PreciousBaby
Registered User
Hi, I'm looking for a native Mandarin teacher that speaks Beijing Mandarin. Pls kindly pm me. Thank you.
Mandarin Teacher Wanted
- Thread starter PreciousBaby
- Start date
Littlequeen
Registered User
I'm also looking for Mandarin tuition for my 4-year-old. Is it better to attend classes or having one-on-one private tuition at this age?
I don't speak Mandarin myself. Any advice on how I can get to know whether a teacher speaks Beijing Mandarin? Sounds like a stupid question but I guess I can't simply rely on where the teacher comes from.
I don't speak Mandarin myself. Any advice on how I can get to know whether a teacher speaks Beijing Mandarin? Sounds like a stupid question but I guess I can't simply rely on where the teacher comes from.
I think generally speaking, young children learn better in a small group than on their own as they may not feel easy receiving so much attention from the teacher. Of course it also depends on the child's personality.
I know that most Mandarin teachers have taken some kind of assessment on their language ability, and the most widely recognized one is the National Proficiency Test. I was told that Grade 2 is OK, Grade 2A is pretty good, and Grade 1 is excellent. Yet I don't find many that have Grade 1 qualification.
Language proficiency is certainly an important criterion when it comes to choosing a teacher, but other qualities like whether the teacher is enthusiastic, creative and good at dealing with children are just as important.
Good luck!
I know that most Mandarin teachers have taken some kind of assessment on their language ability, and the most widely recognized one is the National Proficiency Test. I was told that Grade 2 is OK, Grade 2A is pretty good, and Grade 1 is excellent. Yet I don't find many that have Grade 1 qualification.
Language proficiency is certainly an important criterion when it comes to choosing a teacher, but other qualities like whether the teacher is enthusiastic, creative and good at dealing with children are just as important.
Good luck!
Littlequeen
Registered User
Thanks Cbeaver for your input. Agree that Mandarin proficieny shouldn't be the sole criterion, but to me it's certainly the top priority. Have you got any teachers (with 1st class proficiency) to recommend? Thanks in advance.
Littlequeen & PreciousBaby;
I'm not sure whether your children would be interested in a playgroup; if so, you should have a look at the Blossoms (earlymandarin.com). My 2yo dd participated in a handful of sessions before she began nursery school and thoroughly enjoyed herself. The group leader, Linda, seems to have good and standard Mandarin. I am not proficient enough to be able to detect regional accents, so I cannot say whether she has Beijing-accented Mandarin as you prefer, but whatever accent she has, it is not strong. She may also be amenable to doing one-on-one tuition; again, I don't know about this.
Littlequeen, I think at 4, the children prefer to be in a group, even a very small one. I speak from my own children's experiences. One adult and one child does not really interest my two (2 and 4) as much as throwing some other children into the mix, although with an engaged teacher, this can work too. They go to a French playgroup that is essentially just the two of them (sometimes a third child joins in) and they love it. I find that more than four unaccompanied children per teacher really takes away from what the children can absorb, language-wise.
For the Blossoms playgroup, at that time it was a parent-and-child group as the children were younger, and the children did not really interact with each other, although they did interact with the teacher. There was a wide variety of activities to keep them occupied during the hour--songs, dance, bubbles, cars, active games, stories, etc...
Hope this helps.
I'm not sure whether your children would be interested in a playgroup; if so, you should have a look at the Blossoms (earlymandarin.com). My 2yo dd participated in a handful of sessions before she began nursery school and thoroughly enjoyed herself. The group leader, Linda, seems to have good and standard Mandarin. I am not proficient enough to be able to detect regional accents, so I cannot say whether she has Beijing-accented Mandarin as you prefer, but whatever accent she has, it is not strong. She may also be amenable to doing one-on-one tuition; again, I don't know about this.
Littlequeen, I think at 4, the children prefer to be in a group, even a very small one. I speak from my own children's experiences. One adult and one child does not really interest my two (2 and 4) as much as throwing some other children into the mix, although with an engaged teacher, this can work too. They go to a French playgroup that is essentially just the two of them (sometimes a third child joins in) and they love it. I find that more than four unaccompanied children per teacher really takes away from what the children can absorb, language-wise.
For the Blossoms playgroup, at that time it was a parent-and-child group as the children were younger, and the children did not really interact with each other, although they did interact with the teacher. There was a wide variety of activities to keep them occupied during the hour--songs, dance, bubbles, cars, active games, stories, etc...
Hope this helps.
