ExcelMandarin

Fantastic experience: Excel Mandarin is a fantastic program! I really appreciate the speaking-focused approach, as it helps with retaining vocabulary, understanding sentence structures, and building confidence in using the language. The small class size makes a big difference as you get opportunity to practice and feel actively involved in every session. The learning app and quizzes provided throughout the course are excellent and really support improving language proficiency in an engaging way. Overall, it is a well-designed program that makes learning Mandarin both effective and enjoyable.

Fantastic experience: Really loved my experience so far in the intro, the class size is small so everything feels so individualized and you start speaking straight away. Looking forward to continuing to Q1!!

Fantastic experience: Wow - what an incredible program! From the curriculum and course pacing to the absolutely wonderful instructors, I'm so grateful to have come across this school! The small class sizes and focus on giving us plenty of opportunity to practice our speaking skills proved quite successful for our whole Intro class, and I'm honestly blown away by the progress I've been able to make in just a few short weeks! Our whole class enjoyed the experience so much that we're all moving on to the next session - can't wait to get started back next week! 10/10 recommend to anyone looking to learn Mandarin!

Fantastic experience: Excel Mandarin is been great! This was my first time taking a Mandarin class and their method was much more effective for learning/retaining Mandarin than the apps I have used in the past. The teachers have all been very helpful and the small class size optional office hours helped ensure I was getting useful feedback.

Fantastic experience: The teachers here are patient, positive, and are always willing to help you fully grasp each class' subject, in and outside of class. Class activities are well-paced (the speed picks up after Intro course, though) and engaging.

Fantastic experience: Excel Mandarin is amazing! I had tried Mandarin classes before, but none like this. As opposed to other classes, ExcelMandarin classes are small, intensive, and led by kind and knowledgeable teachers. Both myself and my Mandarin speaking partner are shocked by how much progress I have made by the end of just the intro course. I can’t wait to keep learning with EM and would recommend it wholeheartedly to anyone interested in learning Chinese.

Fantastic experience: I've taken the intro, Q1, and Q2 so far at EM, and would highly recommend to anyone that's serious about becoming conversationally fluent in Mandarin. The teachers are great, and I really enjoy the small class structure. Its so fun getting to know my classmates and to build our skills together! Starting from scratch there was a long ways to go - and there is still a ways to go, but being able to have conversations (albeit simple ones lol) and inside jokes with my partner in chinese after just 6 months of EM has been really motivating.

Fantastic experience: Self-taught for a few years, I jumped into EM at the Q2 level to help develop my conversational fluency. It has been excellent for that, and I’m happy with my development at the end of the quarter. EM is currently an online-only mandarin school, with a teacher:student ratio (in my experience) of around 1:2, and is focused on listening and speaking. The teachers that I’ve met are friendly and entertaining. My only complaint has been with a slightly bamboozling set of websites used to organize the curriculum, but overall I’m very happy with the class and don’t think I could ask for much better, especially for a working stiff with a tight schedule to work around.

Fantastic experience: If you are looking for an effective, fun, supportive environment to learn Chinese - you've come to the right place. Excel Mandarin was exactly what I was looking for as a native English speaker who spent many years listening to my in-laws speak mandarin but had no formal education or speaking abilities. Excel Mandarin grew my conversational Chinese skills from the ground up, teaching every-day vocabulary and grammar structures through fun games and custom-designed activities. You won't find better humans to teach you - every teacher at Excel Mandarin is genuinely gifted and passionate at what they do. They have a knack for creating casual class environments where the expectation is for everyone to try, mess up, laugh, and get better together. The class sizes are small, the homework assignments are meaningful, and the remote evening classes are compatible with even my healthcare job. I'm so proud of the progress I've made under the instruction of the Excel Mandarin team and I can't wait to keep going. If you are considering getting serious about learning Chinese - do it! And do it with Excel Mandarin. I promise you won't regret it. :)

Fantastic experience: I started ExcelMandarin this year and it's been a great experience so far. * Great teachers, they're super passionate about what they do and it comes through in the lessons and interactions with them * Student : teacher ratio. 4 students and 1 teacher in my cohort. Classes are fun with a chill group dynamic. Low number of students per teacher means students each get more 1 on 1 time with a native speaker Totally recommend this program to folks either completely new to Mandarin Chinese or with some experience already. I had some Mandarin experience beforehand so I started in Q2 and am now partway through Q3 and am feeling good about reaching my goal of achieving conversational fluency by the end of the year:) Note: the review photos are pretty old which I think is cus the program used to be fully in person but is fully virtual now.

Fantastic experience: I completed the Intro course and am now in the middle of taking the Q1 course. The instructors at ExcelMandarin are excellent; they are personable, knowledgeable, and make class extremely interactive. The class sizes are small which makes for lots of practice. Personally, I retain knowledge best when I USE it not just doing flashcards, and the small class size is great for that. I have a long ways to go, but it's been really fun and gratifying seeing the progress so far.

Fantastic experience: I've been taking ExcelMandarin's courses for a few months now and I've really enjoyed the format with small classes and constant practice. The teachers are also very passionate and provide a lot of feedback. Overall a great way to learn a challenging language and have fun doing so!

Fantastic experience: Just finished Q2 and am heading into Q3! Over the last half year I went from knowing a few words and phrases, to now my Chinese-Canadian fiance and I use mostly mandarin when we’re grocery shopping and can have basic conversations. Excel’s curriculum focuses on weekly vocab and grammar using their app, then conversation in class. What I like best is the way they set up conversational exercises around each week’s vocab & grammar, which for me has led to impressive learning results. Highly recommend!

