Learning Mandarin can be extremely difficult, especially in Shanghai where many locals speak English. Maybe you’re planning your way to an HSK 6 certification or you just want to feel confident ordering your morning jianbing.  Whatever your goal, here’s some hot tips to help you achieve your Mandarin language goals in Shanghai

Integrate Learning Into Your Social Media

There’s so many great accounts on Instagram (but you gotta get that VPN first!), and we love Twisted Mandarin for their themed posts. Whether they’re showing you the common thread between four different characters:

Or just breaking down our favorite fruits:

They make the visual learning of characters fun – and make your Instagram scroll a little more productive.

Looking for a food-focused lesson? Follow our official WeChat by scanning the QR code below and get a weekly Foodie Flashcard to learn the names of your fav dishes in both pinyin and characters. Just scan below and you’ll be ready to get your 手抓饭 the next time you head to the Friday Muslim Market.

Also on WeChat is Official Account 故事FM. For more advanced learners of Chinese, they offer short but interesting articles as well as a radio show / podcast (under 故事FM in all your podcast apps) to keep you using your Mandarin reading and listening skills daily.

Learn Mandarin in Shanghai!

GoEast Mandarin has two campuses in Shanghai, one in Yangpu (next to Daxue Lu, with lots of restaurants & food places), as well as in downtown Shanghai on Changle Lu, not far from where our breakfast tour takes place.

Their courses range from HSK1 to beyond HSK6, so no matter if you cannot order a coffee yet, or can read a whole menu in Hanzi, you’ll find a proper course in the hands of this Chinese language school, that has been teaching since 2012.

Web: https://goeastmandarin.com/shanghai/

Download a (Free) App

Vocab & Grammar: Duolingo offers excellent Mandarin lessons for those who want to improve their basic vocab and grammar.

Reading: The Chairman’s Bao offers real news translated by HSK level, so whether you’re just starting out or are practically fluent, you can practice your reading skills while also learning about modern China. Win win!

Translation: Nothing beats Google Translate for a quick look, including camera functionality you can hover over words to translate (although this is done very literally and can offer amusing translations at times).

加油同学们！