When picking your A+ Mandarin language school in China, there are a lot of things to consider.

Where’s it located? What programs are offered? Are there flexible start dates? Is the school qualified for your needs? Those are just a few of the frequently asked questions students have.

To give you a better idea of why Keats School in Kunming, China is your best bet for becoming fluent in Mandarin, continue reading. We’re sharing with you our awards, what makes us different and our educational experience at MIT and how that’s helping our students learn Mandarin.

OUR AWARDS

Being recognized isn’t our main priority. Our main priority is teaching professionals like yourself the Mandarin language. But, when we’re awarded for our Mandarin language work, we can’t help but get excited.

On January 13th, Keats School won the award for Best Mandarin School in Kunming. This honorable award was presented by GoKunming, a famous media outlet in the city, and was part of the Best of Kunming Awards Ceremony.

The recognition of Keats being the best Mandarin school in Kunming is rewarding to us after years of research in teaching Chinese as a foreign language.

I was able to attend the ceremony and pick up the award on stage. With the growing popularity of Keats School and the recent awards, the school is always working to improve the teaching quality and refine teaching materials to tailor to each student’s needs.

While we try our best to create a Chinese-speaking environment at Keats, we really care about each student’s progress. As a leading Chinese language school in China, we aim to provide our students with an exclusive learning experience that cannot be found anywhere else.

OUR EDUCATION EXPERIENCE

Keats School was founded in 2004 by Xue Feng (薛峰), who is a former medical doctor. Xue had a passion for Chinese traditional culture, Chinese calligraphy, Chinese style writing, and Chinese cooking. With all of these passions, Keats School was founded.

My name is Zier Liu (刘子尔), and I’m the vice chairman at Keats School. I am the person who replies to your emails and am your main contact at the Mandarin language school. I hold a Bachelor’s degree in Management Science from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Sloan Business School.

At MIT, I learned how important the quality of the product is to the business’s brand. That’s why we kept working on improving the teaching at Keats, ensuring that every student is satisfied with their learning result. We spent endless efforts to find out the most efficient way to help Chinese learners learn this language. We have developed unique teaching methods to help the students understand Chinese grammar and memorize new Chinese words.

While studying at MIT, I was also working as a teaching assistant in the school’s Chinese language department.

In Boston, I developed a strong passion for teaching Chinese. I have a lot of fun teaching foreign students because they love the culture and the language — and for myself, I also learn a lot from my students. So I really love what my career has become. I love being a Chinese teacher.

OUR TEACHER’S EDUCATION EXPERIENCES

At Keats School, we have a very high standard when it comes to our teachers. We have a strict interview process with prospective teachers. They must have a bachelor’s degree in teaching Chinese as a foreign language or English. This gives them a good sense of the language and how to teach it to others.

After the interview process, there is a systematic training program they have to finish before stepping into a Keats classroom.

We prefer teachers who have meaningful experiences already teaching Chinese either in China or abroad when we select instructors. For all teachers who teach at Keats, there is ongoing teaching training. Every Saturday, teachers gather with their teachers’ syllabi from the previous week to do a review.

Once every two weeks, we hold a teachers’ conference to make sure that the quality of our instruction continues to be top-notch.

KEATS PHILOSOPHY

We have 13 years of experience as a school, and over those years, we have been able to create our own methodology.

It focuses on two types of programs – small group Chinese classes and intensive one-on-one Chinese instruction. Keats School adapts different teaching methods for different students to make the Mandarin language suitable and achievable for everyone.

Within the one-on-one program, we use different listening, speaking, reading, and writing methods. Our use of flashcards, a bit of a company secret, is one of our best tools to help students with their Mandarin language fluency.

STANDING OUT FROM THE REST

The biggest thing that makes Keats stand out from the other language schools in Kunming and the rest of China is our quality.

Quality is a key factor for the survival and growth of Keats. One question we constantly ask ourselves is, “If the quality of teaching isn’t good, what’s the point for students?” We want people to become fluent in Mandarin, so we have to do our absolute best to make that possible.

Like we mentioned above, we take pride in our quality of teaching and we keep improving month by month. Our quality teachers encourage students to keep coming back to study at Keats because progress is made at this school.

The second-best quality of Keats is our management. With our student numbers constantly on the rise and 40% of past students returning for more lessons, the management of the whole school becomes more important and efficiency is key. With the growth we’ve had at Keats, rethinking the way we administered the school was crucial.

Location is the third thing that makes us stand out from the rest. Keats School is situated in the city center, which is very convenient. Most students stay at Keats because tuition normally includes accommodation and meals. This makes it very easy for students to get around and feel at home here.

The last thing that we see as a big advantage for our students is the services we provide. In addition to the amazing classes and teachers, we have good accommodations – single rooms with private bathrooms located in the same building as our classrooms.

If students want to live off-campus, we will help them find an apartment and get them set up. We don’t leave our students feeling alone or stranded in a new country.

APPLY TO KEATS SCHOOL

Every student is really passionate about studying the language. Dedication plays a huge part in our students’ experience learning the Mandarin language.

No matter the level you’re at in the Mandarin language, you can always find someone who can speak Mandarin. Plus, soon after starting your course at Keats School, you’ll gain more fluency.

To learn more about the eight different courses we offer, check out our in-depth descriptions of each course. Once you decide on your course, you can start your Keats School application online here.

We look forward to welcoming you to Kunming and into the Keats School family.