Fantastic experience: I'm currently on Q2 (the third course of the series after the intro course and Q1) and have been surprised by how quickly I'm learning. The very small class sizes make for lots of opportunities to practice speaking, and Eco has been an awesome teacher.

Fantastic experience: Stalled on HelloChinese. Felt that Preply was not worth the money. With excel mandarin, I learned more than both combined and have a clear path to becoming conversational. It is challenging but rewarding, which is what I was looking for in a structured program.

Fantastic experience: I've been studying Mandarin with ExcelMandarin for abotu 6 months- I've been telling people that if you're interested in learning Mandarin, I'd start here with the intro class. Some general points: - Small class size (3-4) allows for easy connection, and each student gets a high degree of attention and focus. - Fast pace, but not brutal - it definitely goes quickly, and you need to study to keep up, but I find the regular classes and high degree of focus on conversation to go a long way towards keeping me accountable for doing the work. - Strong technology support - the EM Reader App, Canvas LMS, and Slack convos help enormously in addressing gaps in understanding. But above all - the friendly, accessible, and highly experienced teachers are the shining star. My teacher Eco keeps me looking forward to class, excited with the progress I'm making, and does a great mixture of pushing me to go faster and supporting through the particularly tough bits.

Fantastic experience: I've been taking Mandarin on and off for years, and when I had my assessment with ExcelMandarin, I was disappointed to discover that I still had to take the intro course after an assessment by a staff member. While I had more knowledge than the other students, our teachers, Tim and Helen, recognized that I had more experience and asked me more challenging questions and gave me more advanced exercises. I really appreciate them making it worth my while, and the refreshers were also really helpful. I'm looking forward to continuing my education with Excel and intend on taking the next quarters.

Fantastic experience: My experience with Excel has been amazing! I just finished Q1 and progressed more in the last 7 weeks than the previous 6 months of independent study and working with a tutor on italki. They focus on conversational speaking and listening and less on reading characters, which matches my learning goals. I also really like that they tell you how and what to study, something I was struggling with on my own, and the app they developed pairs nicely with the live zoom classes. With excel I feel like you get what you pay for: (the program isn’t cheap) it’s a very solid and well designed class that helps you progress quickly.

Fantastic experience: I have now finished the fluency series and I have loved every step of the way. The teachers are AMAZING and the resources are so so helpful. Thank you EM!

Fantastic experience: Excel Mandarin is definitely the spot for Mandarin learning. With unlimited resources and extremely passionate teachers, your Chinese will accelerate to new heights and feats that you never thought possible. There are office hours, class time and even 1 on 1s. As someone that has worked in the school system for the majority of my life, I have seen teachers that are impatient, lackadaisical, and simply pursuing the teaching career to receive a paycheck. I have not once detected that disposition here at Excel Mandarin. All of the teachers are well-versed in the language, extremely patient, and teach with youthful exuberance and joy. I have just finished Q3 which has enabled me to converse in Mandarin at a deeper, more intellectual level, not only building up my confidence, but also building up relationships with Chinese speaking people. So, when it comes to learning Chinese, look no further than Excel Mandarin. You will not regret it!

Fantastic experience: Excel Mandarin was great for my learning. I took Q2 and Q3. Q2 was perfect for my learning pace, Q3 was a bit harder for me. It is quite a commitment with three days/week plus homework on off days, so be ready for that. Overall, great experience, the teachers are so wonderful

Fantastic experience: I have now finished all three quarters of ExcelMandarin and highly recommend it! I started as a somewhat beginner (however, I have tried using several methods to learn Mandarin the past before - whether that be through private tutoring, using apps, etc) and nothing was more effective in getting me up to a comfortable level than this program. This course taught me solid fundamentals that allow me to speak very comfortably to native speakers using everyday conversational language. For example in a typical day I might talk about my opinions on something, how I’m feeling, what I plan to do, etc - and all of this would now be totally fine using mandarin. I also noticed the value of this course kicking in when I did a trip to China and Taiwan (in-between even just the second and third quarter), where I was able to ask for help, order food, ask for recommendations, and even work with a tailor to take my measurements, pick a suit design, and ship it to my address in the US, all in Chinese. Having consistent classes three times a week goes a long way — it made me extremely comfortable in speaking (given we spend the whole class speaking), and the consistency really helps it feel like every week I’m progressing, even if I’m slammed with other responsibilities like my work job that make me unable to complete all of my homework at that given time. There are plenty of assignments to keep us busy and train our skills outside of the classes (which are extremely effective), but I found that even if I sometimes fell behind, I was still improving, just from the classes alone. The teachers also understand that we have busy lives and do their best to support us even if we may fall a bit behind - I was never afraid to show up to class no matter how busy my life situation was at the time. Most importantly, the teachers I had were absolutely incredible. Supportive, kind, and excellent at identifying problems and giving feedback. If I’m not saying something quite right, they’re very good at pinpointing exactly what isn’t right and helping me understand the rationale for the correct way to say things. This is extremely effective in helping me avoid making the same mistakes in the future. Last but not least, I want to say, these classes were fun! It’s one thing to get better at the language, it’s another to have a good time while doing it. The classes are filled with social activities and games that make coming to class a joy. I feel like I’ve become great friends with my classmates and my teachers. The rate of return on this course is amazing. Per hour invested, you are learning at an extremely fast rate. In just 8 months, I wouldn’t have imaged that I would be able to use the language this well, especially given my busy work schedule. Enrolling in this course was the best decision I made in my mandarin-learning journey for sure.

