderful and helpful aid especially with all those pesky tones.

Although I have only been at silk mandarin for a short period I could not help but notice that everybody is so close like a small un-orthadox family. They are constantly arranging and running activities for the members and staff that further strenghten relations and although I have yet to make it to an even,t I am sure that there will be many more to come were I can make my appearance.

Silk Mandarin is located in jingan in the SOHO building and super easy to find. The office itself is very cozy, its a bright and uplifting environment aswell as being warm and welcoming. The moment you enter， you are greeted by smiling faces and the smell of freshly brewed coffee. Once seated in one of their classrooms you engulfed in a whole new bubble of comfort and security with the freedom to work at your own optimum pace.

Everyone at silk mandarin has been nothing but nice to me from the very begining whether it be the receptionist welcoming you when you enter or the chats between classes with other staff and students while everyone is refueling with coffee. Every one has a mutual understanding and interest in bettering themselves and taking on the task of learning chinese and that has brought them all together under the one roof. Any questions you have will not go unanswered，anytime you need help, someone is there to lend you a hand.

I am thoroughly confident to entrust silk mandarin with my chinese studies and I will continue to recommend them whenever possible as so far, the results have astounded my collegues and I, as well as others around me. Not to brag but yes the results are very positive and I could not have done it alone.

Had a chance to study in the school for 6 months, satisfied with everything starting from pricing (one of the cheapest in downtown) all the way to location. Big variety of classes available: part time 2 times each week (2 hours session), private lessons, intensive courses, etc.

Good approach, interactive, was also provided a lot of ongoing out of class support on online sources to continue studying out of "in class time" such as quizlet links to test my knowledge on everything: characters, writing and reading. Speaking is on your own guys, if you want get good at it - just go out to speak with some old guys on the street, they will be more than happy to keep on some conversations with you. Apart from that, expect to get very good solid foundation of Chinese language.

Well done Silk Mandarin !!

Since I arrived in Shanghai I thought learn Chinese will improve my life quality. However at the beginning I choose a more amateur and easy way to learn with a friend of mine. After I decided to ask support to a professional school and professional teacher. Many people recommend me Silk Mandarin. I have been at Silk Mandarin since January and have really enjoyed my experience here. The classes are just want I was looking for in an intensive language program, and the teachers and staff are super friendly and helpful. In addition to classes, the school offers several activities each week which are great for learning more about Chinese culture or meeting new people. I would definitely recommend this program if you are looking for a Chinese language program in Shanghai.

When it comes to learning languages, my ambitions have always overshadowed my end results. Silk Mandarin helped me change that!

Before starting my course with Silk Mandarin, I knew nothing except "Nihao". I was going to stay in Shanghai for 3 months and wanted to put the time to good use.
I was introduced to Silk Mandarin by another exchange student and after a consultation where we were introduced to their method, we were sold!
After two months of two three hour lessons per week, I can introduce myself and get by in simple conversations.

We are five people in my class and Jessica, our teacher, is amazing at making sure we all keep up and have fun while learning Chinese. She's very attentive and answers all our questions, and when we ask about useful things to learn when navigating Shanghai.
I've already recommended it to the next exchange students coming to Shanghai from my home university.

Here's the kicker; I opted for Silk Mandarin despite being offered FREE lessons by my university, and the best money spent and best decision I've made while in Shanghai!

Aside from efficient and rewarding lessons, what you can expect from Silk Mandarin:
- Clean & Modern classrooms
- Free coffee, tea & water
- A warm atmosphere
- Professional, patient and welcoming staff and teacher
- Good study material; the flashcards and the magic pen are a godsend!

Don't hesitate; they'll take good care of you, and your language skills!