Maggie Chen, USA

I've been studying at CLE for about several months now and absolutely love it! I came to CLE with a bit of background in spoken Mandarin but could not even read or write one word of Chinese. Sally Zhang and Sun Lili worked with me to find a class with the right fit and I ended up in a classroom with three other foreigners who learn beautifully together, each with a different strength in grasping the language.

The teachers here are all friendly, helpful, and intuitive enough to adjust the class to maximize student learning. The smaller class size of 3-6 people gives everyone an opportunity to participate, ask questions and discover the beauty of the language time flies when we're in class. We work hard during class and it pays off! In just the first eight weeks, I was able to read 250+ characters, write sentences, and read short stories. My oral Chinese has improved significantly due to lots of teacher-student interaction. The CLE method of teaching is a perfect blend of oral, reading comprehension and writing so that each lesson can be mastered efficiently. One caveat, though, you must do your homework if you want to truly benefit from these daily classes.

Being a newcomer to Beijing, I also found the CLE team to be helpful in assisting me with other student matters such as housing, Visa requirements, gym memberships, etc. To top it off, I've made good friendships with the other students at school. I like the sense of community and extra cultural offerings provided by CLE's learning environment and would encourage anyone with the desire to learn Chinese to begin here. You won't be disappointed!

* If you would like to contact Maggie to ask questions about CLE, please email info@chinaledu.com with your contact information and we will forward your details to her.