Silk Mandarin Language Tranining Institute

I fall in love with silk mandarin since the first contact with Coco who is in charge with communication with the students. I found how professional they are and how seriously they take the goal to teach and help students to learn. I was amazed by the way they use the blended learning materials what can help so much with self learning.I do the level 3 one-on-one class online learning with teacher Yanqin. She is so knowledgeable, experienced, professional and very helpful. Going to class was always super fun. She use a good mix of grammar, vocabulary and conversational skills.so far, I feel my Chinese is improving a lot. I would recommend this course and teacher Yanqin to any Chinese learner. Thanks a lot silk mandarin!

I recently completed the 100-hour online 1:1 Mandarin course with Silk Mandarin in 2024, and I am thrilled to share my positive experience. From the moment I signed up, the process was smooth and efficient. Within just one day, I received all the necessary study materials and immediate access to their learning platform. The school's organization and customer service are truly commendable, offering flexibility in scheduling that perfectly fit my busy lifestyle. A special thanks to my teacher, Qiying, whose passion for teaching Mandarin made every lesson engaging and enjoyable. Her dedication and personalized teaching approach greatly boosted my confidence, even though learning languages doesn’t come easily to me. Each class ended with a focused homework or self-study assignment, which helped reinforce my progress step-by-step. Thanks to Qiying’s expert guidance and encouragement, I successfully achieved HSK 2—a milestone I didn’t think possible at first! Without hesitation, I plan to continue my Chinese language journey with Silk Mandarin and Qiying. If you’re looking for a well-structured program, excellent materials, and a truly inspiring teacher, Silk Mandarin is the way to go!

Well organised curriculum and very supportive staff are the two reasons why I find Silk Mandarin an effective way to learn Mandarin. The materials and videos before online classes helps a lot. The homework and follows ups are an effective way to cement my understanding. The teacher and staff are very accomodating. They are more than willing to answer any of my questions. I think they are the best people to support and help me to achieve my goal of becoming fluent in Mandarin.

I began my Chinese language learning journey in 2019 at Silk Mandarin in Shanghai and was initially impressed by the school’s professionalism. When I had to leave China due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Silk Mandarin offered me the flexibility to continue my studies either online or by returning to the school later. Even though I’m now based in London, I was able to complete my course in a month, thanks to their thoughtful approach and dedication. The combination of expert teachers, flexible scheduling, and personalized lessons made my Chinese learning journey both efficient and enjoyable. Whether you’re learning in Shanghai or studying remotely, I would highly recommend Silk Mandarin for anyone looking to learn Chinese in a fun, interactive, and professional environment. A big thank you to Amy, Joyce, Christina老师, Hannah老师, Spencer老师, Evelyn老师, and all the other teachers who made this experience so memorable! ❤️

Silk Mandarin has been an outstanding institution for improving my Mandarin skills. When I first reached out in March, a friendly consultant contacted me to discuss my specific needs and language learning goals, ensuring they could recommend the best course and approach for me. My Mandarin background is somewhat complex—while my listening skills were relatively advanced, my reading and writing were basic. After taking a competency test, they tailored my learning experience, allowing me to fast-track into a more advanced class after a couple of private sessions. I’m currently enrolled in the HSK 3 blended learning course, and my teacher, QiYing, has been fantastic. The course provides pre- and post-learning materials, helping you familiarise yourself with the content before each lesson. The online learning platform is user-friendly, allowing easy interaction and application of what you’ve learned. QiYing has also been very proactive outside of lessons, making communication seamless. Additionally, Silk Mandarin is flexible and accommodating if your learning priorities change. I highly recommend Silk Mandarin to anyone looking to dedicate time and effort to improving their Mandarin. The value is exceptional, especially considering how involved the team is in ensuring a great learning experience. I’ve seen noticeable improvements over the past few months.

I had tried learning Mandarin for many years with very slow progress until I found Silk Mandarin. It was recommended to me by my son who is also doing private lessons. As he is a teacher himself, I took his recommendation seriously. I find the Slow Motion Technique used by Silk Mandarin, the many interesting and fun videos, the reading material and the professional teachers and staff very helpful and enjoyable. I am learning online but have also visited the Shanghai school and had lessons there, a great experience. It is a caring and supportive community. I am inspired to learn and practice and have made more progress and more quickly than ever before. I highly recommend Silk Mandarin!

