Our Students

Our students are based in more than 26 countries across the world and they’re learning Chinese online for a wide range of different reasons. What they have in common is a desire to learn Mandarin Chinese quickly and effectively, in an environment that will help them to meet their individual goals.

Our students include business people, students, children, complete beginners, fluent speakers, Chinese culture scholars, backpackers, tourists and diplomats. Discover what they have to say about their learning Chinese online experience in our testimonials section or take a look at our student profiles:

John Milton, Company Director

Hi, I’m John and I work in the UK telecoms industry. Over the past five years my company has come to rely almost completely on Chinese designed and manufactured technical products, and I’ve been taking more and more trips to Shanghai and Shenzhen, as well as entertaining Chinese suppliers here in South West England.

I decided to take Chinese classes because I began to feel not only ‘left out’ when socialising but also rather rude and ignorant, for spending up to three months of the year in China without learning a word of Mandarin.

So, about six months ago I tracked down CSO through a colleague’s recommendation and I started taking four online Chinese classes per week. Now that I’ve grasped the fundamentals I usually take two classes per week but my travel schedule is hectic to say the least, so I work with my CSO teacher to plan regular ‘suspension periods’ into my course. Flexibility is crucial to me.

I’ve been learning vocabulary that is specifically suited to business negotiations, which has been immeasurably helpful both in building relationships and ensuring I get the best deal while I’m doing business here. Right now I would describe my Chinese level as ‘conversational’, and I love to test it on unsuspecting business contacts.

Amy Woodgrove, University Student

My name is Amy and I’m a second year university student. I’m studying Politics and International Relations and I’ve always had an eye on coming to China to work in a governmental role. One of my tutors advised me that to cut through the competition in this sector I would definitely need a good level of Chinese, so 18 months ago I started taking online classes.

Within a few months I felt I had enough day to day vocabulary to make a ‘test’ trip to China, and I surprised myself – I could happily survive and make everyday conversation.

Since then I have been working with my teacher to tailor my classes, reflecting the topics I study at university. The hotter the competition comes for expat jobs in China becomes the harder it will be to find a good one, and I’m determined to stay ahead of the curve.

Although I have a long way to go until I attain perfect fluency, I can happily chatter on to my teacher so that our three weekly classes fly by. My goal for this year is to take a second, extended trip to China to start to scope out employment opportunities, showing off my Chinese abilities at the same time.