Sishu Mandarin is by far the best place I've found to study Chinese. I was open to either virtual or in person classes (and they offer both) but ended up going with the in person to get a bit of community too. The instructors are so kind and willing to help you individually, and they really break things down so you understand quickly and solidly!! Sishu even provided a free digital copy of our textbook and workbook, which is a huge plus above other classes I looked at. I can't recommend Tian and his team enough for helping me be less nervous about studying and feeling confident with my Chinese language!! Whether you're looking to learn for work or just fun definitely look into their lessons. Xie xie Sishu! read more

Sishu Mandarin - Educational Services Near Me - New York, New York

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As my two years at Sishu Mandarin comes to an end, I feel very honored to leave a review for Sishu Mandarin. As a non-native speaker, I'm very honored that Tian took the chance in giving me the opportunity to put into practice my knowledge of Mandarin Chinese acquired through my discipline at Peking University and manifest it through teaching students enthusiastic about learning Chinese. What sets Sishu apart is our dedication to our students. We go through great lengths to personalize lessons to meet each student's need. All of the teachers on our team go through training and are rigorously evaluated by our founder, Zhou Tian. Zhou Tian is the embodiment of what it truly means to be a leader. He keeps a tight grip on the quality of our classes, arranges scheduled times to listen in on our lessons, and he never fails to provide constructive feedback whenever teachers don't meet standards. Throughout these two years, I've worked very closely with Tian to start our first podcast on Spotify! Which was incredibly fun to make and I highly recommend it for advanced Chinese speakers. Tian is always looking to take our school further and even teaches free Chinese classes. He is consistently finding innovative ways to make learning Chinese accesible to everyone. Having been a teacher on his team, I can testify that he is always looking out for every single one of his teachers and maintains transparency amongst his teachers on accounts, team performance, and company goals. He earnestly takes it upon himself to always manage open communication with teachers whether it may be their personal concerns regarding teaching methods or ways to improve their classroom presence. He takes a lot of care into making sure that every student and teacher relationship match. He has taught me so much and has given a plethora of opportunities to grow professionally. Whether you are looking to take Chinese lessons or develop your teaching career, Sishu Mandarin is the best school you can choose in New York City. read more

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I had the pleasure of taking two introductory sessions with Indacube- Speaking Korean, and Chinese Calligraphy. Both sessions were extremely informative, with quite a bit of learning packed into the session but at the same time in a very relaxed environment. There was no pressure in the class, and the atmosphere was very friendly. You can tell that the teachers are carefully chosen and are very skilled with helping others learned. From the very beginning the teachers had a planned agenda, and the learning started right away. For the Korean class, in just one hour I learned how to count, how to introduce myself (age and name), and what my interests are. The class was the perfect size to feel cozy...around 10 ppl. For the Calligraphy class, I learned how to hold a brush, and with a few minutes was learning how to paint from 1 to 10, and I learned the basic 8 strokes found at the core of the Chinese written language. Special mention should also go to Tian, for being an amazing host. He is super organized, and very welcoming. read more

Eager to learn Mandarin for business; I sell real estate, and expanding to international market. Tian makes learning fun and easy to grasp! read more

I found this beginner Mandarin class virtually during COVID and it has been a wonderful experience being quarantine and learning a new language. There are 3 teachers and they all are very good and explaining very carefully for anyone to understand. I highly recommend them if you are interested in learning Mandarin Chinese. read more

Tian at Sishu was unbelievably helpful. During this tough year I can say I am incredibly lucky to have found the great staff at Sishu. Quite simply, I couldn't recommend them more highly! read more

I have just about completed my first 45 classes with Tian and I couldn't be happier having him as my Chinese teacher. I plan to continue taking classes at Indacube as long as I can. When I first reached out, I told him that I had been trying to learn Chinese for a while but had had trouble gaining any traction with the language because of debilitating anxiety around speaking. Going forward, I wanted the focus of my learning to be on actually being able to speak the language. My goal is to be able to have a deeper relationship with the half of my family that doesn't speak English, and own this part of my cultural identity. I have been very impressed with how Tian has conducted our lessons. He has truly put conversation and fluency first. We spend almost 100% of the class speaking in Chinese. He basically teaches me Chinese IN Chinese. It takes a ton of creativity, willpower, and knowledge about how to teach languages to be able to do that. You are learning Chinese from someone that has a deep understanding about how to teach it. Tian teaches a lot of vocabulary from class to class. He is very artful about folding old vocabulary into conversations alongside the newer words we are learning. This helps you come to really know the words beyond what rote memorization can do. He always comes up with fun and interesting ways to instruct or review. I've pretended to sell him a car, gave him a tour of his own office, told him my life story... we've even gone to a supermarket and walked the aisles! Soon we will video chat in Chinese with my family. Each class has its own unique flow and is very richly packed with conversation, activity, and review. The sheer amount of Chinese I have been speaking with Tian has been an incredible confidence-booster for me, and has allowed me to picture a future where I speak the language fluently. And for the first time... I'm actually enjoying speaking in Chinese. It's a happy thing. My time with Tian has changed my relationship with the language, from something I felt shame about, to something I now feel positive and hopeful towards. I am finally learning Chinese! TIAN会教你中文！ read more

Yesterday, I did an introductory class with Indacube at the comfortable, luxurious FiDi WeWork. We covered some Mandarin essentials in an efficient, supportive and enjoyable way! The two multilingual teachers - Tian and Shaoting, traded off some syntax/sentence structure basics, and then we learned how to ask and answer where we're from. We ended with an incredibly fun "learn 100 numbers in 10 minutes" (actually we learned it in 7 minutes!). Highly recommended and plan on returning. read more