I had a week of intensive 1on1 course with Silk Mandarin. Coming in with practically zero knowledge, I can read pinyin now, understand the tones and even can put together simple sentences. They have a great set of learning materials with videos, audios, and quizzes, so you can self-study at home and get much more out of your course. My teacher Jane was very knowledgeable, engaging and friendly, which made the classes really enjoyable. The other teachers and school stuff are also very nice and friendly people, which creates a very good atmosphere. Overall, definitely recommended!

José Spain I have had such a great experience learning at Silk Mandarin. I did a level 5 one-on-one and a group class with Catherine for 3 weeks and now I am doing a level 5 one-on-one class online with Sisi. Going to class was and it is super fun. Silk Mandarin has been wonderful in my language learning so far, I have tried different schools and courses but what stood out with Silk Mandarin is this. - Well-structured preparation. - Fantastic teachers. I highly recommend this school and encourage anyone to put in the hands-on work of studying. Silk Mandarin help me to form a solid foundation in which I can build on.

Before studying at silk mandarin I was experiencing many difficulties regarding my sentence structure and my listening and speaking ability. My sentences were disorganised and misunderstood by others. I was able to read some basic texts, but unable to comprehend their meaning in real time. Before my departure to Shanghai, I was frantically polling anyone I knew that had ties to China about in-person language schools. However, all the recommendations were either online-based or located outside of Shanghai. While reading online forums, the name ‘Silk Mandarin’ kept appearing. I emailed multiple Shanghai-based schools, but found that Silk Mandarin was by far the most responsive. After a quick online assessment of my current ability, they provided detailed study options. The intensive HSK3 course really accelerated my learning journey. I found that every lesson logically built upon the previous one, and it teaches Mandarin in a modern and practical way, unlike many outdated textbooks. They use many unique teaching methods and provide you with an established mandarin-speaking community that I otherwise may not have had in my short stay in Shanghai. Silk Mandarin organised my routine into intense-three hour classes in the morning, establishing a solid allocation of my day in which to routinely learn and practise mandarin. The small class sizes make it impossible to hide, encouraging all students to interact evenly with the content. I was especially impressed by the capability of my teacher, Jane Wu. She is patient, easy going, and shows genuine interest in your background. This creates many opportunities to practise speaking mandarin in a more natural way. Creating a great environment to learn Mandarin. I’ll be the first to admit that I still have a long way to go on the road to fluency, but Silk Mandarin has helped to form a solid foundation in which I can I build on. I would be quick to recommend Silk Mandarin to any aspiring students.

I have had such a great experience learning Chinese at Silk Mandarin! I did a level 5 口语 one-on-one class online with Catherine. Going to class was always super fun, giving me time to practice the standard course in the textbook we used and time to have casual conversations to practice the language more naturally. Despite being online, the class felt very personal and engaging. I would recommend this course (and Teacher Catherine) to any Chinese learner that wants a super fun tailored experience!

Silk Mandarin was absolutely KEY in my language learning so far. I’ve tried different schools and courses, but what stood out with Silk is this: - incredibly well structured preparation and review materials allows you to focus on conversational skills during class. Very efficient! - Fantastic teachers (My teacher was Jane, and I was so impressed by her knowledge, patience and the fun and engaging classroom atmosphere created) - community! We played Mahjong with other students and teachers, went to eat Hotpot, etc. absolutely priceless. I highly recommend this school and encourage anyone to put in the hard work of studying. It pays off 10-fold as you get to enjoy life in China so much more! If you had told me two months ago that I’d be able to read hundreds of Chinese characters and have conversations with people, I wouldn’t have believed it. Now I’m so grateful I took those classes! Thank you, Silk Mandarin and Jane老师

I found this learning journey above my expectations in terms of results in short time (30h course) and applicability of the basics in the daily life. The school’s tools and methodology are very effective. Personal commitment in attending the lessons and making weekly homework is critical factor to succeed. Personally I recommend twice a week lessons, if you are starting from zero as I was. My teacher Jane was the perfect guide for both her professionalism and passion, she has been sharing not only about Chinese language but also many insights on their culture. Highly recommend!

My experience with Silk Mandarin was excellent from the start. I started speaking to Amy first and she really took the time to understand my goals, assess my skill level, and patiently answered all my questions. I took the intensive HSK3 course with Jane, an experienced teacher who structured the lessons well and was able to explain complicated grammar structures in a way that was easy to understand (also, her English was great which helped). The best part about the classes was all the practical speaking and listening exercises which I think is what really propelled my learning and confidence in the language. Jane knows the HSK curriculum so well - it really helped that she could pick the right level of words and grammar to incorporate into conversations and give us the best opportunities to practice. The teachers and staff created a fun and engaging learning environment. Breaks were great for practicing what we had learned with other students and teachers, and we often went out for lunch together after class, which allowed us to experience more local culture and food.

