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Winkie Schweiz

My stay here with LTL lasted four weeks and it passed really quickly. I was staying in a shared apartment, and I actually liked it this way because you have the freedom of coming and going as you want to. The room is quite good for Chinese standards. Everything went pretty smoothly.

The apartments I stayed in were good and accessible by public transport. The second one was even in walking distance of the school. 

The LTL student community is like a big family that welcomes every single student with a warm hug. There are school organised events every week that also give you a chance to get to do things that you wouldn‘t necessarily have thought of on your own.

The school staff is really nice. You can come to them with whatever problem it is that you have and they‘ll do their best to try to solve it.

For my 1-on-1 lessons I had quite a young teacher. We got along really well. One of my main targets for Beijing, was to get to speak more Chinese in general as I rarely get a chance to speak Mandarin back home.

So, personally, I really liked to have a good conversation with my teacher. As a special treat I got to have an excursion every two weeks here, which is a nice way of changing up things a little bit instead of sitting in a class room all day. 

I‘ve wanted to explore China for quite a while now. Even though I‘ve seen Shenzhen and Hong Kong before.

The ancient cultural aspect weren‘t quite present in those two cities. However, Beijing with the Forbidden Palace, Hutong’s and all the gardens and temples was just what I needed. It turned out to be the right decision. I‘m mesmerised by this city and all its scenery. This city is so big, that it has a little corner for everybody. No matter what you are looking for whether it be the old artistic quarters of the Liulichang or the more modern area Sanlitun. 

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Daniel Neu Tyskland

Having been to Beijing many times before, this was the first time I really got to learn Chinese which was interesting in its own way.

One of the reasons I chose LTL Beijing, in addition to the good reviews and the apparent value was that it was close to my grandmas apartment here in Beijing. You see, my family has lived in Beijing for over 200 years.

Coming from a Chinese background and learning Chinese is quite different from learning Chinese for a complete beginner.

Some things were easier, as I already had some basic knowledge of the language, and I knew the culture. The teacher managed to adapt to all the students differing needs. It was also great that she knew my strengths and weaknesses. It really helped my learning.

I really enjoyed the experience of finally learning Chinese, and it is something I want to continue with. Already I plan to go back to LTL, maybe next spring?

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Jocelyn Hong Kong

Although it took some time to find a suitable learning/teaching style that best addressed my goals at LTL, I am very satisfied with my classes and teacher overall. Prior to coming to LTL, my Mandarin was at a basic conversational/reading/writing (Traditional characters) level. My main goals were to learn Simplified Chinese and to gain fluency in speaking, reading, and writing.

Ultimately to feel more comfortable using the language in future business settings.

I started with the HSK 4 textbook, but upon realizing that the content was not very applicable, I asked Seraph and Angela if we could incorporate current events/rising trends in China, as well as Chinese culture and history. Both Seraph and Angela were very responsive and worked to address my desires immediately.

Seraph began to buy a local newspaper for me every morning and she would send me articles she found interesting/relevant to read at home. She also asked me what specific topics I’m interested in learning more about and she would then find news/articles to help broaden my knowledge.

When I come across unfamiliar characters in class, she tries to explain the definition in a way that helps me remember the word and also provides useful examples. I truly appreciate and would like to commend Seraph’s hard work both in and outside of class – I could not have asked for someone more patient and responsive as Seraph!

It’s hard to analyze the level of improvement in my Mandarin, but I can happily say that I no longer feel threatened when I see Simplified text and can recognize and understand a broader range of characters. Although reading and understanding Chinese newspapers is still a challenge for me, I can generally read the headers/sub-titles and gain a good understanding of the key ideas. Whilst there is still a lot more room for improvement, I am content with my improvement in this past month.

In terms of possible areas of improvement for LTL, I would recommend notifying students what textbooks are available (ie HSK, Speaking based textbooks, etc.) prior to/on the first day of classes so that students can pick one that best suits their interest/goals.

I switched textbooks two times in the first two weeks and whilst I understand Angela tries her best to find a suitable textbook, it would have been helpful to get an introduction to the different textbooks in the beginning. Other than that minor area though, I am glad LTL has frequent feedback forms and I enjoy the flexibility in crafting my own lessons. Thank you LTL for a great month of learning!