FAQs

For both group and private classes, one class is 45 minutes. Most of our students take more than one class per day, so there's always a 10-minute break between classes - it proves to be helpful to process what you've just learned.

Part-Time Group courses include 4 classes per week.

Intensive Group Courses include 20 classes per week.

Class schedule for Private classes is flexible.

The class content is based on the course you've chosen, and the classes can vary slightly based on the teacher's personal style - but an average class usually includes a review of previously learned content, an engaging and student-centered input of new words & grammar, a reading/viewing section (of a related article or a video), and practice, practice, practice - which will help you convert the newly learned content into your active vocabulary.

Most importantly, you will be encouraged to speak Chinese as much as possible, and the classes will be held in Chinese. For more details, read the next 2 questions.

We have high requirements for our teachers, and only hire 5% of applicants. All our teachers are native Chinese speakers and are university graduates with majors in Chinese language education or Chinese literature.

They have also previously obtained a Teaching Chinese as a Second Language (TCSL, or TCSOL) certificate before they joined us and successfully completed That’s Mandarin’s mandatory Teachers Training Course (TTC).

All of our classes are taught in Chinese to give students a fully immersive Chinese experience. Even for absolute beginners, our teachers will only use limited English to help you understand them. Our teacher will use pictures, videos, signs, and gestures to help you learn.

As your Chinese level progresses, less and less English will be used in your classes and you will be able to understand more and more Chinese every day.

We use our own in-house learning platform NihaoCafe for both online and offline Chinese classes.

For HSK 1-3, the standard course is built around a TV series we filmed featuring 64 episodes, and the story set in modern China with over 70 characters in 45 locations. Students can watch the videos, read interactive dialogues, learn new words & grammar, and practice with exercises on the platform.

For HSK 4, more advanced learners can read articles on various topics: Chinese culture, modern China, China’s economy & job market, dialogues from daily life, and many more. This level has the same set of interactive exercises as the previous levels.

For HSK 5-6, our teachers customize the lessons completely based on student’s learning style and goals. They choose from an extensive pool of materials such as articles, videos, comic books, translation classes, HSK papers, and more.

Custom materials are available to students of all levels if they wish to customize their private classes.

If you are interested in a specific field, you might choose a specialized course such as Chinese for Business, Diplomatic, Medical purposes etc.

Our students come from all over the world and from all walks of life! We’ve had students ranging from 5 to 60 years old as we offer a variety of courses for different age groups and different professions.

Yes, you can register for the HSK exam at our school. We also offer HSK preparation courses which are extremely popular with students looking to get into Chinese universities or those who are applying for a job and a job permit in China.

Yes. Please contact our staff for more details.

We recommend to apply at least 3 months in advance to guarantee you will get a spot in a program of your choice, with your preferred schedule. By applying early, you can also benefit from our early bird discount.

Besides, you will need to apply for a Chinese visa at least 30 days in advance and longer if you’re applying for a student X2 visa (for long-term Chinese courses only).

We can arrange a free trial class for you so that you can experience our methods directly and find out what makes us different from other Chinese language schools.

It will also give you a chance to meet our teachers and to discuss your exact requirements so that we can put together the best possible course for you. We will also give you some recommendations and make a study plan for you after the trial lesson.

Sign up for a free trial class now.

Your visa type will depend on the type of Chinese course you sign up for.

For a short-term course, you can simply apply for a tourist visa. It’s the least complicated visa to apply for that allows you to study with us.

For a long-term course, you can apply for a student X2 visa, for which you will be required to provide a number of documents, like a school acceptance letter, financial record, etc.

For more detailed information, please contact our staff.

We can help you to arrange your accommodation in China. Please go to the Shanghai school page or Beijing school page to get more information. Or contact us directly with your accommodation requirements.

Yes, we can provide both airport pick up and drop off services. Just let us know your departure or arrival information at least 2 weeks in advance and we will promptly get back to you with pricing information. Contact us.