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Joseph Pellicano
I thought that motivating myself to study Chinese would be a great deal of work, and I feel like if I were in a generic university program, it would have been. However at That's Mandarin it's not the case at all. Every class is fresh and engaging, and each class builds on the foundation of the last. I've NEVER had a boring class.
I arrived in China with plans already made to study at one of Beijing's well-known universities for at least two semesters. I arrived early to become more accustomed with Beijing before classes began. After meeting people who had studied at this particular university, and learning more about the programs that they offered, it started to appeal to me less and less. The environment at the university did not sound as conducive to effectively learning Chinese as I had previously imagined. Having invested a substantial amount of time and money in coming to China, I wanted to make sure I was making the right decision on where I chose to study.
With less than five days before my program's start, I started to search for other options. I found That's Mandarin while searching online, and I immediately got the impression of a professional atmosphere with a different approach to learning Chinese than I had ever been exposed to. I took a trial lesson with Xiao Chao, and knew that the school was right for me. I signed up for a full semester immediately.
One month in, I was amazed at how quickly my ability to communicate grew. It felt great to see my comprehension and understanding of the language improve with every class. I went from being afraid to speak Chinese in the first class to conversing with my professors and others in Chinese outside of class in an unbelievably short amount of time. Recently I have even succeeded in surprising both my native Chinese and foreign friends (those who speak Chinese) with how well I am able to converse.
I have the teachers at That's Mandarin to thank for my rapid improvement. I truly enjoy studying Chinese and look forward to my classes there everyday. The teachers at That's Mandarin have created one of the best learning environments I have ever had the privilege to learn in.Read more testimonials...
Our Team
At That’s Mandarin, our people are our best asset – they make the school a rewarding and fun place to both study Chinese and work as a teacher. Our talented, dedicated team has a wide variety of educational and professional backgrounds and are all college educated. While some of our instructors majored in teaching Chinese as a foreign language, others got their undergraduate degrees in economics, literature, history, or law.
A large number of our teachers have also completed graduate programs, allowing us to pair an teacher with an advanced level of knowledge on any particular topic with a student of similar interests. If we don’t currently employ a teacher who fits your specific, advanced Chinese language needs, we will find one who does.
All our teachers are full-time and well compensated for the hard work they do. Each new teacher we hire interns with us for two months before beginning to teach their own classes on a three month trial basis. If after five months they’ve received positive student and teacher reviews, they are hired on a full-time basis. Click HERE to meet our teaching staff.
I began teaching Mandarin Chinese in 2004 in the coastal city of QingDao. I decided to move to Beijing in 2007, and was taken on as a teacher at That’s Mandarin Chinese School in Wudaokou. I was fairly confident that I already had a wealth of experience teaching Mandarin to foreigners, but I soon realised That’s Mandarin had its own unique teaching principles. These were soon shown to be highly effective in overcoming the unique challenges new students face when they begin to learn Chinese. In the past 3 years I have learnt a great deal by applying these principles to teach the many students who have studied at our school. In that time, the school has grown from a small building nestled on a back road in Wudaokou, to having 3 modern facilities – a new and improved Chinese school in Wudaokou, and a second Chinese school in Dongzhimen and a brand new Shanghai branch. The teaching environment has vastly improved, we recently added a coffee shop to our Dongzhimen Chinese school, and now you can learn Chinese in either Beijing or Shanghai thanks to the addition of our new Jingan school. Nonetheless the teaching principles of That’s Mandarin remain the same – albeit with some enhancements as we gain ever more experience.
At our school the teachers and students enjoy the experience of learning Chinese – one student who has been studying here for two years recently commented that he particularly enjoys the passion with which all his teachers have approached their job. With our proven teaching method, and ever improving facilities, I feel confident That’s Mandarin will continue to offer the premier teaching environment for anyone wanting to learn Chinese in China.
Wan Xin, Education Administrator