Programs and Services

I provide Chinese language tutoring and classes in the following categories:

• Private Lessons (one-on-one)
• Semi-Group class (a two- or three-person group)
• Group class (more than three but no more than eight person group)

Courses are offered at three skill levels: beginner, intermediate and advanced. About skill levels and courses.

Private Lessons

Private lessons are the most effective learning method because the course is totally tailored to one individual's needs, style and speed. Lessons are held at at a time and location of your choosing. Courses are designed to use half of the classroom time for structured learning (vocabulary, syntax and grammar points) and the other half for oral practice.

Middle and high school students. For students whose schools offer a Chinese language course, I tailor private lessons to the school's curriculum, providing individual tutorials to students. My clients include students from Oakwood School, Polytechnic School and Buckley School. For more information about how you or your child can benefit by Mandarin tutoring, please contact me.

SKYPE is a free, internet-based video conferencing program that I've used successfully to teach Mandarin over distance, allowing me to teach across the country as well as locally when students are not able to come to my classroom. The video quality is good; my students and I exchange lesson material using email attachments, making this a very practical solution in various situations. Please contact me for further information.

Semi-group classes

The advantages are:

• Cost savings
• • Same courses as one-on-one lessons
• • A perfect forum for encouraging a friendly learning competition between the students
• • The learning experience is shared, leading to greater retention and perspective

I arrange these groups when student proficiency levels are similar.

Group classes

Four- to eight-person group classes are offered with declining cost per student as the number of students per class increases.

Intensive, Basic Survival Mandarin

We meet one-on-one for a 1.5 hour lesson, five times a week for eight weeks, intensively learning the most crucial elements of the basic course material as well as custom material focused on the student's goals. For further details, please contact me.

Are you doing business in China or working with Chinese companies? Is your clientele Chinese and you need your staff to be more culturally aware and learn selected Chinese words and phrases? I can enhance your business success by adding value to your existing business model and strategic plan in the Chinese or domestic markets. I can help you to more fully take advantage of China's booming economy and give you a value-added edge over your competition wherever your business is located.

Process

I conduct Chinese language training and cultural awareness courses for corporations doing business or preparing to do business in China. I train American enterprises with Chinese clientele to be more culturally aware of corresponding business practices in the Chinese culture and to learn selected Chinese Mandarin words and phrases to gain you repeat business and secure new Chinese clientele. I design corporate training material that serves both the practical and the business needs of you and your staff.

I begin the education process by conducting in-depth discussions with my clients to thoroughly understand their training needs and requirements. After that, I present a personalized proposal to detail the implementation of the course.

Courses are provided at the client's location or at my classroom, centrally located in the Los Angeles near downtown. Please contact me for further details.

Scope

As with individual tutoring, I offer one-on-one, semi-group (2 or 3 students) and small group (4 - 8 students) sessions at three skill levels. Larger groups, up to 25 students per class, can be organized and taught at the client's location.

Corporate training programs provide:

• General, basic, daily-life Mandarin training
• Business Mandarin in specific areas of client interest
• Intensive, eight week, basic survival Mandarin training

Language training incorporates cultural understanding

In the globalized world of business, Americans and Chinese need each other. But there are formidable barriers: economic and political differences, certainly, not to mention cultural and linguistic challenges. Why do American businesses have a mixed record doing business in China? It's often because they have not successfully incorporated Chinese cultural awareness into their strategic plans.

As we understand that language goes hand-in-hand with culture, learning Chinese language without understanding Chinese ways of thinking, business behaviors and protocols will soon demonstrate that you still cannot successfully do business in China.

American businesses need to understand how and why Chinese businesses and people function and behave differently than their Western counterparts. To this end, my cultural training focuses on the following topics:

Relevant characteristics of Chinese people

• Cohesion
• • Tolerance
• • Diversity
• • Modesty & Harmony
• • Collectivism

Chinese business culture and protocols

• Entertainment
• • Gift giving
• • Smoking
• • Drinking

Cross-cultural Communications

• Letters
• • Phone calls
• • Body language

Interpersonal Relationships

• Personal relations & personal connections
• • Face value
• • Relationships with superiors and subordinates
• • Relationships with your customers
• • Relationships with local governments
• • Relationships with your Chinese colleagues

Negotiations

• Price
• • Contract
• • Selecting the right candidates
• • The rights and positions of the department

Course Descriptions

Primary comprehensive Chinese Course

This level is for the student who has no knowledge of the Chinese language prior to taking the course. At the end of this course, you will be able to grasp about 300 common Chinese characters and their Pinyin (spelling) equivalents and 200 every day syntactic patterns. You will be able to conduct simple conversations with native Chinese people in topical areas such as greetings, names, nationality, hobbies, family members and self-introduction.

Intermediate comprehensive Chinese Course

This level is for students who have learned the Primary comprehensive Chinese content, who can grasp simple Chinese words and sentences, basic syntax and grammar, but cannot always organize sentences correctly or meaningfully.

After completing this level, you will be able to grasp an additional 200 common Chinese characters and express some complex sentences and idioms. You will be able to conduct some interactive communication and express your own thoughts regarding such things as your plans, interests, weather and traffic in a simple manner.

Advanced comprehensive Chinese Course

This is for students who have learned both the Primary comprehensive Chinese and the Intermediate comprehensive Chinese course content, whose vocabulary already totals about 500 words and whose communication skills are not fluent but still capably of making everyday communications successful.

Success at this level means you are able to grasp at least an additional 200 common Chinese characters, you are able to use complicated and complex sentences skillfully and to express your own ideas on environment, economics and other current affairs clearly and understandably.

Courses are organized into sessions of eight (8) lessons each. Rates negotiable.

I have years of professional experience providing accurate and elegant translations and interpretation from Mandarin to English and vice versa.

My most recent, large translating project was a documentary film entitled The Shanghai Public School System produced by The Pearson Foundation.

Please contact me to discuss your project. References gladly provided upon request.