Whether you’re just starting with learning Mandarin Chinese or are at a more advanced level,
you’ll most likely need a Chinese teacher at some point in your journey.
I’ve tried two of their group classes and in this article I will be sharing my thoughts on what you should expect and how I found it.
If you don’t have time to read the entire article just know this, Flexi Classes is one of the best platforms to find a Chinese language teacher, whether for one-on-one or in a group class.
What is Flexi Classes?
It was started a couple of years ago by the people behind the LTL Language School, which was started in 2007. Needless to say, they have extensive experience in teaching languages. Although in this article I’ll focus on their Mandarin Chinese teaching, just know that they also teach a number of other languages.
Unlike some other platforms such as Preply that also offering one-on-one tutoring classes, teachers are vetted by Flexi Classes, have teaching experience, and also include teaching material, so you don’t buy your own textbook as we’ll see later.
My Experience using Flexi Classes
Package Types
I did two group classes on Flexi Classes. To do that, I subscribed to one of their packages ranging for 56 USD to 380 USD per month, for 4 to 40 classes. Whilst that may look expensive, when you bring it down to the ‘cost-per-class’, that’s about 14 USD or less per class, depending on the package you take, which is more than reasonable.
If you’re not a fan of paying on a recurring basis, you can also buy credits for future classes, which you can use whenever you’d like. Do note, however, that these credits have an expiry date. I would recommend marking the date on your calendar to make sure you don’t miss it.
Registering for a Class
Now that I had credit, I had to choose what class to join. Since I was working towards the HSK 6 and had already passed the HSK 5, I chose HSK 5+.
As you can see below, I had dozens of class options, each with a different topic. It’s possible to narrow down further based on what you are intending to learn.
They have classes in all timezones, and all days of the week. So you could even just decide you want to do a class in a few hours from now and have one available.
If you’re like me and hesitate among a few topics, you can click on the class to view and download the class material. This was awesome and showed how well prepared, and how much experience they have. Personally, I decided to take a class in “Talking with Natives about Traditions and Customs”, “Social Media” and on “Writing”. Having the material, before the class, is super helpful to understand what you can expect from it.
I think there are two types of learners in general: those that prefer a very ‘rigourous’ and laid out learning plan, and others which are more ‘self-driven’ to find the material they want to study. When you’re a beginner, it’s generally best to follow a more laid-out plan when starting, but it’s ok, and even generally recommended, to dab into what you interests you more as you become more conversational or fluent. Being more of the second type of learner, I decided to go with these two; though it’s good to know that you have the option of following a more structured approach.
Class Experience
The first class was on Social Media and… I missed it! I forgot it was taking place and just forgot to show up.
After that happened, I noticed Flexi Classes have a functionality where you can link your calendar with theirs, so classes get synced to your calendar as you schedule them. This is super useful and I would highly recommend you do that first thing right after you sign up for a class so it doesn’t happen to you too!
For the second class on talking with natives about customs, it was a lot of fun. There was supposed to be another student joining us, but in the end it was only me and the teacher as seems the other student forgot to join.
A handful of questions were prepared before the class to discuss this topic, though to be fair we quickly went on tangents, not directly discussing the exact questions but rather staying in the general topic of interest, namely “customs & traditions”, discussing the tomatina, chandeleur, etc. The teacher had a rather strong native accent, but it was totally understandable and I actually think it’s helpful to train your ear.
Whilst I didn’t take a screenshot of the actual class experience, it was essentially similar to using Zoom. She shared her screen with the lesson topic and used her browser as needed to help with the discussion.
The writing class was great too. It was held by another teacher, and just like the first class, there was just me. We’d discuss the topic for a while, she’d teach me new words and then I’d try to use them when writing.
Class Notes
During the class, it’s not needed to hurriedly take notes of what the teacher is saying or what you are learning on the side as the notes taken will be sent to you after the class.
Below, you’ll find the notes of my class on customs and traditions for your reference.
At the end of the class, you get to rate your teacher, so teachers can improve on their learning approach and style (they both got a fantastic score!).
Other Thoughts
Whilst I’ve taken group classes, you can also take 1-1 classes too. As mentioned earlier, there were no other students in my group class but I guess this highly depends on the timezone. If you choose a one-on-one class, you can choose a topic from their list or choose your own!
Overall, I really recommend it if you’re looking for Chinese classes with a teacher, and for you to do the group classes if you’re more on a budget.