Fantastic experience: Excel Mandarin is definitely one of the more productive classes out there. I was initially unsure about a class over zoom, but it turned out to be convenient and feel natural - thanks of course to talented and experienced teachers as well. I also was hesitant about the price, but now after finishing Q3 I think it was more than worth it. From meeting West-coast people with similar interests, to the wealth of resources that we get to keep, it feels like a good deal. They know what they are doing with sample classes, because I thought "Why not sit in, what have I got to lose?" but was hooked right away.

Fantastic experience: Just finished the third quarter and feel really confident in my Mandarin speaking foundation. It's gonna take a lot more learning to become really good but I now know all the foundations of grammar and speaking. The teachers here are AWESOME and the class is a blast plus it keeps you accountable and on track to keep moving forward. If you want to start learning Mandarin, start here.

Fantastic experience: This class was so amazing! It was hard work but my Chinese improved more then I ever expected. The teachers are amazing, they make class so fun and always around to help and answer questions even outside of class! I highly recommend this class if you want to begin learning but aren't sure where to start!!

Fantastic experience: 3 quarters of class and 7/8ish months later, I'm actually so impressed with how well my classmates and I are able to speak Mandarin. I never thought that I'd be able to learn this much at this speed, but the teachers and curriculum are absolutely outstanding. If I could learn other languages using the exact same classroom format and lesson structure, I'm sure I'd hop on those right away as well. Seriously, 20-30 person classrooms have nothing on this! The teachers are extremely friendly and helpful, and do their best to make sure you are learning effectively. If they had a Q4 class, I would surely sign up for it...

Fantastic experience: I recently finished all 3 Quarters of the Excel Mandarin program and am quite happy with the overall experience. Overall, I believe the curriculum is extremely comprehensive and the teachers do a great job of developing a strong foundation for the language. There is obviously plenty to work on after the the course is done, but had I not gone through the program I don't believe I would've even known where to begin. I am extremely grateful for the program and the teachers; I have made very great friends through this class while learning plenty. I truly believe this school/program is a fantastic place to start learning Mandarin :)

Fantastic experience: It’s been such a fun, enriching, and effective experience to learn mandarin with ExcelMandarin. I’ve just finished the Fluency series of 3 terms. I’m so impressed with the progress I’ve made in a relatively short time and the enjoyment I get out of every class. The instructors care personally about everyone’s goals and progress and they foster a fun class environment. Also, I really liked the relationships and sense of community I gained with fellow students. EM has been a great part of my year. Between the homework and the classes multiple times a week, it is a time commitment, but it’s worth it if you want to learn!

Fantastic experience: EM's teachers are the best! Learning another language can be really challenging and vulnerable, but the teachers truly care about each student and create such a welcoming, fun, and supportive environment. I just finished Q3, and 8 months with EM has made me feel more confident in Chinese than years of schooling in other languages.

Fantastic experience: I've now taken both Q1, Q2, and Q3 with EM, and I'm very impressed with my progress. In Q1, I learned a lot of new vocabulary and key sentence structures. In Q2, I learned more complex grammar and vocabulary that's been very practical for discussing everyday life. I learned how to express my opinions more and talk about food, hobbies, and travel, which is not only useful, but also fun to practice. In Q3, I learned how to talk about more complex topics, such as work, emotions, and changes. EM classes are a fairly significant time commitment (class 3x per week + weekly homework), but definitely worth it. Their approach to teaching - focusing on speaking, lots of practice in class, tailored toward what would be most practical for most people - has enabled me to progress faster in learning the language than I would've been able to in other programs. On top of that, my teachers and classmates are funny and enjoyable to spend time with! I'm continuing on to the intermediate conversation class because I'm excited to further improve my speaking fluency and discuss more interesting topics with classmates.

Fantastic experience: I completed three semesters with ExcelMandarin. Those three semesters (April 2022 to January 2023) were more effective than years of Spanish study through high school. The instructors are uniformly talented and are deeply committed to their students and to the art of language pedagogy. The curriculum is thoughtfully constructed and is concentrated on the most important aspects of oral communication. I managed to handle the coursework while also maintaining a full-time job, and I imagine that if I were able to commit even more of my energy to the classes, my Mandarin would have improved even more. I cannot recommend ExcelMandarin more highly.

Fantastic experience: I had an awesome experience studying Mandarin at ExcelMandarin. Having just finished up Q3, I'm really happy with the progress I made. All of the homework, articles, and vocabulary tools you get access to provide a solid structure for learning, but the real secret sauce is the instructors! We had Darren and Eco instruct us for Q3 and not only did they explain things really well, they made class a lot of fun to attend. I'm honestly really glad I decided to learn Mandarin here and can't recommend it enough.

Fantastic experience: Finished all three quarters of ExcelMandarin, and it was 100% worth it. Would do again. Three things worth mentioning: the low student to teacher ratio makes a big difference, the teachers are very professional and care about your progress, and they offer a huge number of tools to help you learn throughout the courses—for example HackChinese and DuChinese—that are effective. Love this school and would recommend

Fantastic experience: Taking the Q3 classes at EM was the obvious choice for me after learning so much with Q2 and the Q3 session did not disappoint. I felt that my speaking and listening improved so much. It was fun being able to have discussions with the others students, using Chinese in complex sentence structures. The curriculum is well organized and the teachers are amazing. I felt that the individual feedback for the homework and quizzes were so helpful and when I had questions, they always responded so quickly and thoroughly. The Q3 classes were great and definitely pushed my fluency to a higher level.

