That's Mandarin Beijing School

[yukifu]

(Note: I tried searching and couldn't find an entry on this; apologize if it is asked somewhere else).

 

I am going to China for two weeks with an educational non-profit I chair and I wanted to go a week early to take an immersion-style language course. I'm meeting my group in Beijing, so that's the easiest location for me to take classes if I want to maximize my study time (I can start on a Monday and end on a Wednesday, so I can get a week and a half of classes in). 

 

Does anyone have experience with That's Mandarin Chinese School in Beijing? The reviews I've found online are positive. The tuition rates are comparable to other schools I've looked at. The school has been very responsive when answering questions, etc. (http://www.thatsmandarin.com/) Anyone familiar with the school? I'm looking at the 1:1 program, specifically, because it is most flexible, but I would also be interested in hearing thoughts on the curriculum, the school itself, etc.

 

For background, I used to be an HSK 5 but am out of practice; probably an HSK 3 right now. I'm hoping to work in China in the next two years and want to get back to HSK 5 or higher. I'll need to be able to speak relatively fluently about biomedical research and marketing (I manage international marketing for a genetics laboratory). I have a few bad habits (lazy pronunciation, lazy use of classifiers) and my vocabulary is much weaker than it used to be, but I learn languages fast and truly love Mandarin. I'm hoping this intensive course plus two weeks with my non-profit will jump-start the Mandarin part of my brain again, so I can eventually pick up where I left off. 

 

Related question: the school's address is 12 Xinzhong B Street, Bldg 4, 1/F, Beijing. Does anyone have recommendations for hotels nearby? 

 

Any advice is appreciated! Thank you!