Helpful teachers with clear explanations for 1-on-1 classes. Delightful service and help from consultants about insight of the course and inquiry of living in China.

I initiated conversations with Silk Mandarin when I first arrived in China at the end of March as I was evaluating the different Chinese programs I found online. I spoke with a woman named Silvia over the phone and via WeChat. She was so attentive and understanding, that I was sold on the Silk Mandarin program. I took a Chinese level test as I had some history studying the language and realized I needed some practice before joining the HSK 2 level class as there were things I couldn't remember. Silvia was kind enough to provide me complimentary access to the HSK 1 modules on the contingency that I signed up for the HSK 2 class. I was then able to select which month I wanted to start the HSK 2 level class and even pay for the course in monthly installments, which was so nice. Unfortunately, during this process, Silvia left the company, and I was put in contact with a new salesperson. The original intent, when I had worked with Silvia was to start a class in June, but a week before the June class start date, I found myself having to reach out to the salesperson as I still had not received the HSK 1 modules and it had been over a month since out last conversation, which we had briefly paused at the end of April for a 4-day holiday. I was very disappointed that I had to be the one to follow up on this, especially since I was ready to start everything at the end of April. During this follow up, the salesperson informed me that there would be no group class at the time that worked around my work schedule as no one else had signed up. I emphasized that I'd rather wait for another student to join as the group class is 1.5 hours vs taking the class individually which is shortened to 1 hour. We agreed to wait until July for another student to join. It was only in mid-June that I got access to the HSK 1 materials. Another student signed up for the July course timing and we were put in a group chat with the teacher and some Silk Mandarin management people. The course started off very smoothly and everything was going great until I was one day pinged by the Silk Mandarin people and told that my class would be cut down to hour-long sessions as the other student had dropped out as he felt he needed some extra time studying before starting the class. I was a bit frustrated by this as 1. I had already delayed my studies to ensure I was getting 1.5-hour lessons and 2. I felt that the school should have flagged the difference in the students' levels before the class had started. I was also furious about how Silk had decided the class would be 1 hour instead of giving me options. It was only after I communicated my frustration that Silk offered to pause my studies and let me restart the class the following month with another student (if they found one). I opted to stick with the 1:1 hour-long class schedule as I didn't wish to delay my studies further, but I asked if now that the class was 1:1, if the schedule could be adjusted slightly to give more flexibility around days I knew I’d be traveling. While my teacher seemed happy to accommodate, Silk Mandarin said they had a strict policy that classes couldn't be changed after the schedule was set. I was surprised that they couldn't offer more flexibility since they had just limited my class time. As for the class itself, my teacher Sisi was great and willing to focus on areas where I was particularly struggling with. She also made time to teach me things about the culture that aren’t found in the textbook, when it was relevant to the lesson, which I appreciated. The HSK 1 and 2 courses have both pinyin and characters, but the main focus is on the pinyin as characters aren't really taught until HSK 3. I think this is a missed opportunity as students then have to go back to learn characters. I previously learned characters, so Sisi was happy to give me character-only reading assignments, and so on. Sisi was also flexible with the start time of one lesson that I was taking from an airport when I was held up in customs. There was one lesson that Sisi missed, though it seemed that Silk Mandarin hadn't communicated to her that the class was going to be on a different day of the week than usual, and it conflicted with another class she teaches. Instead of Silk asking what I'd prefer to do in this case, they told me that they were going to find a substitute, someone who didn't know where I was struggling vs excelling. I personally would have preferred to postpone the lesson for a day that worked with Sisi. In terms of the class resources, I do like the modules that are provided, but someone clearly needs to proofread. The modules are great at guiding students through the new vocab and grammar. The course is very fast-paced, so be sure you have time to study on your own. I like the “real-life” extra videos, but they need to add pinyin, especially as characters aren’t the focus until HSK 3.

I am glad that our roads cross with Silk Mandarin. Our Jane was very friendly and helpful during our whole learning Journey. She is always patient and willing to help. I was trying to do self study before Silk Mandarin and some of the basic learning concepts were missing and Jane helped me to have better understanding of the language. They have online metarials supported by videos, You can do self study back home. Now it is time to learn Chinese charachters. It will be more challanging but I will succeed with the help of Silk Mandarin. Thanks a lot.