Fantastic experience: I completed Q1-Q3 with Excel Mandarin in 2022. This was a great learning experience, and I left the class feeling empowered to speak Mandarin in real world scenarios and ready to continue my learning. The classes ultimately focused on expressing thoughts and feelings, and opinions on everyday work, life, and hobbies. The teachers were really great, and I always felt supported in learning at my own pace, with a good push as well!

Fantastic experience: After finishing three quarters at ExcelMandarin, I can honestly say it was one of the best decisions I've made. Q3 has given me the knowledge and tools to discuss my opinions and ideas. I think that all the teachers are very kind and amazing. They really care about the students learning, and I even got to meet some teachers from ExcelMandarin in person which was really nice, and felt very personable. The teachers in Excel Mandarin are all so passionate about students learning and I’m really thankful that I joined ExcelMandarin. I’m happy for the teachers I met in ExcelMandarin. I hope to keep in contact with the EM community.

Fantastic experience: I've had such an amazing experience with Excel Mandarin! The teachers are so helpful and patient, the curriculum is aimed towards conversation and expression which I love, and the workload is challenging in a way that pushes you forward! I always enjoyed classes with my awesome teachers and classmates. I've just completed Q3 with Excel Mandarin and even though extra business in life kept me from focusing on it as much as I would have liked, I feel excited and well-prepared for continuing on in improving and growing in my Mandarin skills. I've tried to learn with other self-teaching methods in the past, but never thought fluency would be possible for me until these classes! So grateful for this school!

Fantastic experience: I joined excel mandarin in september 2021 because my girlfriends family doesn't speak english, and I had no way to communicate with them. I was super impressed with the teachers and curriculum, and having a 1:4 teacher:student ratio made getting in-class speaking time actually possible, and even fun. I finished all three terms of classes and feel so much more confident now when speaking to my girlfriend's family!

Fantastic experience: I had my final class last Friday. In total, I attended class at ExcelMandarin for 30 weeks, with 3 classes each week. I have to say I had an amazing time. I always thought that learning a language was too difficult for me, let alone a language like Mandarin; I'm so so proud of all the progress myself and my classmates made! Anytime I ran into difficulties, I could rely on my teachers and classmates to have my back :)

Fantastic experience: I couldn't have asked for a better place to study Mandarin! I can't believe how far I've got through these three quarters, myself a few years ago probably wouldn't have believed that I would be speaking/understanding so well in such a short time. The time and money investment is definitely worth it. The classes not only put the learned grammar into practice but are very fun and entertaining therefore make the learning process very enjoyable!

Fantastic experience: I joined ExcelMandarin to become more confident in speaking Chinese in a more conversational setting. I've taken Chinese classes in college but we spent the majority of the time learning how to read and write (which is great but my goal was to be able to hold a conversation with my family members). The curriculum makes Chinese super fun to learn and the teachers are so patient and really would like you to succeed. There's a lot of virtual Chinese classes available but this one by far is the most unique in their curriculum, small teacher to student ratio and overall awesome community that you can have even after finishing your classes :)

Fantastic experience: Having just completed Q3 with ExcelMandarin, I can look back at where I was a year ago and be impressed with how much progress my classmates and I were able to make over the course of three quarters. I started out not knowing anything about Mandarin and now I feel totally confident in my ability to continue learning the language on my own while also participating in the opportunities provided by the EM community. Looking forward to seeing how EM continues to grow and will be eager to sign up for any additional programs they may offer.

Fantastic experience: I grew up listening to and speaking Mandarin but not well at all. I decided to find a program to improve, and ExcelMandarin was the right one! The teachers are passionate about helping the students learn whenever they have any questions. It was motiving to learn with my classmates, who I got to know well, and we even have fun hanging out outside of class. I feel a lot more confident expressing myself in Mandarin, so I recommend them wholeheartedly!

Fantastic experience: ExcelMandarin has provided me with the tools and knowledge needed to continue my Chinese speaking journey. Their curriculum is well organized and classes are virtual. Class times are very accommodating even for busy professionals or students alike. Along with the classes, they provide tools to help you learn vocabulary as well as a community of teachers and current and past students, who are all very knowledgable. I was on the fence for quite some time before I decided to join ExcelMandarin. I have no regrets about joining ExcelMandarin and will continue through their full curriculum. You will be glad you joined as well.

Fantastic experience: I have really loved learned Mandarin with ExcelMandarin. I just finished my second quarter with them and am gearing up to start quarter 3. Learning any new language as an adult is hard, and the teachers here make it so easy to understand and work through your challenges. I never feel judgement from them when I struggle with something (even if everyone else in class is "getting" it!) and they're all so nice. I had a lot of life things get in the way this last quarter and had to miss a handful of classes, and they were always ready to support me through that missed content, recorded the classes so I could watch them later, and never made me feel bad about having to miss sometimes. Studying with them is an investment, but it's 100% worth it.

Fantastic experience: Look, I’m 69 years of age. Not every neuron fires like it used to. With that in mind I tackled Chinese with ExcelMandarin. I never could have imagined the support system. Instructors are highly responsive and caring. I NEVER felt as if I was bothering them. The curriculum? Audio. Video. Written. This all gets paced effectively, and you can literally see your progression into Mandarin. The result? I think in Mandarin. I dream in Mandarin. I seek out venues to speak to strangers and it is amazingly rewarding. If they ever start a Q4, I’m in. You deserve this challenge!

