My Chinese class in the Ningbo Chinese Mandarin School, what a valuable and important part of my stay in China! Integrating into the Chinese culture means not only to live in China and adapt the Chinese way of living but also to learn the Chinese language.

When I arrived in Ningbo about three months ago, I could barely speak the Chinese language. However, I was eager to learn the Chinese language as fast as possible since I am convinced that my six-month stay in China is a unique chance to learn the Chinese language. Nevertheless, I was aware that I would hardly succeed in this intention only by listening to the Chinese people during my everyday life. For this reason, I decided to join the Ningbo Chinese Mandarin School and take classes twice a week for one and half hour each. 
The class itself was really well structured. It started with a dictation of the vocabularies of the last class. Afterwards, the main focus laying on the pronunciation, which is in my opinion really difficult at the beginning, and the Chinese grammar. I decided for myself not to learn Chinese characters during the first three months as I think it is more import to be able to communicate. However, personal preferences could always be discussed with the teacher so it is up to you whether you would like to learn the Chinese characters or not. But, learning Chinese does not only mean to attend class, it also means to be willing to learn vocabularies in every situation and especially during spare time.
Due to the help of everybody in the Ningbo Chinese Mandarin School and especially my teacher Fiona I could progress quickly so that I can now, three months later, communicate with only minor problems in my everyday life.

What it comes down to is that I can warmly recommend everyone the Ningbo Chinese Mandarin School. Personally, I experienced it as a really friendly and good surrounding for learning Chinese.
-Björn