DON’T STUDY CHINESE IN SHANGHAI – 5 REASONS TO PICK KUNMING INSTEAD
Contents
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
I can’t tell you how much I liked it. The thing I liked about the teachers and the teaching method is that there is so much flexibility. The other thing I liked about the teaching is the combination of classic textbook learning and going outside. I loved it! I like getting to know other students. Everybody shared the same goal and that’s making their Chinese better. Kunming is a big city, but it is very safe to live here. Another thing I liked about Keats is the idea that people here help you. I can’t recommend it enough. I think it was a valuable experience. Looking forward to coming back!
The best part of the school is the patience the instructors had and the time to focus on the fundamentals like pronunciation. I think it is very easy to skip over those and go to vocabulary. But by learning the pronunciation, I feel like it helped me gain a better understanding of the language.
I found Keats to be very good, teachers are excellent and really take the students seriously. Kunming is the best place to learn Mandarin in China. The environment is awesome, no pollution. The air quality is great, good weather. The people here are very friendly. I come to take classes every day. I feel comfortable studying Chinese at Keats. I learned so many things, although I only studied at Keats for 2 months. I am really satisfied with my teacher. For us foreigners, Keats is the best Chinese school in China. Therefore, I would highly recommend Keats to all of you.
It has been notable because I have met a lot of people who I met first time last year like me to come back to Keats this year. The teaching has been fantastic. The teachers carefully prepare each lesson. I think this one-on-one approach is really a great way to rapidly increase your level of Chinese and increase your confidence and fluency with the language.
Since last semester, we started studying Chinese at Keats. It was the best choice we can ever make. It is a really good school. The classes are a lot of fun, you learn a lot, but very interactive, so you talk a lot which means it is not just books and writing. Kunming is a really pleasant city to live in, especially if you compare it to other cities in the east. If you like to travel, if you like to study Chinese in a fun way, Keats has the best Chinese language program for you.
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.
Kunming’s scenery is very beautiful. It is the best place to study Chinese in China. My favorite learning method at Keats School is one-on-one because it is suitable for everyone. My teacher is very good, very caring, and lovely. My life when learning Chinese in Kunming is very good and the weather is very good. The air is very good. It is good for the elderly’s body.
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.