“Learning is a journey, it’s not a destiny”. With this principle in life, I enrolled for BCP with SIMA in May 2011. I had wanted to learn Chinese for my daily conversation. Unfortunately, due to work commitment, I really could not find the right time and provider that could fit into my timing. When I read an advertisement by SIMA on “Conversational Mandarin Course”, I was pretty excited and attended the preview. Without much hesitation, I enrolled myself and had attended the course twice a week since May 2011. I must say that I had thoroughly enjoyed this learning journey as I was having a lot of fun engaging with fellow participants and the lecturer as well. A language being difficult to master, this journey will have to continue; and besides, we also have to use it frequently in order to master the language. The learning environment in SIMA has been so encouraging with all the motivated lecturers and most importantly, they are very patient and generous in sharing their knowledge. I can see that they have been putting in a tremendous amount of effort to ensure the maximum transfer of learning. I believe that the lecturers’ contribution can only be about 30% (if not less) and the remaining 70% must come from the participants who are willing to learn and commit. I must congratulate SIMA for designing this wonderful programme which is so useful in our daily encounter and life. Thanks to all and keep up the good work!

I am able to speak Chinese with my Chinese patients now. The teaching aid was good. Lecturer Lilian Lao Shi is a very good lecturer plus she always keeps us engaged in every lesson. I enjoyed my learning journey with SGP International Management Academy.

I enjoyed learning Chinese in SIMA because of the lecturer and the fun learning environment. The atmosphere in SIMA makes me want to continue learning Chinese as the lecturer teaches in an informal setting which integrates fun with learning.

It was fun to learn Chinese in SIMA. The teacher was very knowledgeable and cooperative. Hope to join the next level soon. Thank you Lilian Lao Shi for the good work and effort.

It’s a great pleasure for me to learn Mandarin in SIMA. I never felt that I have a lifetime opportunity to learn a new language and through SIMA I am able to achieve my objective in learning the Mandarin language.

I must say that participating in this learning journey at SIMA Mandarin Conversational class was one of the most enriching times during my short stay in Singapore. I sincerely appreciate the quality of SIMA’s staff members, both management and the teaching staff. The management/administrative staff are very efficient and responsive to students’ needs. The programme is very well designed and the teaching staffs are very professional, well prepared and enthusiastic. Also, they created a class environment that is very conducive to learning. I enjoyed every class in the company of my fellow students. My learning curve during the class was very steep as I started from level zero. Even though my classmates were all at a more advanced Chinese level, the lecturer managed to keep the class very interesting and challenging for all students, always providing tips for faster learning. Currently, I am using her tips effectively. I will miss my Wednesday and Friday night classes! Luis Bellorin Petit Wishing SIMA great success!

I found the course interesting and entertaining. I feel that I have acquired some useful and basic skills and hope to be able to move on to the next level. The teacher managed to present the topics in a pleasant way and to make the lessons lively. She also replied very quickly to the queries that we posted on the WhatsApp group.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank all the supportive staff and teachers of SIMA. It has been a wonderful journey. I am very happy to acquire basic Mandarin conversational skill from SIMA and will be looking forward to continuing my learning journey with SIMA.

Nin Hao! I’m so glad that I’ve found SIMA. Learning Mandarin here is TRULY FUN! I aimed for a Master in Mandarin one day and also wish to become SIMA Ambassador. I trust SIMA will make my wishes come true.

I used to learn one or two words from my Chinese colleagues. They were very happy when I spoke simple Chinese words like “ni hao” with them. When I see how communication can bring people together, my interest to learn Chinese increased. Unfortunately, there was no opportunity and the time was not right then. One day in 2011, an advertisement in the New Paper on SIMA conducting Han Yu Pin Yin Business Chinese caught my eyes and I signed up for it immediately. On the first day of class, I did not feel bored because the lecturers taught the lesson in “fun way”. They were professional and yet interesting. From then on, I was there in class early to wait for my classmates to arrive to try speaking Chinese with them. My knowledge of Chinese improved. We were able to ask the lecturers on any word in Chinese; and thus, we learned very quickly. As an Indian with zero background in the Chinese language, I used to pick up words from my daily interaction with Chinese colleagues but I didn’t really know the meaning. I was able to ask the lecturers directly and as a result, I had more confidence in speaking Chinese. I found that learning Chinese based on daily activities and supported by class practices had made it easy for non-Chinese like me to learn. At my workplace, I conduct meetings in different languages like Tamil and English. Best of it all, I can now do so in Chinese also. I feel confident whenever I speak to my Chinese colleagues. I hope to go to China one day, to do business without having to face difficulty in communicating with the Chinese professionals there. I thank SIMA for giving me this wonderful learning opportunity and would very much like to continue with SIMA on the next level of Business Chinese.