DON’T STUDY CHINESE IN SHANGHAI – 5 REASONS TO PICK KUNMING INSTEAD
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There are a lot of publications and schools in China where you can study Mandarin.
While many of them encourage you to learn Chinese in Shanghai, we’re here to tell you otherwise. You could pick to study Chinese in Shanghai, but the level of fluency you will achieve there will not match the level you will reach at Keats School.
Here’s Why.
SMALL CLASSES
At Keats School, you’re not only a student; you’re primarily a person. At larger schools or universities in Shanghai where you study Mandarin, study abroad students can often feel like a number in a large classroom.
We never want our students to feel any less than a valued students. We keep our classes small and listen to any and all of our students’ concerns; with personalized classes, your fluency matters. We will work with you one-on-one during intensive one-on-one classes to perfect your Mandarin language skills. If you’re struggling, we won’t continue until you’re confident.
If you study Mandarin in Shanghai in a large school, those moments won’t happen. This means your fluency will not grow because you do not fully understand the class before moving on to the next subject.
QUALIFIED TEACHERS
At Keats School, we only have the best Mandarin language, teachers. Our teachers who speak standard Mandarin and English get professional training, and unique teaching methods developed in-house.
These methods including the use of flashcards help our students reach the fluency they hope for when deciding to study Mandarin in China.
If you decide to study Chinese in Shanghai, you may have qualified teachers, but you may also be taught by teaching assistants who are not as highly qualified as our teachers.
Every two weeks, we have a teaching conference to communicate the latest and efficient teaching methods. We go over teaching and student feedback and develop ways to improve our Mandarin teaching.
Keats School believes that teaching quality is the fundamental element of being a successful Chinese language school. The Teaching Quality Team is responsible for checking teacher’s daily syllabus and lesson plans and organizing teaching conferences every two weeks.
CUSTOMIZED LESSON
While you may be drawn to study Mandarin in Shanghai, we suggest picking Kunming instead based on our customized study plans.
Since 2004, we’ve done our due diligence to create custom plans for each of our students. One of our teachers will sit with every student to discuss what goals and fluency they’d like to achieve while studying at Keats School.
You may not get this if you choose to study Mandarin in Shanghai at a larger school or university. The lessons would be based on the whole class, not your specific needs and wants.
ANYTIME START TIME
A bigger Chinese course in Shanghai, they will have a certain start date. This isn’t the case when you decide to study Mandarin at Keats.
Keats School is open year-round, so we have an anytime start date for intensive one-on-one Mandarin classes. You can study anytime according to your schedule.
KEATS SCHOOL IS ACCREDITED
Keats School is accredited by the Provincial Education Department and the Kunming Education Department.
The teaching quality of Keats School is checked by the Chinese education department each year so that your studies at Keats can be guaranteed. If you are thinking of studying Mandarin in Shanghai, the place you are interested in may not be accredited. This would mean you would not be satisfied with your learning and fluency at the end of the course.
Being accredited also means that we are legally eligible to help you with your Chinese visa.
TIME TO BUY YOUR TICKET
Kunming has seen an increase in popularity with study abroad students. People realize studying Mandarin in Shanghai may not be the best idea, but studying Mandarin in Kunming is.
If you haven’t decided where to live when learning Chinese in China, Kunming should come up to the top of your list. To learn more about Kunming and Keats School, visit our blog.
If you’re ready to call Keats home, apply directly on our website. See you soon!
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OVER 7000+ STUDENTS
HAVE STUDIED AT KEATS
About studying Chinese here, I think the living condition is very convenient because the dorm is very close to the classroom. Our teachers really enjoy teaching Chinese. They are also very passionate. Compared with other cities in China, Kunming has really good weather.
I decided to learn Chinese in Kunming because I like smaller cities and I like the climate here. We had four hours a day study here and my dear teacher taught me very much and never lost her patience with me. It was a really wonderful experience to be here and I recommend Keats school and the teachers here to everyone who likes to learn Chinese in China.
My name is Sarah Fish. I am 81. I knew very little Chinese when I arrived. How was I going to survive 2 weeks of intensive Chinese course? I have to laugh when I think of that now. What a positive experience this has been! I really wish we could be here a little longer. The teachers are extremely encouraging, evaluating first how much someone knows, and then starting from there.
The place is very cool. I am with a great group of people in my class, so coming to classes is very enjoyable. It is fun, we have a lot of discussions, games, activities. Our teachers are also very good, very supportive. Learning Chinese is intimidating at the start because you have so many questions. But I would advise coming to Keats because the atmosphere for learning is great. It is very relaxing. I would recommend the school.
I come to Kunming because I think the environment in Kunming is better and I heard that Keats School is better. I like the small group Chinese class because my classmates study hard and our teachers are very good. I like the teaching method of Keats because I like the activities at Keats. I think Yunnan is a particularly beautiful Chinese province.
The visa application was really straightforward, because Keats School helps us a lot with that. Keats has a big emphasis on conversational practice, so we learn a lot of vocabulary and daily life plans which is very convenient for us to go around town and speak with Chinese people which is the whole point of learning Chinese in China.
One thing I really liked was that I was able to work with my teacher to make an individual plan of study. Another really nice thing is that you live at the school, you feel completely safe. You always have a group of people who are willing to do things with you on the weekends or in the evenings. They are serving you all the 3 meals a day, the food was excellent.
The teachers at Keats know how to read the students and how to help students learn Chinese language easily. They know the level of the students. I am a slow learner, but they managed to adapt to my learning. They made the class very fun, very exciting. I am pleased that not only I got to learn the culture and the language, but I also got to make amazing friends, really unbelievable, Chinese friends and European friends, American friends, from all over the world.