I was incredibly disappointed with KCEL. I have attended schools—in China and the US—with much better teachers. If you want to study in Kunming specifically, I would recommend Yunnan Normal University over KCEL any day!

Also be warned: the prices listed on this page are not accurate. For one-to-one classes, the cost is a minimum of 90rmb/hour. If you attend less than 120 hours, then they try to charge you 120rmb per hour, which is just astronomically high, especially considering how terrible the teachers are. Also, they force you to pay in a lump sum instead of on a weekly basis because their policy is that if you need to leave the program early for ANY REASON you will not get a refund. For example, I had a family emergency and immediately needed to return home, my tuition fee had not even finalized, and the administration refused to refund the tuition. Note: other universities do refund tuition expenses! Especially considering the teachers made absolutely no plan of study for me—and even made me take a taxi by myself to a bookstore to pick out my own textbook (which I purchased and they did not let me keep)—I do not see why it would be *impossible* or unreasonable for them to refund at least some of the tuition expenses. And even though I think the quality of the education is terrible, I also think that it is unfortunate that the tuition I paid and subsequently did not use will go directly to the administration and will not go to teachers or other staff.

Many schools also offer many more opportunities to interact with other students and teachers, while KCEL only really offers lunch (which is not included in tuition) and the teachers often just sit together and talk amongst themselves.

Bottom line: KCEL is in the business of taking your money, they are not providing quality education or cultural immersion. I would choose any school over KCEL.