ExcelMandarin

I just completed my first class with ExcelMandarin and am incredibly grateful to have found this program. I really appreciate the focus on conversational fluency as the #1 priority (with pinyin-based reading to support learning, but no requirement to learn characters). This is a huge contrast to my past language learning experiences, which felt overly academic and didn't give me the skills or confidence to navigate live conversations with real people. I pursued some self-study at home in the few months prior to trying ExcelMandarin, but my pronunciation, vocabulary, and grammar grew so much faster in just 4 weeks of their intro class thanks to the program structure. The teachers are fantastic and classes are very engaging and centered on conversational practice as a result of the flipped classroom approach. My partner has remarked multiple times on how much my Mandarin has improved thanks to this class, and I'm now able to navigate short but meaningful conversations in Mandarin in our daily lives. I'm very optimistic that taking more courses here will help me achieve conversational fluency for building a closer connection with Taiwanese family members.

The Excel Mandarin style of teaching is fantastic! The teachers are great and truly care about the students learning. They have their own app for studying that makes it never feel like a chore to do. I seriously look forward to class every week because it is so fun! And the results are real, my in-laws in China are stunned by my progress after just a few months 🇨🇳

ExcelMandarin is an extremely fun and conducive way to learn Mandarin. What I really like about this program is it's emphasis on conversation. I've spent years language learning other languages, and what has always bothered me is the lack of emphasis on listening and conversation skills--I became good at finishing written workbook assignments, but was no closer to speaking to another human. That's where ExcelMandarin is different. The entire course structure and class structure orients around conversation first. This meant that even after the intro class, I was able to start having very basic exchanges with native speakers. Another stand out quality of ExcelMandarin are it's excellent teachers and staff. You can really tell people enjoy teaching here, and that energy makes you all the more motivated to keep studying!

I've been studying with ExcelMandarin for about 6 months now, and recently completed their Q2 course. It's difficult to say something that hasn't already been mentioned by all the other glowing reviews. So what I will add is this: it's exceedingly rare to find a business led by people who both care deeply about what they do, and are so incredibly good at it. That is what ExcelMandarin is, and it shows in every facet of the student experience here. If you want to learn how to speak Mandarin, I have a hard time imagining a better place to do it.

I am currently enrolled in my second course at Excel Mandarin and am extremely happy with not only my progress in the course, but the system Excel Mandarin has in place. I previously tried a short course in Mandarin and it didn't go while, it was only taught using traditional characters and had at least 14 students per one teacher. Excel Mandarin is different, where they focus only speaking and listening and pair at max 4 students to one teacher. The classroom is flipped, where you are expected to study the content outside of class and then during class, it is speaking exercises and games. This really pushes you to do your homework and study hard so you are engaged in the class. Even if you feel like you didn't prepare as well as you needed, the teachers are patient and competent to helping you learn. My goal is to be able to speak Mandarin with my partner's family and I really feel like I will get there through the educational system that Excel Mandarin has setup.