We tried to improve recommended classes however I am not sure if they are useful now for students?
It’s hard to predict when someone will be free to study and what the next class is they want to take.
So I am not sure if the current recommended classes are used by anyone?
If not, we could get rid of them and replace with some pre views of our latest Instagram, YouTube, Forum etc. Posts for example.
What do you guys think? Keep recommended classes or not?
If not what best to replace them with?
I’ve never used recommended classes, although I admit that the recommended times are pretty spot on at the moment (unlike before when it would be 1am).
Article / instagram / forum posts would be more interesting IMO
I’m a bit on the fence. I would probably use them if the times were more aligned with my schedule but right now recommended classes are always during my office hours.
I think the easiest way to predict when someone will be free to study would be to check their attendance history to see during what times they typically study (for some it could be all over the place but for others it could be the same time every day). If that’s not easy to implement, then maybe replace it with something else (forums posts are a great idea! that could bring more people here).
I never use the recommended classes to be honest, I think articles, instagram posts, videos etc would be more interesting and useful to learn after class.
Another idea: how about ‘saving’ classes for the future or add them as favourites to book later? There’s lot of classes 2 or 3 weeks away that I’m interested in but don’t know if I’ll be available then, and when I do, I spend lots of time searching and finding them again.
I have changed my current level to HSK3 and haven’t booked or taken an HSK3 lesson yet.
This is what the recommendations show:
It chooses the first lesson, so far it’s okay, but in February or March? 
(There are of course a lot of possible dates in Dec and Jan for this lesson)
For a newbie, booking classes for the first time, they are useful.
Welcome to the forum @Kathryn-Mandarin-Intro
That’s great to know. You are the first poster here mentioning you used the recommended classes.
I was just about to get rid of them and now you made me think again 
Is there a reason Recommended classes ignore the language switcher on the Book a class page?
Right now my language is set to Mandarin. If I want to take a Japanese class, I must go to the My Settings (not My Profile - the language setting there is unrelated) and switch both the language to Japanese and pick the correct level before I get recommendations for Japanese classes.
If we want to keep Recommended classes, I think it would make more sense to update the recommendations based on the current language+level selection on the Book a class page rather than using global settings.
Personally, I have used Recommended classes exactly once. Now that I have no more Mandarin classes to take, there is just an empty sad placeholder.
To be fair, since I’m a newbie in other languages, good class recommendations would be probably nice to have - but maybe the latest forum topics would be even more useful.
I am not sure how the algorithm works, but I just noticed my recommended classes are dates in 2023 and 2024…I definitely hope to book my next class before then 
I actually do use the recommended classes and have found that they have been pretty accurate at recommending the rights classes to take next and time options that work for me. But if the recommendation doesn’t work, I can always click on the lesson for it to suggest other dates that might work better. I’m someone who tends to plan several weeks of classes in one go so that I can block the time in my calendar. If left to nature, then something else will pop up to fill the gap. My favourite function has to be the calendar syncing though. It makes such a difference not having to type every class into my personal calendar.
@Ben-Mandarin-HSK_5 Fully agree. We will change that so in the future recommended classes show for the language you chose on that page, not your default language
@Jessica-Mandarin-HSK_4 That is definitely a bug! Thanks a lot for reporting it. We will also fix that
@Vicki-Mandarin-HSK_2 thanks so much for that feedback. A 2nd person using recommended classes, so one more reason to not get rid of them. Calendar synchronisation I agree is great. I have some questions how people us that and wonder how we can maybe improve it. I will create another topic for it
Hmmm… Now that I’ve got more of a feel for the other ways of finding suitable classes, I am not using recommended classes any more. Sorry to give contradictory feedback!
Now I mainly go to the ‘my level’ page to see what classes would be suitable, then click on an individual class that I am interested in and try to find when it is run at a time that suits me. Or on the ‘book a class’ I look through to find classes at times that suit me.
A suggestion: on the ‘book a class’ page it would be helpful if the time ‘slider’ remembered my preferences (e.g. no classes before 9am) instead of having to set it each time I go to this page. (Or maybe it does remember but I haven’t yet worked out how?)
Yes, that would be really helpful.
Question for you guys we thought of before…
Would you prefer four regularly updated links to new blogs, articles, social posts, lives etc instead so you can keep up to date with our content?
Or is that sort of thing not of interest?
Yes, why not. Maybe even the same links from the newsletter, that fit for any level.
I always read it instantly but do not always have the time to follow all links.
Or 4 “different level links” that fit for the different levels from total Newbies to the experts.
If we show “4 different level links”, could the language and level be based on the selection on the “Book a class” page? I know we have much less content (or none) for minority languages but still worth promoting if you study them.
Also, the content links would ideally get refreshed after you click on them.
That’s a great idea. So for each level a different set of links show.
Another big project of mine in 2022 is to increase our content output in Japanese, Korean and Vietnamese. Of course this is a huge, never-ending and time consuming project but we already have around 70 articles between those 3 languages and will increase video and blog output so we’ll have no problem filling four spaces for each level.
Like it Ben, thanks for sharing.
While the year is correct, I am still getting recommended classes in Feb, April, November and February of this year (all with the same title).
What would probably help me more is if I got to see the next 4 or 5 classes in the curriculum based on my level / taken classes, so I don’t have to switch between tabs.
Recently, I started getting recommendations for the year 2024:
When I switch to Japanese, the suggestions seem more reasonable:
Maybe the easiest way to fix this bug would indeed be to get rid of recommended classes? I rarely click on recommendations, even if they seem fine.
The recommended classes for me (Mandarin Simp) are all in Dec 2022… thought the bug would’ve been fixed for everyone. 
