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Classes focus on comprehension-based communicative language teaching, with an emphasis on purposeful discussions & tasks. I lead with your comprehension as the basis for language growth, & use a variety of strategies to help facilitate your comprehension as we interact. Classes tend to have a range of experiences with Chinese learning, so advocating for your comprehension during class is welcome & expected!
4 classes are available in Fall 2026:
Beginning Mandarin Chinese: Thursdays, 8-9pm US Eastern time
5 classes for $80 US
Class meets on Oct. 1, 15, & 29, Nov. 12, and Dec. 10, 2026
Who is Beginning for? Total beginners entirely new to Chinese, and people still working on understanding everyday vocabulary & sentences. You may not speak at all yet, or sometimes able to speak spontaneously with a phrases or even a very familiar sentence.
Class content: We'll be themed around very useful verbs & other high-frequency vocabulary, while getting to know each other & a bit about Chinese communities. We'll include greetings & a few polite phrases. Activities include Picture Talk, storyasking, Personalized Questions & Answers, and highly scaffolded reading together. Classes are recorded & shared only with the class for later review. In the ACTFL Proficiency Scale, students fitting this group are before or at Novice Low or Novice Mid levels.
Advanced Beginning Mandarin Chinese: two possible classes
Thursdays, 8-9pm US Eastern time Class meets on Oct. 8 & 22, Nov. 5, Dec. 3 & 17, 2026
OR
Sundays, 8:45-9:45am US Eastern time Class meets on Sept. 27, Oct. 11 & 25, Nov. 8 & 29, Dec. 13, 2026
5 classes for $80 US
Who is Advanced Beginning for? People with some background in Chinese, but still working with everyday vocabulary & sentences. You probably find it challenging to say more than a phrase or sentence -- you're working up to producing a string of very familiar sentences spontaneously. In the ACTFL Proficiency Scale, around Novice Mid to Novice High.
Class content: We begin with some calendar talk: checking in on how class members are doing, big events on the calendar (for us & in the Chinese speaking world), & weather. Then we'll be using a graded reader chosen by vote. I'll tell the story of that novel a little at a time each class meeting with the option to avoid hearing the ending of the story. We'll learn about any Chinese culture that comes up along the way, and class members have the option to read the original book / listen to its audio after class.
Experienced Mandarin Chinese: Sundays, 8:45am-9:45am US Eastern time
Class meets on Oct. 4 & 18, Nov. 1, Nov. 15, Dec. 6
5 classes for $80 US
Who is Experienced for? Those who can understand everyday vocabulary & sentence patterns usually without too much struggle, & developing ability to produce strings of sentences & paragraphs, & more specialized vocabulary. In the ACTFL Proficiency Scale, around Intermediate Low through Advanced Low. (If you're already around Advanced Mid & up, this class is likely to feel too scaffolded & slower paced than your learning edge.)
Class content: We begin with some calendar talk: checking in on how class members are doing, big events on the calendar for us & in the Chinese speaking world, & weather. Then we'll be using a graded reader chosen by vote. I'll tell the story of that novel a little at a time each class meeting with the option to avoid hearing the ending of the story. We'll learn about any Chinese culture that comes up along the way, and class members have the option to read the original book / listen to its audio after class.
All classes meet on Zoom. Classes are recorded & recordings shared only with students. I sent a reminder email the day before class, & a follow-up email with the unlisted recording & other resources for self-study if you wish. No homework required.
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