Taiwan Mandarin Institute

Summer Mandarin classess could have been better organised. Children of all ages were cramped together in 1 class. Chaotic. Does not work when children of different learning abilities and different ages are all in the same class.

If I could give this place 0 stars I would. Signed our 3 kids up in March and they emailed us confirming the spots and said they will send invoices so we booked our flights and Airbnb based on confirmation then we never heard back from them. It is now 2 days before the program is meant to start and we never heard back from them and I chased them with many emails until finally someone named Mark wrote back today (2 days before our kids are meant to start) saying that things were “out of their control” so the program was canceled. Surely between March and now they could have had the decency to inform parents ahead of time of their program cancellation. Now we are left with no summer program for our kids next week. Very unprofessional, stay away!

I attended TMI for two weeks just before Chinese New Year in a 4-students class and my classmates were of similar level as me. Most of the time we stuck to one main teacher. I also did private classes with two other teachers. All of them were very understanding and sociable people, and they can teach you some Taiwanese culture as well. My classmates and fellow students were nice and interesting people, mostly from Europe, Australia, and the US. The TMI textbook is very helpful and you get to choose traditional or simplified. There was also one Chinese character writing session related to Chinese New Year, and there were two evening events per week you could opt-in for, visiting culturally important locations or night markets with a friendly tour guide.
The location of TMI is great, with many food options, a supermarket, bus stops, and metro station closely available. I booked the studio apartment accommodation which was a 3 minute walk away. The apartment is spacious and clean and a cleaner comes twice a week. The guy managing accommodation is very friendly and helpful.
Communication by email went smoothly. Unfortunately for me, there was a problem in administration that left me without the expected taxi transfer from the airport. After managing the transport myself, I found the school closed on a Sunday morning with no-one there to be able to get me started in the accommodation. Fortunately this was solved after a few hours with some email communication. Due to Chinese New Year coming up, they were not able to plan all my booked lessons, but I am expected to get a partial refund for the missed lessons.
Two weeks is short. I learned some new things, but mostly I gained speed in understanding and speaking thanks to daily practice. Overall a great learning experience.

What a great experience!
I booked a 6 week group course on beginner level. Even before arriving in Taiwan the TMI Team helped me a lot with my visa application and finding a quarantine accommodation.
The teachers are very professional and always open for questions. This gave me the opportunity to learn more specific vocabulary next to the fundamental grammer and vocabulary.
While exploring Teipei I could feel how my level of Chinese improved more and more because of the classes at TMI.
And last but not least studying at TMI is perfect to meet like minded people with the passion to learn Chinese and to create friendships for life.
I'm looking forward to come back.

What a wonderful organisation. Experts! Can learn simplified mainland style or Taiwan long characters. Bravo to non political organisations like this

I went here a few years ago for one part time term -2 hours a day 4 days a week.

Honestly it was a great experience to begin with, everyone was friendly, it had a relaxed atmosphere. And i was, for the first time making some progress with my chinese.

The first negative is that the commutation by e-mail was abysmal. I'm not sure what is going on there, but it just wasn't happening.

Secondly, i came to find out the school is rather unorganised.
In my time there i had several teachers. It was the schools policy to have 2 per week, but we had much more than that in our class.
Chinese character reading and writing is not really encouraged either.

After the course had finished i came back after the summer to hopefully continue studying and sort out a new term. The staff i dealt with, who was not the usual polite bloke was completely unhelpful. At the end of it all, the staff basically could not be bothered to e-mail me the course details that were agreed on and i had to look for another school.

And i have to say, the new school (which is just up the road) was much more professional. I had one teacher for the whole term, reading and writing chinese characters were not just optional. There was actual e-mail correspondence. And my fellow classmates clearly made more progress than the ones at TMI.

TMI is ok if you are a total noob and don't mind the relaxed vibe, but if you are serious about learning chinese then there are simply better schools to choose from.

I have studied Mandarin both in person and online with TMI for five years, and I am always so happy to come back! The teachers are consistently of outstanding quality, with a lively teaching style and great skill at pinpointing what students need to work on. I also like the Shi Da curriculum that is the backbone of TMIs classes - it is an excellent and clear presentation of Mandarin, and every teacher at TMI is very experienced with this series. In addition, teachers add exciting and interesting materials, and can co-design classes with advanced students, or for those with a special learning focus.
The physical space is quite good, with ample classrooms and many break out rooms for one-to-one classes. The location in the "university district" is perfect, both in terms of ease of finding the school, but also in terms of having a nice area for breaks.
The other great advantage of TMI is their scheduling flexibility. You can book a long block of classes, but if you get burned out, or want to take advantage of an opportunity to travel somewhere in Taiwan, they are very willing to put your classes on hold and let you restart when you return. Very few schools have this flexibility.
Finally, TMI attracts a very interesting range of people, and this makes the learning even more fun.

