[Photo provided by Beijinger magazine]

Foreigners working and living in Beijing may face the language barrier from time to time. Some expats may attribute this to the lack of time allotted to studying the language, as a result of busy working schedules. However, seeing as Mark Zuckerberg – probably one of the busiest people in the world – can find the time to practice Mandarin, many foreigners in China should be able to find time to study the language too.

There is now an event held on the second annual Mandarin Month, hosted by the Beijinger magazine, which is designed for busy-bees to polish up their Mandarin skills. The aim behind the workshop is to motivate monolingual foreigners to improve their practice of Mandarin.

The event, planned to run throughout June, offers a variety of activities, including profiling of some the best foreign Mandarin speakers and how they've mastered the language, and introduces some of Beijing's best study centers to learn Mandarin. The event will also outline a list of common phrases to use.

Participants will also be able to meet staff and teachers from a few of Beijing's best Mandarin learning centers at Q Bar in Sanlitun on June 24.