That's Mandarin — Local services in Beijing

Going for onsite 1:1 sessions with That's Mandarin (Beijing) has been my best investment in a long time and I have regained hope to become fluent in Chinese some day. Just as I was about to give up on learning Chinese, I got a free onsite 1:1 session at That's Mandarin (Beijing). That was the gamechanger I needed and I've now done 20 lectures (15 hours) and completed half of the new HSK level 1 much faster than anticipated and I will continue for additional 64 ( 48 hours) classes before I expect to leave China.

Onsite 1:1 at That's Mandarin is much better than my previous experience: My teacher simultaneously writes down the important sentences/words/grammar on the computer while we talk, so I can review it afterwards on the online platform (Nihao Cafe). This really helps me to practice and remember the words and this is much more efficient for me than just talking. That's Mandarin has a great online platform (Nihao Cafe) that provides the following for each lecture: realistic videos, list of words + grammar and simple but efficient exercises that reinforces the learning. Both Hanzi, Pinyin and English is available. There is absolutely no need for outdated books and boring audio CD's! The website also works very good on mobile phone as a progressive webapp, so there is no need for some annoying native app that constantly need updates. The pace of the 1:1 sessions is totally tailored to my learning, so I never fall behind or get bored like I used to do in previous classroom sessions. The tailored learning has been very efficient for recapping my fragmented knowledge of HSK level-1. The 1:1 sessions are not just about going through curriculum, I get a lot of practice in making conversations based on my interests. I get to talk about my home country, my hobbies, my family, what I've been doing since last session and what I'm planning to do for e.g. vacations. The teacher is very good at helping me to talk beyond the curriculum and learn to express myself. This gives me both confidence and practice, which really helps an introvert like me when I dare to try to talk with local Chinese people. My teacher is always really excited to teach and her encouragement really helps me to overcome the struggle of learning a language that differs so much from my native language. I also quite like the events hosted by That's Mandarin, where I can meet fellow students and learn additional useful skills for China such as playing Mahjong.

My background story: I've tried (and failed) to learn Chinese abroad multiple times (Confucius Institute and other language school), but the lack of immersion abroad and one-size-fits-all classroom lectures (either your are bored or you are falling behind) killed my motivation again and again and I was left with fragmented knowledge in HSK-level 1. I ended up hating to study Chinese and I dreaded every time I had to listen to the super boring audio-CD that accomponied the very outdated propaganda books. So I went to China and expected that the immersion and some super cheap 1:1 sessions (other private teacher) would be a gamechanger, but I soon realised that I am not that good at learning by just talking and my progress was very slow even though I was...

I recently started studying mandarin at this school and I could not be happier. The school is modern, staff is absolutely friendly and willing to help.

My teacher is fun, dedicated to my learning and pays extra attention to things I casually mention in class. This allows her to bring up examples connected to something I had mentioned the week before for example, which makes the learning easier and contextualised to my own life experiences.

The material they use is simple at first, which is inviting for starters. However, it does not mean it is shallow. I say that because they do make an effort to bringing you loads of “connecting words” in Chinese, which then enables you to form sentences by yourself even if you have not acquired an extensive vocabulary yet.

Another resource provided by the school is their online platform. There, you will be able to revise previous lessons, listen/watch to the videos you watched in class and even practice the language with extra exercises. All the notes made in class by your teacher are also saved there, which again helps you remember what had been discussed and how your teacher connected such topics to your own questions, perspectives and experiences.

Last but not least is how you can “book” your classes. I’d had problems before at a different location because some students left the group and I had to wait until a minimum quorum was reached. However, at That’s Mandarin, that’s not an issue. If you pay for a group class and no one else joins, they simply shorten the duration in 30 mins and you have a full 1-1 class. You pretty easily cover the content at this reduced time since the teacher will be there only for you.

All in all, I could not be happier with this institution. I highly recommend them and hope to improve my mandarin...

I took That's Mandarin online courses for a while and they were amazing!

The online program (NihaoCafe) used for the classes worked smoothly (I only had some minor problems that were quickly fixed) and was pretty straightforward and easy to use. The interface is also quite pleasant to look at, so credit is due to those who designed it, because they did a great job.

The teacher was fantastic. She was really patient and seemed to really enjoy her work! She even gave us personalised advice when she realized something was tricky for us or she knew that we had a certain background knowledge that could help us understand something in particular. It's always a pleasure having a teacher like that.

The actual classes were a lot of fun and productive at the same time. A nice balance. I really like learning by myself because I tend to learn pretty random stuff, but I also think that these classes work as a fantastic support for those who like having a certain structure, since the content was geared towards learning the most useful stuff for everyday life (at least in the beginner course I took, I'm sure that in higher levels the content will change and adapt to the course). The use of short dialogue videos after having learned the vocabulary was quite useful, so there is another positive point. All in all, almost two hours of class went by extremely quick, it was even sad finishing them!

Finally, when it comes to administrative side of things, the whole experience was managed very professionally and Anna, the one that made sure that everything went okay with my classes and informed me of the different things I had to do to register, was really kind and sweet.

Definitely a ten out of ten when it comes to customer service and the whole experience with in general....