Generally, in the Intensive Mandarin Chinese Classes, we cover 2-3 lessons week, or about 100 – 150 new words per week. However, the pace of the class will be determined by the comfort level of the class. We try to place students together that work at approximately the same speed. If you find the class to easy or too difficult you can speak with our reception at any point, who will gladly move your class. Noting on any given week- TMI would have about 15 different class levels running, so finding your exact level or placement is never an issue.
TMI is a large sized school and considered by many as the most popular mandarin school in Taiwan. The institute occupies 3 floors of a 12 story building and has 21 Fully equipped classes. TMI welcomes in excess of 2,000 new students every year. Choosing the largest Chinese school in Taipei, such as TMI, means that you, the student will have an all round better experience as having more teachers and classrooms allows for you to get the exact level class. If you choose smaller schools in Taipei, then you will find the admin staff will be mixing all the levels together in one class, thus greatly hindering your Mandarin learning experience.
TMI is very proud to be the only institute in Taiwan to offer a full refund policy. If you book your package in advance and cannot make it to Taiwan, then TMI will refund 100% of your fess without any charges. If you have started your course and in the rare instance concerning both course and accommodation if for whatever reason you are not satisfied the quality, the admissions will offer you a full refund of the remaining fees and accommodation costs provided that you have not completed no more than 30% of your initial booking period. Note that refunds can take up to 60 days to process and will incur a bank transfer fee which is usually 20-25 USD. All refunds must go back to the same source of payment and account holder that paid the initial fees.
The actual group class time focuses on a conversation and listening/speaking with most of the character learning and writing given as homework’s. This way it allows you to get the most out of your class-time and not spend a large percentage writing out characters. For Private 1/1 Classes, you the student can choose whichever topic you wish, and some students want 90% writing inside the class, then this is fine. Private class content can be determined by you, the student!
If you are able to speak and listen at an advanced level but cannot recognize many characters, there are no issues! You will still be placed in the advance level class, and you can then use the Pinyin to read the characters- Note that all materials at TMI includes Pinyin so you do not need to have a proficient level of reading/writing of characters to progress your spoken Mandarin Chinese.
Yes! Certainly, we have many professionals who visit us from North America, Europe, Hong Kong, Singapore and other countries to top up their mandarin Chinese skills, furthermore, if you mention to us that you are a businessperson, we will assign you with a business-experienced teacher. Same like if you mention to us that you are a medical professional, then the teacher will adapt and provide medical related vocabularies for your class.
Generally, teachers will prepare at least 1-2 hours for your typical 2 hour Chinese class at Taiwan Mandarin Institute.
All of the Teachers at TMI are natives of Taiwan and indeed native Mandarin speakers. With a faculty of over 30 staff, the Institute has a minimum requirement of a degree and also the main recognized certificate TOCFL ( Teaching Of Chinese as a Foreign Language).In addition to this, your teacher will always have minimum 2 years previous Chinese teaching experience and most have a Masters degree.
Citizens of most countries do not require any visa to study in Taiwan. The majority of students at TMI are granted a 90 day landing visa at the Airport in Taiwan upon arrival. Yes, This means no trips to your local embassy are required. Check our Housing / Visa to see if you qualify for a landing visa automatically.
Yes! TMI can now accept credit and debit card payments from abroad or within Taiwan. The card types accepted are MasterCard,Visa, American Express and JCB. All creditcard payments are subject to a 4.5% processing charge. If you are abroad and paying for your TMI fees by creditcard, then we recommend contacting your card issuer to inform them and authorize usage of the card in Taiwan.
Yes! TMI has its own accommodation suites located conveniently within 3 minutes walk from the school and also MRT metro station. All rooms are private and there are various suites available from standard student room to a supreme executive suite. Due to TMI owning and managing the majority of its 40 different accommodation suites, this means that you have a dedicated accommodation team to assist you with any questions or requests. All suites are fully furnished and even have weekly cleaning provided. No security deposit is required and all bills are included in the cost.
TMI has accepted applications as soon as 2 weeks before a course. However, as courses and accommodations at TMI fill up pretty quick, we recommend that students apply 1 to 2 months before they plan to arrive in Taiwan. For the High season months ( June, July, August, September, December and January- We recommend booking about 2-3 months in advance to ensure you get a place at TMI.
As TMI is a private institute, scholarship opportunities are limited to a select few countries, foreign governments and partner universities. TMI is proud to be the Taiwan choice for the : Critical Language Scholarship Program(American Council),New Colombo Plan (Australia), Prime Ministers Study Abroad Award( New Zealand),CSN(Swedish Government program),University of Washington(UW) and the Office for Study Abroad George Washington University(GW). If your university has a scholarship program for study abroad, we recommend having your officers contact us and we will assist in the scholarship provision.
Yes, All students can receive a certificate when the course is finished.
All sorts of students! We’ve taught students from all around the world and a full mix of university students, business men and women, scientists, writers, lawyers, executives, programmers, and pretty much everything in between.
Yes, we have many corporate clients throughout Taipei in which our Teachers visit to teach mandarin after working hours. Please check out our Partnership page for more information.
At TMI, the average class size is 3 students( None High Season). There is a maximum cap on classes of 6 students cap for ALL intensive courses. During the high season months of June, July, August and September, the classes may be at maximum capacity but will never exceed 6 students.
Apart from class size’s being a lot smaller at TMI, there is no major difference in Teaching style or Curriculum. In-Fact, TMI uses the same teaching materials as the top universities in Taiwan. In additional to this, the teacher will use his/her own additional materials that he/she deems appropriate for the student. You may not find this teaching style in a rigid university.
Most courses require payment after the registration via Bank transfer or Credit/Debit cards( MasterCard, Visa, American Express and JCB Card). However please check with the admission officer during your enrollment about the Payment terms. Most students of TMI pay in advance by international bank wire *For all Creditcard payments there is a 4.5% surcharge, for bank transfers there is no receiver charge, however your own bank may charge you for the transfer.
Yes, Certain long term( 16 Weeks+) courses can be flexible with payment terms. Please ask your admissions officer to discuss a suitable payment plan with you.
All of our courses are available on an 1 week – 52 week basis. For our short stay visitors(1- 6 Weeks) we recommend the Combo Intensive 24 hour per week course for rapid progression, and for those who wish to take private classes we recommend 4 hours per day for 5 days per week, (20 Hours total per week).
No!, As long as you mention this to the admissions officer before enrolling, then he/she will amend your course end date to include the extra classes for which you have planned to miss! If you do not know which weeks you would like to skip, then this is also fine, as long as we know one full week in advance then your course or even accommodation will be frozen and you can resume this when you get back at no extra costs.
Most of our students study here after being recommended by their friends, professors or local travel agent. When reading reviews we recommend to check verified reviews such as a partner university or a travel agent partner. We do not recommend review sites such as google where sometimes our competitors would post fake reviews in order to drive students towards their school.
The application process is simple and stress free at TMI! We recommend all new students who wish to learn Chinese and are already based in Taipei to send an email to enquires or Simply call in and visit the Institute to sign up. Alternatively, if you are abroad just send an email to info@tmichinese.com and someone will get back to you very soon!