Solid 5 stars and highly recommended.
I took a month off last year to go to Taiwan and study at TMI. From the very moment I landed in TPE, I got full support from the student services and staff.

Classes were super professional and fun; teachers were friendly, patient and made the learning process very entertaining. In a month of study I managed to pick a very good amount of Mandarin thanks to the teachers. Furthermore, the contents were updated, the classmates were fun and the outside events were great.

Accomodation is also a big plus. I stayed in an executive apartment near school, right next to Guting Station, which is only 1 station away from TMI. All an all, amazing experience from friendly staff and very professional academic crew. Fully recommended.

I can't speak to their teaching outcomes (because I haven't attended), but I can tell you about the character of the organization.

I had planned and paid for an intensive Mandarin course at TMI, and then COVID forced me to cancel those plans last minute. The staff was very friendly and helpful in organizing a refund. I look forward to studying at TMI in the future when the time is right.

An excellent experience. Really helped me develop my Chinese. Gained a lot of confidence in a short period of time.

Enrolling in The Taiwan Mandarin Institute was, without a doubt, one of the single best decisions I've ever made in my life.

Their teaching is second to none - structuring their lessons around the preferences of the students rather than sticking to a rigid curriculum.
Their facilities and accommodation are amazing and every member of staff, from the administrators to the cleaners are warm, friendly and helpful.

TMI is everything a language school should be and they managed to take me from knowing almost NO Chinese to being fairly conversational in just 5 months. If your goal is to learn Chinese quickly and in a fun, pleasant and safe environment TMI is the answer!

I spent around three months at TMI, and I really enjoyed my time there. While I still have a lot to learn, I'm really happy with the progress I made in such a short amount of time. The best part of my experience was the teachers. I really appreciated their hard work and teaching experience. They're patient, knowledgeable, and are happy to adapt their methods and pace for each student. They consistently went above and beyond my expectations.

I love this place so so so much! The teachers are literally the sweetest people ever and we go on a field trip every Friday! I definitely learned lot's of Chinese!

I have enrolled for my 3rd series of one-to-one online classes in Mandarin. I am really enjoying the teaching and learning a lot after a four year break studying the language. Top marks for TMI

I spent around three months at TMI, and I really enjoyed my time there. While I still have a lot to learn, I'm really happy with the progress I made in such a short amount of time. The best part of my experience was the teachers. I really appreciated their hard work and teaching experience. They're patient, knowledgeable, and are happy to adapt their methods and pace for each student. They consistently went above and beyond my expectations.

I can't speak to their teaching outcomes (because I haven't attended), but I can tell you about the character of the organization.

I had planned and paid for an intensive Mandarin course at TMI, and then COVID forced me to cancel those plans last minute. The staff was very friendly and helpful in organizing a refund. I look forward to studying at TMI in the future when the time is right.

Enrolling in The Taiwan Mandarin Institute was, without a doubt, one of the single best decisions I've ever made in my life.

Their teaching is second to none - structuring their lessons around the preferences of the students rather than sticking to a rigid curriculum.
Their facilities and accommodation are amazing and every member of staff, from the administrators to the cleaners are warm, friendly and helpful.

TMI is everything a language school should be and they managed to take me from knowing almost NO Chinese to being fairly conversational in just 5 months. If your goal is to learn Chinese quickly and in a fun, pleasant and safe environment TMI is the answer!

Had a month's course of class and 1-on-1 lessons. Enjoyed every moment of it.
The school's management is well-organized and effective, facilities are great, and extra activities fun.
The best part though is the teachers, who are both excellent and dedicated to teaching. Had a wonderful time.

Excellent time studying in TMI, just in a couple of months TMI’s team of professional teachers have helped me improve my Mandarin significantly. Will definitely come to study there again. Thank you

I'm giving TMI 5 stars even though I haven't attended a class! I signed up for a winter session but then wasn't able to attend last minute. Not only did I get a full refund (exactly as advertised by TMI), but they were kind and helpful throughout the whole process.