Fantastic experience: If you're serious about learning Mandarin, I can wholeheartedly say that Evan, Garrett, and co are some of the most friendly, talented, and passionate educators that you can have during your study. I thoroughly enjoy my time in class and cannot believe how far I have progressed my Mandarin learning in such a small period of time. Overview: The program is broken into 3 9-week semesters where you start with a cohort of about 6 students. Class is structured such that you learn the material and do homework before class and reinforce everything during class. You spend the entire time in class speaking Mandarin with your classmates. I LOVED this class structure because it made your time in class really effective. Everything builds on top of each other so you are constantly reinforcing your material. Furthermore, the actual content you practice is real and practical. As with any language class this class is a commitment: you WILL have to practice your flash cards and you WILL have study every day. It is challenging. But the pay off is amazing; by week 3 most of the class is lectured in Chinese and you would not believe how much you've learned in such a small period of time. If you're serious about learning Mandarin, then I cannot recommend this program enough. Evan老师, Garret老师, and everyone - you all have done a stellar job at making this language accessible to all. 感谢!

Fantastic experience: Do this now!!! After only 5 weeks, I was able to carry on basic conversations and understand good parts of dialogues from mandarin tv shows! The work is demanding and the classes are high energy - you will have fun and realize quick progress if you choose to learn the Excel way!

Fantastic experience: Evan is quite a remarkable teacher. He expects a lot from his students but has an almost magical ability to inspire. I've always considered myself to be nearly incapable of learning a language, dyslexia makes even my native English hard. However I'm so impressed and proud of the conversation I'm able to hold with my native Mandarin speaking partner, this progress is definitely facilitated by Evan and the Excel Mandarin team.

Fantastic experience: Chinese is the first language other than English that I've ever truly tried to learn. At first I tried a couple of phone apps and such, but could never get in rhythm enough to actually retain anything resembling conversational understanding. I decided to give Excel Mandarin a shot due to the much quicker timelines compared to taking university classes or using text books, and just completed my first of three sections. I've been extremely surprised at how much I am learning and my ability to put together sentences and understand spoken Chinese. There is no doubt that it takes a lot of time and daily practice to see this progress, but the three weekly classes keep me on schedule and prevent me from falling behind. I'm excited to continue my studies so that I can be prepared for a year abroad and see how much I can learn over the next two sections. With anything, you get what you put in, and learning a language takes a lot of practice. I used to think I was too old and just didn't have the ability to learn a language, but the progress I've made has given me a ton of confidence to keep practicing and seeing results.

Fantastic experience: My wife and I took the quarter 1 course at excel mandarin when we were planning on visiting China this year. Though those plans are now canceled, I am still glad I got to take the classes. Evan is a very patient instructor, explains things clearly, and ramp up difficulty at a reasonable pace. Though the virus canceled our last couple classes, we are wrapping it up with online classes. I highly recommend Excel Mandarin to anyone wishing to learn mandarin. Just be warned that it can be lots of work.

Fantastic experience: Overview: ExcelMandarin showed me that learning Mandarin does not have to be hard. Evan has meticulously crafted a number of techniques to aid in learning the language. I found that flash cards were the most useful tool for me because of how they are programmed. The key to success imho is to build your daily routine around the flashcards. My review is written after completing Q1. Expectations: You can expect the class to be fast. The workload is like an English 101 class. Plan for around 4 to 8 hours of homework a week. I found that the most important thing I could do was to practice the flashcards every single day. It is critical that you practice the flashcards every day, throughout the day. My Experience: Classes are small. The teachers care about your progress and are there to help you every step of the way. Coursework is difficult but rewarding. During class, we learn the language through different immersion techniques. Outside of class we learn the language through flashcards and homework.

Positive experience: Overall, I'm happy with the experience at Excel Mandarin. The classes are small, the teachers are good and there is a lot of verbal interaction in classes. The one big issue that I had is that the curriculum regarding Chinese character learning and vocabulary building was not suitable for the way I enjoy learning, at all. After trying it out for a while and being unhappy, I decided to completely stop using the Excel Mandarin curriculum and started using alternate avenues for learning these skills and was much happier and made much faster progress.

Fantastic experience: If you are looking for a fun, affordable way to learn mandarin extremely quickly, then this is the program for you!  I finished the first quarter recently and I am already able to communicate on some level with native speakers, which is a great feeling! Evan and the other teachers at ExcelMandarin are all extremely proficient at spoken and written mandarin, and, importantly, they are clearly passionate about teaching.  The course structure and lessons are very well thought-out and clearly designed in a way to make learning this difficult language much more accessible.  Class sizes are VERY small (my section had only four students), so you get a lot of individual attention, which is crucial for a language like this where pronunciation is so important.  In addition to the classes, you get free subscriptions to tools/apps to help with studying outside of class.  There are also homework assignments (they use the Canvas platform) that instructors grade promptly and provide individualized feedback.  Furthermore, if you need additional help, the instructors are always willing to stay after class, meet before class, or chat via phone/text.  I did a lot of research into mandarin lessons in the Seattle area, and I am so glad that I finally settled on ExcelMandarin!

Fantastic experience: Like most language learning, the results you see is directly correlated to how much work you put in. Excel Mandarin streamlines this process with establishing a cohesive learning environment, providing myriad resources to immerse yourself into Chinese culture, and giving a high degree of personal attention in each class. The instructors clearly care a lot about the progress their students make and it shows through their classes. If you're on the fence about it, they even provide a trial class. If you're serious about learning Mandarin, I would strongly consider ExcelMandarin

Fantastic experience: I'm really enjoying my classes with Evan and Garrett. They are extremely passionate and are great teachers. My chinese has improved a surprising amount. Went from having basically no knowledge to speaking actual, non-trivial sentences within two weeks of class. Fun and effective.

