Why should you learn Mandarin?
“I’d love to learn Mandarin… I just don’t have the time!”
“Nowhere near me teaches Mandarin.”
“I don’t have enough confidence to join a Mandarin course.”
Do any of these excuses sound like you? If so… stop! The VICI Language Academy is here to convince you that, whether you want to learn basic conversational Mandarin or improve your existing Mandarin listening skills, we can help.
We totally understand why you’d want to learn Mandarin! As the world becomes increasingly globalized, Mandarin has become a top language to study around the world and at every level. Starting as early as preschool, some schools in the West are now teaching children Mandarin. Gearing up for increased business relations with China, it’s never too early to start learning such a widespread language!
But if you weren’t lucky enough to learn Mandarin at school, let us tell you why we think you should come to The VICI Language Academy to start your journey.
At the heart of our approach is an unshakeable belief that the best way to learn Mandarin is through teaching methods that have been tailored to you. And while there is nothing wrong with programmes like Pimsleur, Rosetta Stone or Preply, for those who are looking to learn Mandarin fast, there simply is no one-size-fits-all-solution: the best programme to learn Mandarin is one that has been personalised to your own learning and personality type.
Because nobody leans the same way, every single element of our offering is orientated towards your needs. We don’t follow a rigid curriculum, which might only work for some students – instead, our methodology centres around understanding your specific needs, priorities, and linguistic objectives.
We know that you are looking for the best way to learn Mandarin, and this is why our coaches always take time to get to know your preferred learning style – it means they can adapt their methodology to ensure it’s being delivered in the style that will be most effective for you.
Whether you’re looking for private Mandarin coaching, group classes or an online Mandarin course, we have exactly what you’re looking for. And no matter whether you want to learn Mandarin for adults or Mandarin for children, we can promise you that all our Mandarin coaches are native speakers, chosen carefully for their excellent linguistic capabilities and passion for what they do.
Our coaches utilise a communicative approach, which gives a very natural and hands-on experience of the language and is proven to help students become more confident in much less time. And we advocate something called blended learning – a methodology that uses technology to combine both in-class and out-of-class learning. Doing this maximises the educational impact for students of all backgrounds and circumstances.
At The VICI, we can work at any level from the most basic Mandarin course to ongoing advanced Mandarin lessons. We even organise free cultural and linguistic events throughout the year so if you’re already fluent in Mandarin and simply want to keep your hand in, we have something to offer you.
We offer the flexibility of learning online or at the Academy – or a mix of both! Our beautiful premises are situated next to the scenic River Kennet in the Royal County of Berkshire, and if you want to learn Mandarin in Newbury, there’s no more picturesque spot. The Academy has several learning environments, with big screens in the classrooms, comfortable seating and lots of resources.
And finally, because we know that value for money is important, while you can’t learn Mandarin for free, we do provide a FREE 30-minute consultation to new clients, which allows us to understand lots more about you. Furthermore, all our customers are protected by the VICI Money Back Guarantee, completely unheard of in the language industry!
Our customers mean everything to us. Without them, there would be no VICI, it’s as simple as that. It’s something we remind ourselves of every single day. So to ensure we’re offering the best of the best, we have a Customer Care Promise: 27 things that we promise to deliver our customers.
We have a team of personal language programme advisors who can advise you what we offer that will best suit you – simply contact us with your details so we can arrange a chat with a dedicated language advisor to get you on the right path.
Interesting facts about Mandarin:
Accounting for 70% of Chinese speakers, Mandarin is more widely spoken than any other form of Chinese – with some 955 million native speakers globally. That’s 14% of the world’s total population! In fact, there are more native Mandarin speakers in the world than speakers of any other language.
Mandarin is one of hundreds of Chinese languages still actively spoken in China. Chances are, that unless a person comes from Beijing, they speak at least one other dialect.
Written Mandarin has a fascinating history. Up until 1955, the language was written in vertical columns, going from right to left. Since then, the People’s Republic of China has Westernized the written language so that it is written left to right, horizontally.
Mandarin has four different tones including, flat, rising, falling then rising and falling. There are other Chinese dialects that use as many as nine distinct tones.
How to say “yes” in Mandarin isn’t straightforward like sí in Spanish. Standard Mandarin replies use the verb or adjective in the question for assent, for example “Can you help me?” — “Can.” A nasal ‘en’ is used for a less formal affirmative.
A lifelong love of languages...
To discover how The VICI Language Academy can help you and your family to develop a lifelong love of languages, arrange a call with one of our friendly language experts