Learning conversation Mandarin

[dbashyam]

Dear Friends,

Where can we learn conversation Mandarin? Any place that you guys recommend, which is value for money and quality?

We want to learn as a family

Thanks,
Dinesh

[Dert42]

I've only partially looked into this. My son is taking Mandarin at school and I wanted my wife and I to take lessons.
It seemed the best option for us may be to hire a private teacher that would come to our condo. Seems that we may be missing out by not having a traditional classroom with other people to practice on.
I'm interested in what you find as well!

[the lynx]

I've only partially looked into this. My son is taking Mandarin at school and I wanted my wife and I to take lessons.
It seemed the best option for us may be to hire a private teacher that would come to our condo. Seems that we may be missing out by not having a traditional classroom with other people to practice on.
I'm interested in what you find as well!

I'm also looking into taking Mandarin classes, but unsure whether it is more effective to learn in a traditional setting, or private tutor (a friend) or in a language exchange group.

[Leaf816]

I've only partially looked into this. My son is taking Mandarin at school and I wanted my wife and I to take lessons.
It seemed the best option for us may be to hire a private teacher that would come to our condo. Seems that we may be missing out by not having a traditional classroom with other people to practice on.
I'm interested in what you find as well!

Hi everyone,

Nice to know that you are interested in mandarin. Currently As a mummy to be, I'm not working and interested to have some quality time such as learning a third language. Since your wife and you are keen to learn mandarin and I'm native mandarin speaking, probably we can help each other in some way.

Ps: if anyone would like to learn or practice mandarin, pls contact me leaf816@hotmail.com to discuss more.

Thanks,
Leaf816

[taxico]

I've only partially looked into this. My son is taking Mandarin at school and I wanted my wife and I to take lessons.
It seemed the best option for us may be to hire a private teacher that would come to our condo. Seems that we may be missing out by not having a traditional classroom with other people to practice on.
I'm interested in what you find as well!

I'm also looking into taking Mandarin classes, but unsure whether it is more effective to learn in a traditional setting, or private tutor (a friend) or in a language exchange group.

depends - i know a (paid) tutor that's very effective and strict. she was my former chinese language teacher at ACS independent and is quite popular with expats and locals. her students pick up mandarin quite quickly and she gets kids up to exam spec pretty fast. (she no longer accepts new students)

there are, of course, ineffective tutors.

language exchange groups tend to be less effective as after the gathering is over everybody switches to another language... sometimes not quite before it's over.

traditional classes are a mix of what i've typed above.

if you have time or are learning it casually, i'd say go with the most cost effective/free route first - if you like what you learn, it's never too late to pay for better instruction.

[Ray NZ]

Actually I find both ways work. I have a Mandarin tutor now, who was my instructor when I took a class in one of the Chinese learning institution.

Our class was big, around 18 students; and yes you will have interactions when learning with other classmates, but you probably won't have enough chance to practice in class. One more thing, you will have to follow the fixed schedule once you start a course.

I enjoyed her class a lot; the teaching was not traditional at all I'll have to say, even though the class size was big. After two courses, I was too busy to follow a fixed schedule therefore I hired her as my private tutor. She has been tutoring my two sons as well! We all enjoyed learning with her a lot.

You can PM me if you need more information.

[KleenWayne70]

Actually I find both ways work. I have a Mandarin tutor now, who was my instructor when I took a class in one of the Chinese learning institution.

Our class was big, around 18 students; and yes you will have interactions when learning with other classmates, but you probably won't have enough chance to practice in class. One more thing, you will have to follow the fixed schedule once you start a course.

I enjoyed her class a lot; the teaching was not traditional at all I'll have to say, even though the class size was big. After two courses, I was too busy to follow a fixed schedule therefore I hired her as my private tutor. She has been tutoring my two sons as well! We all enjoyed learning with her a lot.

You can PM me if you need more information.

is it expensive to learn china in sg?

[MayDay5]

You can hanging out with Chinese friends, it's the best way to improve your mandarin