Fantastic experience: Evan's enthusiasm is one of the main reasons I have thoroughly enjoyed my experience in his classes. He is passionate about his teachings and he is willing to work on what's best for both parties. Evan's assignments are straightforward and he highly encourages learning not just from the teachers but also from your fellow classmates. His classes are setup to be small and built around the concept of allowing people to work with each other.

Fantastic experience: I have tried learning mandarin a few times between classes offered at work, phone apps, and online classes - but I was never able to stick with any of them. Every time I found the teachers reading from outdated textbooks and there was no real commitment or expectation from either the teacher or the students. I was extremely happy to find a class that met often enough where I could actually make a connection with both the teachers and classmates. If you are serious about learning Chinese this is the place you want to go. Evan does an amazing job developing the curriculum and tailoring it to each class. After years of trying, I am now finally able to hold simple conversations with my Chinese friends (after only five weeks at excel mandarin)

Fantastic experience: If you're serious about learning Mandarin, this is the best class available, hands down. When I was learning French, I didn't have the same resources or classroom at my disposal and the difference in my speaking and listening ability between French and Mandarin is like night and day. Even before our classes started, Evan and Garret set me up with tons of resources to help me dive deep into the language. The classes are structured such that you have an opportunity to practice language constructs, characters and grammar. You work with the other members of a small classroom (when I did it, there were just 6 of us in our cohort) to practice speaking and listening. As a word of warning though, this class is serious business. Be prepared to spend lots of time outside of class practicing and self studying to keep up with the material.

Fantastic experience: The instructors are effective and passionate. It's clear from interacting with them, as well as from the learning materials that Evan and the other teachers are invested in teaching their students Mandarin. I've taken Mandarin in college, as well as a small amount of Chinese Saturday school when I was a kid, and this was the only time it stuck. I think the small classes (6-7 students in my class), as well as the course design contribute to this being more effective than the other times i've taken Chinese. Be prepared to commit time to studying though. In addition to the classes themselves, I regularly spent between 45 minutes and 2 hours a day working through the material (videos, homework, anki). The time is well spent though, and I definitely felt like it was worth the commitment.

Fantastic experience: Excel mandarin is a very professional but at the same time laid back experience to learning mandarin. The methods used in the lessons are good at creating a useful word bank where the further you go into the class the easier it becomes to string longer sentences together. The classes are small which means you can ask multiple questions every class and get a better understanding on any portion of the course you may be struggling with. The teachers are very nice and understanding and never pressure you into participating if you feel uncomfortable with the current lesson. On a financial standpoint they are very flexible and work with any issues you may have with payments for the courses. Overall Evan and his crew are a great choice to learn mandarin and even help you with any questions you may have once the course is completed.

Fantastic experience: An incredible school! I took the intro class that lasted 4 months with Garrett. ExcelMandarin was great for the following reasons. 1) Instructors - Garrett and Evan were great! Garrett came prepared and taught each class very well. They provided easily understandable and detailed explanations to any question I may have. They were always available outside of class to answer any question I may have. Lastly, due to the solid instruction, efficient use of class time, and fun atmosphere, Garrett made it enjoyable to come to class each time. 2) Material - One the key reasons why I took the class was the modern approach to learning Mandarin. ExcelMandarin uses a unique approach by applying mobile apps and constructing thoughtful lesson plans. I learned an incredible amount and learned with an incredible group of classmates. If you want to learn Mandarin, I would highly recommend!

Fantastic experience: This school is SO AWESOME. I spent the last 4 months in the introductory class, with Garrett as my teacher, and 5 of the coolest classmates I could ask for. The ExcelMandarin team cares about ONE THING: you learning this wonderful (and difficult) language. The teaching staff has a mastery and a love for the language, and it shows. They bring a WAY more modern day approach to this class than what I've seen in other schools. Lots of Chinese learning apps, custom study sessions, very well thought out lessons, and GREAT support- both in-class and out. One of the coolest things was how they adjusted the class to fit our needs as we went (revisiting lessons if we needed or focusing more on conversational structure and pronunciation as needed). They created a friendly and welcoming environment and showed up with a smile every single day. I can't say enough good things about my experience. My one caveat (which Evan will stress in your trial class): Show up ready to work. It's a demanding class and there are high expectations on your time throughout the class. ExcelMandarin rocks. Highly recommend. Go sign up for a free class and see if it's for you!

Fantastic experience: I researched the hell out of local Mandarin classes and this one stood out, and the reviews and meeting with Evan for a free first class were the ticket that sold me. This class is AMAZING! This is unlike any other language course I have taken. Yes, you have to put in the time everyday, but I guarantee that if you follow the excellent curriculum materials provided for each lesson, you WILL be speaking conversational mandarin by the end of the first course. This class is fun. IT-IS-FUN! Evan and the other teachers are wonderful, patient and encouraging. When you see the curriculum you will understand how much thought and preparation goes into making sure the written, audio and spoken lessons come together. Regarding class time, this is NOT a competitive environment. I am in a class of 6 and we’re all supportive and encouraging of each other and it makes a huge difference. It’s the most inspiring language course I have ever taken and I cannot wait to move onto the next set of course work! If you can take the course, it will be time and money well spent, and I look forward to speaking with you at an EM reunion of students :). Oh, and like Ray’s post before mine, he and I are in the same age bracket and he was finishing up the course when I started. We’re on the same page in terms of initial apprehension. You will do just fine.

