Your standard of life in Beijing will improve immeasurably if you can learn Mandarin. Patience and a smile will only get you so far. While locals are willing to be more accepting of foreigners than many expect, English is still spoken too rarely for residents to get by without at least a few phrases. The language centres listed are all reasonably priced, but foreigners can also learn Mandarin at one of Beijing’s universities. Tuition at these tends to be between ¥19,000 and ¥28,000 a year.