Private Tutors in Shanghai, China

Check out soufudao.com/en (usual disclaimer, I'm not affiliated with them, just used them to find my teacher). In general, private tutors charge between 100 and 150 RMB per hour and you should expect a professional who shows up on time, plans lessons in advance, is relatively flexible about scheduling and location, and designs lessons with your level in mind. 150/hour is really on the high end in my experience. I don't have any experience with private instruction schools.

You are at ECNU, why don't just mix up with the local kids and learn for free...

The teachers at GoEast - www.goeastmandarin.com - are all really good with degrees in teaching Chinese. They have their own school where you can take 1-on-1 lessons or join a small class (2, 3, 4 people). They can also come to you if you prefer. Highly recommended!

Hi there. Before I answer with my recommendation, keep in mind that I work for [LTL Mandarin School](www.livethelanguage.cn/chinese-classes-shanghai/). Firstly, taking 1on1 classes aside from the group ones is a great way of advancing. Typically in a group, especially a big one such as one of 10 people, it can sometimes be hard to get as much attention from the teacher as if you were studying 1on1s. There's many people and some people are more confident in speaking than others. A group class is great for beginners, because you can learn the basics and the fact that you have other classmates helps with feeling that you are not alone in the endeavor. Although some people did recommend here just finding a Chinese person and speaking to him, typically a lot of Chinese people who agree to this are either interested in practicing their English (so you would get less time to practice your Chinese) or are not as motivated to correct your every mistake and help you with grammar problems. They might just want to have a conversation. A 1on1 teacher, especially one that is trained for this kind of work such as a 对外汉语 (Teaching Chinese as a Foreign Language) graduate and/or someone with vast experience, is a good option to go because they are there to help you improve, not for any ulterior motives such as practicing their own English. A teacher is also patient and his/her work is to make sure you speak well, so they will correct your mistakes without having you lose confidence. That is, instead of interrupting you to correct a mistake, they would wait until you finish and then say something in the sort "You can say it like this, but it's better if you phrase your sentence like this:..." A 1on1 teacher is great to do one of three things: 1. Review the material you study in the group class, so as to solidify what you learned. 2. Preview material that you WILL study in the group class, so as to progress faster. 3. To focus on specific aspects of the language, such as tones and pronunciation, or specific topics of interest to you, such as business Chinese (at a later stage when your Chinese is already at a bit higher level) or various aspects of Survival Chinese. The system at our school works in this kind of way. A private 1on1 teacher is there to help you further improve in the language in a complementary way to the group classes. As these are all professional teachers, and not just Chinese people from the street, they are specifically trained to do that, and I personally think they are doing it quite well. :) I would say that if you want to progress well and find a good teacher, private schools are typically a good choice, because most good teachers' aspiration is to find a stable teaching job. Teachers in good private schools only need to teach the language, they do not need to market themselves out as a freelancer would, and they definitely do not need to be doing sales, as I hear some schools force their teachers to do (I won't mention names). Sorry for the rant... If you want to know more, would be happy to sit down for a drink and discuss my thoughts about this subject, if this is of interest to you. Good luck!