Fantastic experience: Evan and his team have put together a fantastic curriculum for learning Mandarin. As an older person learning Mandarin, I was a bit intimidated but my apprehension was quickly dispelled as classes started. Evan has put a great deal of thought into how to introduce Mandarin to native English speakers. The class is fun, engaging, and of course difficult, but that's the point. In just about 4 months I have gained a basic understanding of all the grammar rules, know 500 characters and am reading at an elementary level.

Fantastic experience: I signed up for ExcelMandarin's group course after having an amazing trial class with Evan. The classes offers a unique teaching approach which is way more effective than the traditional ways we've usually seen mandarin being taught. I have been with Evan and Helen for about 3 months and I've always enjoyed my time in class. There's so much passion and enthusiasm from the teachers and fun examples to help you retain much more language materials. Never ever thought I would be able to read through and translate a mandarin book within 3 months of learning (Crazy)!! Strongly recommend ExcelMandarin to everyone!!!

Fantastic experience: I'm going to write this review like an answer to "What Do You Wish Someone Told You Before You Took Classes?" or a "Read This Before You Buy" type of thing. ====================== What's different about this school (as compared to other stuff I've tried): 1) Their system is especially good for learning the characters. Would highly highly recommend to anyone that struggles with reading and writing Chinese. More detail on this later. 2) Lots of resources. In addition to the expected regular class material (lesson notes, lesson videos, homework sheets), you're given many other resources to support you: a class WeChat group, a native language partner, and your teacher. - We have a WeChat group for our class. I can message my classmates questions I have and figure things out *together* -- the best way to learn, imo. There's a community feel to everything. - You get a native Chinese language partner, too-- they put you in touch with a native speaker to practice your Mandarin with and message anytime. It's a language exchange group, so most of them are natives living in China who are all excited to speak Chinese with you. It felt more like making a pen pal friend abroad in China than study time, tbh. - Our teacher is available pretty much all the time on WeChat-- I was so surprised by how friendly my teacher was to address any minute question I had. Was even more surprised when I got an immediate answer at 10:30pm on a weekday! (Tangent on the teachers here: I'd venture to say that this is The Thing that sets this place apart from others that I've tried. The teachers here are what makes this school unique. If you're having trouble, they'll try to find ways to fit your personal learning style. Or if you want to challenge yourself, they'll help you with that too. (One of the big reasons why I wanted to learn Chinese in the first place was to read "Journey to the West", and after I let my teacher know that, they helped me find a good graded reader for the series that was at my level.) ====================== Things to know before you decide to take the plunge: 1) You get what you put in; make sure you have the time to devote to it before jumping the gun. This class will need a minimum of 6 hours per week, though I'd advise giving it 6-8 hours. You have three 1-hour long classes per week. (I'm on a Tu Th Sun schedule.) Homework before each class takes 1-1.5 hours. On top of doing your homework and being in class, you should also spend about 1-2 hours per week reviewing characters and their pronunciations in Anki (an app we have to practice the characters we're learning and their tones). Other stuff-- like talking to your language partner on WeChat, or reading a fun book that your teacher gave you because you wanted to challenge yourself-- will be on top of that. 2) If you've taken other Chinese classes before, this will be a little different, since most schools you just learn by topic, like "foods" or "greetings/salutations" or "taking the bus". Here you'll be taught groups of characters in order of what written components make up each character. This is what I think made it much easier for to retain and recall the written characters.

Fantastic experience: In my opinion, ExcelMandarin offers the best Mandarin classes in the greater Seattle area. I've researched a lot of different schools and even attended a class at Bellevue College last year. None of them checked all the boxes I was looking for: - Smaller class size (4-8 students) - Evening class that meets 3-4 times a week - Deep focus on characters and dialogue - A teacher who doesn't strictly follow a textbook and continuously improves his or her class material. - A teacher who is genuinely excited to teach the class - General guidance and tools for effectively learning Mandarin outside of class ExcelMandarin is the only school that offered all of the above. It's very obvious that the head teacher, Evan, focuses on quality. I'm on month 3 and although it is a challenging class, I am learning much more than I would have elsewhere. I would highly recommend it to anyone who is serious about learning the language

Fantastic experience: I worked with a tutor in Kunming, China for a short time and made very little progress, so when I got back to Seattle I looked around for options -- most programs here offer long classes once a week, which is a terrible format for any language learning, especially one as complex as Mandarin. So I was thrilled when I found Excel Mandarin. We meet three times a week for an hour each time, there's a good level of homework in between, and videos for prep and review. It's definitely a time commitment, but one that's super worthwhile and very effective -- I'm halfway through semester one, and I'm surprised and thrilled with the progress I'm making. I will definitely continue with Semester 2 next spring. Evan is a fantastic teacher and the course is structured extremely well. Our starting point for each class is a new set of related characters, which I thought would be challenging, but it's really worked with my visual style of learning and now I think it's an essential approach. I love it. We started working on dialogues really fast, and we've already reached a conversational stage now -- which for me is still clumsy, but great. I feel well supported, and I'm confident I'll learn Mandarin well. Can't recommend Evan's approach enough.

Fantastic experience: I've been in Evan's class for about 3 months. I've always wanted to learn another language but have been hesitant because traditional teaching methods never worked for me. I knew I would love his class the first session I had. Evan is enthusiatic and passionate about teaching. He truly loves the language and the culture and strives to make every class fun. He works at the pace of his students and comes into class ready to get everyone hyped about learning Mandarin. He uses different teaching methods to make class exciting and won't ever load you with too much information at once. Evan not only has a fun, fresh approach to teaching but he makes himself readily available to all of his students and encourages them to interact with each other as well. Evan is by far the best teacher I've had, I wish every teacher went into class with as much enthusiasm and passion as Evan. I would recommend Excelmandarin to anyone who wants to learn the language!

