Plenty of people are studying Chinese in Tashkent right now — from schoolkids aiming at Chinese universities to adults whose business runs on trade with China. There are a lot of options out there, and from the outside they all look the same: "experienced teachers," "modern methodology," "guaranteed results."
The problem is you usually can't tell the difference until about three months in — after the money's paid and there's no progress to show for it. Below is what's worth finding out before you pay. It works for evaluating any school, not just ours.
1. How many people are in the group
The most underrated question. In Chinese, a huge part of success is pronunciation and speaking — and that takes the teacher's individual attention.
In a group of 6–8, everyone gets to speak during class. In a group of 15, you talk for a couple of minutes and spend the rest listening. That kind of group costs less, and that's a fair trade — you just need to know what you're actually buying.
Don't ask "how many spots are in the group." Ask "how many people are attending right now."
2. Who's actually teaching
Not "our teachers are experienced," but: who leads your group specifically, what's their language level, where did they study, how long have they been teaching.
A separate note on native speakers: a native speaker isn't automatically the best teacher. Someone who speaks beautiful Chinese but can't explain why a third tone turns into a second tone here is useless to a beginner. The ideal person to start with is a teacher who's walked the same learning path from your native language and knows exactly where you'll trip. Native speakers become irreplaceable later — for conversation practice and building natural speech.
3. Is the program tied to HSK
Even if you don't need the exam, a program built around HSK levels is a sign of an actual system. It answers "what are we covering right now," "what's coming in three months," and "how do we know a level is done."
If there's no clear answer and the program gets built "as we go," there's a good chance that in six months you'll know a lot of scattered words and won't be able to say what level you're actually at.
Also ask which HSK version the school is working from. In 2026 the exam is moving to a new nine-level format with substantially expanded word lists — a school that hasn't heard about this is behind the curriculum.
4. What happens when you miss a class
You'll miss classes — a work trip, illness, exams. The question is what the school does about it.
A bad answer: "ask a classmate." A good answer: there's a recording of the lesson, there are the class materials, there's a way to catch up. This is exactly where learning most often falls apart: two missed classes in a row, and the person shows up to the third one understanding nothing, then quietly stops coming.
5. How progress gets measured
Ask how you'll know in three months that you've moved forward. "You'll feel it" isn't an answer.
It's normal to have periodic check-ins, tests at the end of a unit, grades on homework, a clear level system. This isn't about grades for their own sake — it's about catching early when something isn't sticking, instead of dragging a gap forward.
6. Homework, and what happens to it
You don't learn a language in four hours a week in a classroom. The work between classes is half the result.
Find out: is homework assigned, is it checked, are mistakes reviewed. If it's assigned but never checked, you might as well skip it — which is what everyone ends up doing.
7. The contract, price, and terms
Look at more than the monthly number — look at the whole set of terms:
- What's included in the price — textbooks, materials, platform access?
- What happens if you miss a class for a valid reason?
- Can you pause your studies?
- How does a refund work if you decide to quit?
- Is there a contract at all, and what does it say about the school's obligations?
And separately: be wary if anyone guarantees a specific level by a specific date. No honest school can promise that, because the outcome also depends on whether you put in the work yourself. What can be guaranteed is the program, the number of hours, the teacher's qualifications — not what happens in your head.
8. Go to a trial class
No review replaces sitting in one real lesson. A trial class shows what you can't see from outside: how the teacher explains things, how much the students actually talk, how mistakes get handled, what the group's atmosphere is like.
At the trial, pay attention to three things:
- How much you talk, not the teacher. In a good class, students talk more than half the time.
- What happens with a mistake. Is it noticed and gently corrected — or ignored so it doesn't slow the class down?
- Whether pronunciation gets attention. If tones aren't mentioned at all in the first class, that's a bad sign.
Red flags
- "Fluent Chinese in 3 months" — that doesn't happen. For anyone.
- No answer to "who will be teaching my group."
- A discount that's "only valid today, decide right now."
- Vague talk about the program: an "in-house methodology" with no explanation of what it actually consists of.
- No contract, or they won't show you one before payment.
- Groups filled with "however many show up," no cap.
How this works at our school
Since we're the ones handing out the checklist, let's answer it honestly ourselves.
At UNLOCK, group classes meet three times a week for 80 minutes, individual lessons run 60 minutes, and we take students from age 12. The program is built across HSK levels one through six, and we track exam changes and update materials accordingly. Classes run offline in central Tashkent, on Yakub Kolas Street 2/1 at the Central Palace hotel, and online — the formats can be combined.
Missed classes are covered by recordings: lessons on our platform are recorded, so someone who misses one watches the full class instead of copying someone else's notes. Homework, materials, grades, and a chat with the teacher all live in the app for iPhone, iPad, Android, and Mac — visible to both the student and their parent.
Group course pricing starts at 825,000 sum a month. Individual lessons are priced separately, based on schedule and goals.
What we don't promise: a specific level by a specific date. That's not entirely up to us.
Where to start
Take the free level test on our website — it'll show you where to start from. Then come to a class and check us against this exact checklist: it was written precisely so people would use it.