After looking for several schools in SH i decided to go for SilkMandarin, first i had a session with Coco who explained me all the content of the course and the different modalities, then i started the HSK1 with Jane, at this point i never had any contact with the chinese language, so the first classes were very cool and interesting with Jane, i think 4 clases just concentrating on pronuntiation and hearing the tones 😂which in chinese is the difficult part for me, what i really liked is that Jane saw which words or tones we were speaking wrong and knew which mistakes we do so that we can focus on that. She is very patient so for us with zero knowledge is a great start also to get confident speaking in chinese. I almost finish hsk1 now but definitely will enroll for the level 2 - with Jane of course 😉 If you want to learn chinese in a fun way - definitely go for silk mandarin 😎

I opted for 1-on-1 online Mandarin lessons, which matched my preference for personalized learning. This allowed me to fit lessons around my work schedule, and I was able to reschedule with advance notice when needed. Having lived in China for several years, I knew my Mandarin skills needed significant improvement. I was lacking the self-motivation to study in my own time and previous casual lessons hadn’t offered the structured approach I needed. I found Silk Mandarin and having read what they offered and chatting with them about my previous learning history, I decided to try their trial class. Silk Mandarin offered what I needed to suit my learning style. They provided a very good framework, PPTS and additional videos/handouts that allow for a structured learning approach. Each session helps build on previous knowledge and key words learnt for homework, which helps it flow smoothly, building effectively on vocabulary and grammar. As they give relevant homeworks and videos to practice before/after lessons, I also found there was a positive effect on my own motivation to learn and study using their materials. The trial class with Silk Mandarin was very good, and I ended up requesting the trial teacher to be my regular teacher. She was exceptionally friendly and helpful. She helps tailor lessons to target my specific skills and adapting the content to my proficiency level and speed. Their teaching methods, interactive exercises and real-life conversation practice has greatly enhanced my learning. I feel so much happier and more confident in my current level and I would recommend it no matter if you're a beginner, somewhere in the middle or more advanced in your mandarin abilities. The online platform is also super easy to use and allows you to find all the resources you need any time.

The teacher was very knowledgeable and competent in getting the information across. They provided sufficient resources to aid learning and understanding. The structure of the course is the most effective that I have seen so far and the time was flexible to accommodate my schedule. Support staff maintained contact to ensure that things were going well. I had an excellent learning experience with Silk Mandarin and I will continue my Chinese learning journey with them.

I fell in love with Mandarin at the end of 2022, when one of my colleagues introduced me to the intriguing and exciting world of Chinese drama, which I started watching endlessly. I very soon decided to also take up a one-on-one Mandarin course. Unfortunately, the method used in class was not engaging enough, too reliant on the textbook and memorisation, and the teacher would speak English to explain the rules as I was a beginner. I was not fully satisfied; so, I started searching online for alternatives. I was lucky enough to come across Silk Mandarin Instagram page and some of their entertaining content. I found the presentation of everyday Mandarin very appealing, the explainations were short, easy and fun, all accompanied by slides showing Chinese characters, pīnyīn and an English translation of each phrase/sentence. I decided to contact the school and had a quick call with one of the PRs to preliminary assess my Chinese level. Soon thereafter I had a demo class and was introduced to my awesome teacher, 思思. During the demo, I noticed that 思思 was well prepared, and I was positively impressed by the “Slow Motion Technique” as it quickly gave me a clear idea of how Chinese sentences are constructed. I thus decided to enrol in a one-on-one online course. I started in July 2023 with HSK 2, and now, in August 2024, we are almost halfway through HSK 4 上. I think 思思 is a great teacher; she is totally adaptable to my needs. Additionally, since day one she would use Mandarin to speak to me, and switch to English only if she noticed that I was really struggling to understand her. This “immersion mode” helped me get used to the sounds of this beautiful language. Additionally, 思思 always sets the bar a little higher for me to challenge myself and improve my level, but not too high to lose confidence in my abilities. Finally, we have a lot of fun learning new aspects of China and its culture, which makes the experience even more exciting. I’m really grateful to Silk Mandarin staff for being so committed to helping students succeed by offering high-level professionalism and engaging methods that make you feel at ease and progress fast. I can’t wait to travel to China and put to practice what I’ve learnt so far! :) Silk Mandarin 加油！