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Charlie Gordon
I looked forward to going to school for my classes and did not dread another boring class of slightly impractical language in university.
I wanted to study Chinese for pleasure due to my general interest in Chinese culture, and also to reconnect with my Chinese heritage. Having googled for schools in Beijing, I found That's Mandarin. I really enjoyed the practical, communicative approach of That's Mandarin and the friendliness of everyone at the school. I would absolutely recommend That's Mandarin to anyone. After studying Chinese in University, I did not have a grasp of very basic, everyday vocabulary. That's Mandarin teaches practical, everyday language that I wanted and needed to learn to be able to communicate and interact with others in Chinese. All the teachers are not only very professional and serious about what they do, but they are very friendly, warm and encouraging of students which leads to a very nice atmosphere for students to learn in. I looked forward to going to school for my classes and did not dread another boring class of slightly impractical language in university. No boring, grammar-oriented academic language!Read more testimonials...
One on One and Small Group Classes
One on One Classes
In a one on one Mandarin class a student can make the best use of the time they have with the teacher by explaining exactly what they want to achieve in each class. If you are a beginner student, you will be out and about communicating with the locals in no time at all. If you already have a good level of Chinese, you will find these classes keep pushing you to improve your pronunciation and vocabulary whilst ironing out mistakes, because one on one Chinese lessons allow for maximum focus on your specific language problems. Once you have reached a certain standard of Chinese language, we can tailor these classes to your specific needs and interests.
In our experience, small group classes are a great option for absolute beginners. As everyone in the class is starting from scratch we will focus on ‘survival’ language first – you will learn to speak Chinese confidently in the situations where you really need it. Once your level has improved you have your own individual objectives and requirements and, if you want to, you can also learn to write Chinese. The focus of your vocabulary learning will also differ, so at this stage we recommend trying one on one classes so the class is more tailored to your needs.
Small Group Classes
Group study works best in groups of up to four people with a similar Chinese language level. With your different experiences and knowledge, you can sometimes even learn more this way. Our teachers will use a variety of activities in these classes to encourage the group to converse and learn. In addition, you and your classmates can share with each other, the ups (and downs) of learning to speak Chinese. We will do our best to accommodate individual needs. If you have a particular area of difficulty, it is likely your fellow students share this too. We welcome suggestions as to areas the class needs to cover.
Putting together a schedule of morning group classes and afternoon one on one classes gives you the best of both worlds. New material is presented in the morning session to the group as a whole and is reinforced in your private, afternoon sessions. Any individual pronunciation problems or any particular grammar points or vocabulary difficulties that are posing a challenge to you will be addressed in your one on one tutorial. You can also choose whether you only want to learn to speak, or whether you’re keen to also learn to read and write Chinese as well.