“When in-person classes were cancelled, NihaoCafe made the transition to online classes quite smooth. Our students were able to keep studying with us, and there were also new students signing up for our online programs in 2020,” Wan said.

To help students learn fast and communicate confidently in Chinese, several tried-and-true techniques such as Mandarin link words and storytelling are adopted in That’s Mandarin’s classrooms.

For students who learn Mandarin from scratch, their textbook is not a paper one, either, but an HSK-graded TV series of 192 episodes spanning four seasons that shed light on contemporary Chinese life. Filmed by the school in 2020, the series ended up being an interactive story with over 70 characters, in 40 different locations across Beijing and Shanghai.

“This helps students have a clear picture of contemporary Chinese lifestyle, language, and culture, and develop the necessary skills to navigate modern China. So what they learn during class can be readily used in their daily conversations,” said the school’s operations director.

“I’m fluent enough to have no trouble in day-to-day communication,” said Willis, who has passed the HSK 4 test. “Having a teacher who comes from an urban environment also helped me learn a lot of slang that may not be in official textbooks and therefore equipped me to be able to discuss current trends and topics,” he added.