Fantastic experience: As someone who has studied Chinese with six other teachers and websites in both the US and China, I can say with confidence that Excel Mandarin is by far the best way to start learning the language. Excel Mandarin has two things that set it apart from any other program you'll find. The first is the lead teacher Evan, who is incredibly charismatic and understanding to the difficulties of learning a new language. The second factor is the curriculum he has designed, which essentially took the best aspects of every program I'd done before and put them in one. Many books or websites will be strong in only one aspect of teaching the language. For example, some books will teach grammar well, but force you to inefficiently try to learn characters through route memorization. Other books have really good techniques for learning characters, but their explanations of the spoken language are terrible. Many websites will have good videos on pronunciation, but move at too slow a pace, or once again have mediocre methods of teaching characters or grammar. Not only does the Excel Mandarin curriculum address grammar, writing, vocab, and pronunciation all in one, but it teaches all of these in an extremely efficient way that steers clear of any route memorization at all. Chinese may seem impossible to learn at first, but that's because very few people in the West have figured out how to teach it effectively yet. Evan is the exception, and I imagine that anyone who has ever tried to learn Mandarin from another program will recognize how special Excel Mandarin is after taking the free trial lesson. Seriously guys, this is the real deal!

Fantastic experience: I’ve been studying Mandarin off and on for about 7 years, and I’ve had several different so-so Mandarin teachers along the way. But I’m now really enjoying learning Mandarin in Evan’s ExcelMandarin classes. Evan is super enthusiastic about his teaching, and he’s always trying to iterate on his teaching methods and class structure to find the most effective way to teach Mandarin. Evan has also proactively made himself available online to help students outside of class, and also helped students organize online to help each other learn. There’s no single silver bullet to learning Mandarin, and no matter what you’re going to have to supplement classes with practice reading, writing, and speaking outside of class. But if you’re excited to learn the language and willing to do the work, these classes will provide an excellent framework and pacing for your overall learning strategy.

Fantastic experience: I've gone from zero to sixty in a matter of weeks. ExcelMandarin is a high-intensity program for the serious student, but the teaching methodology makes the learning process very accessible and fun. The teachers have been extremely responsive to my individual needs, and that's been huge as I'm entirely new to Mandarin. My impression is that this is one of the world-wide best programs for learning Mandarin.

Fantastic experience: I would highly recommend ExcelMandarin. I have been working with Evan 1:1 for about a month now in preparation for a trip to China, and he has made everything so interesting and easy. I came in with zero experience and it was very exciting to start recognizing characters on the street after the first lesson! Evan is very caring towards his students and takes the time to check in often and make sure the pace is good and you truly do understand. He also takes the time to make it fun and memorable, explaining the fascinating stories behind some characters. He's also very willing to try new things if you tell him one method of memorization isn't working for you. There's also an emphasis on novel production and making your own sentences both within the class and in homework, so you'll never just be memorizing survival phrases. This is a great place to begin a lifetime journey :)

Fantastic experience: A colleague recommended ExcelMandarin while I asked around looking for a school to learn Mandarin. I signed up to talk to Evan about how he teaches the language and why it's, better for students. I really connected with his teaching philosophy: understanding culture and history behind a character really helps you internalize the meaning instead of brute memorization. I've enjoyed our private lessons, Evan is patient and passionate about teaching. He is knowledgable enough to answer random questions that pop into my head through the course of a lesson. I would highly recommend this school if you want an unconventional Mandarin experience with a devoted teacher.

Fantastic experience: I have been working with Evan for three months now and I am really pleased. I had a limited grasp of the language (passed HSK1 in Oct 2017) but was having difficulty advancing my studies on my own. After working with Evan for nearly two months, I felt comfortable enough to take HSK2 and received a score of 197/200 in May! While there is still a ton to learn, the progress I have made in such a short time has encouraged me to stick with ExcelMandarin. Evan is extremely passionate and easy to work with. He takes the time to customize lesson plans based on what I'm interested in learning while incorporating fundamentals. Evan is also flexible with scheduling classes which I really appreciate since I work full time. I was overwhelmed by the number of Mandarin tutors in Seattle but I can confidently say I have been having a great time learning with ExcelMandarin. I would definitely recommend them for other people trying to improve their Mandarin skills.

Fantastic experience: Evan has been an amazing tutor. He was great at assessing my ability, and tailored a program that would fit my needs and wants. Evan is very easy to work with, and personally, I like that as an American Chinese language learner, he had to go through the exact same learning process that I'm going through now, so he definitely knows the frustrations and difficulties that come with that. I would highly recommend his program to anyone at any stage of Mandarin language learning.

Fantastic experience: This classroom setting is a perfect way to easily attain new information that can and will be valuable to real world applications. This isn't your run of the mill education, and that is a positive, because learning a new language requires an active mind that is surely provided at this school. Definitely worth the time and money

Fantastic experience: Evan is a very enthusiastic teacher! His passion for the Chinese culture and language helped me stay focused & motivated even when it seemed that my brain was about to explode.

Fantastic experience: I am a second generation Chinese who always had a really hard time learning and remembering the characters. My favorite thing about these guys is all the creative learning materials that they shared with us. The "living characters" and "character stories" really make learning fun and make the culture accessible.