Mandarin,
learned with
joy & mastery.
Flexible, personalised Mandarin instruction for all ages and levels. Taught by Xiaoqian Liu — a specialist with 20 years of experience, 20,000+ teaching hours, and three degrees in Teaching Chinese as a Foreign Language.
experience
live teaching
Chinese teaching
"晓 (xiǎo) means to understand. 笑 (xiào) means to smile.
With Xiao Chinese, you will do both."
A specialist's approach
to a living language.
Xiao Chinese is built on one conviction: learning Mandarin should be immersive, rewarding, and grounded in real life from day one. Every lesson is designed to be genuinely enjoyable and filled with a sense of achievement at every step.
There are no tedious grammar drills disconnected from real communication. Every class is a real language-use scenario — what you practise in the lesson, you can use in life immediately. Through natural language input and immersive instruction, most students can hold basic daily conversations in Mandarin within around 30 lessons.
The name "Xiao" carries a double meaning — 晓 (xiǎo, "to understand") and 笑 (xiào, "to smile and laugh"). This is the promise of every lesson: you will leave knowing more, and smiling.
Instruction shaped
around you.
Voices from the classroom.
I have been studying Mandarin for quite some time, but my progress was inconsistent and frustrating. When I decided to make a committed effort, I discovered Snowball Chinese and reached out to Liu Laoshi. It was the best decision I could have made. Liu Laoshi brings exceptional credentials and expertise — she understands that Mandarin is a challenging language and has developed a teaching approach that actually works. In just 2.5 years, my Mandarin abilities have advanced exponentially. If you are serious about learning Mandarin, I cannot recommend Liu Laoshi highly enough.
Snowball Chinese Language School has been one of the best discoveries I've made. With consistent lessons and commitment, it gave me a real foundation in spoken Mandarin — not just memorized phrases, but the tools to actually form sentences and communicate. As a CEO who works extensively with Mandarin speakers and in China, having functional Mandarin has improved my business effectiveness, deepened relationships with colleagues, and given me a meaningful competitive edge.
Liu Laoshi has been a pivotal part of my Chinese language learning journey. I've been learning with her for 5 years and she is exceptionally competent and creative with her teaching strategies — she caters her teaching to my learning style and has been a patient partner throughout.
A really fantastic school — I've made a lot of progress in a short period of time. Xiaoqian is patient, funny and engaging. The lessons are fun and really helpful for developing your speaking ability. 100% recommend.
I've been a student of Liu Laoshi for nearly 5 years now and it's been an amazing experience. She's funny, well prepared, and uniquely skilled in tailoring lessons to the individual interests of her students.
Begin with a
complimentary consultation.
Before your first lesson, we meet for 30 minutes — to understand your goals, answer every question, and design a programme that fits you precisely. No obligation whatsoever.