Learning Mandarin in Sishu classes has been both a fun and supportive environment, especially for students starting from scratch. My teacher is super encouraging and helps me learn on a schedule that works for me, and I always look forward to class. It's been almost a year with Sishu for me and I'm excited for the next lessons! read more

I have taken classes at Indacube with Sien for almost 8 months now and have enjoyed it thoroughly! She is a great teacher who has been able to make lessons based around things I am interested in, while also helping to further my language skills to a more advanced level. She really cares about students' progress, pushing for constant improvement and is a skilled teacher overall! read more

5 stars. I would give more stars if I could. Tian explained things very well and made learning Mandarin (as easy as it could be) less terrifying than I imagined. He is very patient, explains the pronunciation well and really nice!!!! I HIGHLY recommend him. Thank you Tian. read more

I have been enjoying my classes here for a while now. I came with a very limited background in Chinese language but thanks to my classes here at Indacube, I am now able to have small conversations with my Chinese friends and also understand some of the Chinese drama without having to fully rely on the subtitles. I would definitely recommend this! read more

I learned a lot and had great fun while doing it. Very instructive and enjoyable. Wasn't sure if my total beginner status would allow me such quick progress but the teaching style was very good. I'm sure I will be making progress in leaps and bounds soon. read more

Sishu Mandarin - My second lesson at Indacube. Has a great time AND learned a lot.....Not bad for a complete beginner with 2 hours teaching. Good stuff. - Educational Services Near Me - New York, New York

Indacube easily earns 5 stars. I had been studying Chinese off and on for about a year and during my first lesson with Tian he was able to assess my level and help me practice and expand upon what I knew. I feel like I made more progress in my first lesson with him than in my year of online studying. I have also learned from Yan who is a great teacher as well. Tian is friendly and quick to respond to emails, in addition to being very accommodating to my fluctuating schedule. The location is convenient and the classrooms are beautiful. I highly recommend Indacube to anyone looking to learn or improve their Chinese speaking skills. read more

Sishu Mandarin is the BEST Mandarin language school. I started out self-studying then transitioned to a combination of iTalki and self-study which was difficult to balance. Having weekly lessons with my teacher, Katya has kept me on track and given me usable and important content. Katya breaks down the logic of what I am learning and applies it to the real-world conversation. In the COVID era, they gave me the option for safe in-person classes (which I'm doing and would recommend) or online (which is cool too!). Also, they gave me my first lesson, no risk for free.... Try it, people! read more

Indacube is the way to go if you are looking for private lessons in Mandarin. Tian is a terrific teacher, who will customize the curriculum to match your level, and will challenge you to encourage growth. His lessons are fun and interesting. Since I live in Brooklyn, the downtown location was a bonus. read more

Tian is a wonderful teacher. Coming up with a custom lesson plan takes a lot of work, and I greatly appreciate Tian's dedication. I learned many things in this course that you can't get from a textbook, and my speaking, listening and reading skills improved a lot! read more

Took a free class with Tian via meetup. Tian is an awesome teacher and made everyone feel welcome. If you're a beginner and looking to learn Chinese or just checking out one of their many free language trial classes - this is by far the best I've been to, and I've tried several. Just off the top of his head, Tian is incredibly knowledgeable and makes difficult info very digestible. Also he's funny, which set the whole class at ease. I recommend this place and their program, also very affordable! read more

Very clear, friendly, and entertaining teacher. Great demo lesson through Meetup. Nice introduction to Mandarin.

The instructor is amazing! Very patient, enthusiastic, and is truly invested in your learning experience. My best friend and I are currently taking a beginner level Mandarin class there and so far, it has been fun and effective. Plus, the space is so nice and offers free drinks :) I am so excited to continue learning and take part in future lessons. read more

It is great to work at Indacube. The people I work with are amazing and supportive. The company provides a lot of sources for teaching. The working environment is clean and comfortable. I enjoy working here. read more

Very patient teachers and they strive to ensure you learn at your pace. They are very accommodating and work with you.

Thank you Mr. Zhou for teaching us basic Mandarin class in a nice conference room setup with free coffee. That is a price of admission right there. I enjoy his style of teaching. Learning Mandarin is not easy. I had been trying to listen and speak for a while and never pick up on it. So I want to take it more seriously since I struggle with this language so much and I want to learn to speak correctly and able to hear correctly as well. Excellent instructor. read more

Patient instructor, great clean space for learning (free coffee and beer too) and the classes are held in a convenient part of the city close to several train lines. Classes are effective and encourage participation. Can't wait to attend more classes in the future! read more

Really excellent. Tian covered introductory Chinese language and orthography and had us speaking in Mandarin with him and each other in no time. I never felt like we were rushed, but we managed to cover a lot of material in short order. Excellent fun enjoyable class. I recommend it without reservations to everyone. read more

I am taking a beginner Chinese course at Indacube Chinese Language. The teacher is terrific. The class is small (and the classroom is small as well lol), and there is a great deal of time for conversation and individual comments in Chinese. I am overall satisfy with the place and I feel like I am finally getting Chinese after so many years. read more

So far I have only participated in the trial class with Tian and I had an amazing experience (hence the 4 stars). Usually in the past when learning Mandarin I get super nervous and anxious and am easily flustered. However, I felt like Tian created a very chill and tension less environment, he meet me on my level and because of that I was able to me more relaxed and enjoy the lesson. Ultimately, that was one the key factors that influenced my decision to choose Indacube School. The second was the class size and how the language textbook was designed. read more