Why learn Chinese?

Mandarin is the national language of China and Chinese is the most widely spoken language in the world. By learning Mandarin you will be able to speak with more people than any other language- including English.

Mandarin is comparatively spoken by fewer non-Chinese than most European languages spoken by non-natives of their respective countries. That means there is a greater demand for Chinese since fewer Westerners are able to speak it.

China is rapidly becoming a world economic power as it opens its doors to foreign investment expands its infrastructure. Those who know Chinese will be valuable to business. The Chinese population is rapidly expanding its online presence. It will become increasingly useful for online communication. Nearly a quarter of the world population speak Chinese. More than a billion people not only in China but in other south eastern countries in Asia speak Chinese. Being able to communicate in this language will open doors to many opportunities.

We will be honest with you, learning to write and speak Chinese is HARD! It's a complex language due to the variety of sounds not used in English or other languages. Words are not pronounced the way they are spelt although there is an official transcription system that describes the phonetics of each character. This system is called Pinyin and is often used to spell Chinese names in foreign publications. There are six vowels (a, e, I, o, u, iu) but each vowel can be pronounced with five different accents! The "easy" part of Chinese is how the words are formed. For example there is no verb to cook, the Chinese say to make food. Chinese grammar is relatively simple too.

If you have always wanted to learn Chinese, perhaps consider receiving one to one tuition with a native private tutor. We have many Chinese tutors on our website, check out the following profiles. Best of luck!

Min's profile.I am an enthusiastic and very academic Chinese language teacher with excellent up to date teaching methods and experienced in all aspects of Chinese language teaching. I have a good understanding of the problems which the students face and committed to helping them to achieve their aims. Also I have abilities to teach the subject to all irrespective of age, ability and student's objectives.

Ms. Yang. I'm a native Chinese speaker, fluently in Mandarin,Shanghai Dialect and English. I have got English-Chinese interpreting qualification when I was in year two in my home university eight years ago.When I was in Shanghai, I got an associate degree in English for Foreign Trade. My B.A(hons).degree in English for International Corporate Communication was gained from the University of Central Lancashire seven years ago. I worked as a medical interpreter since I graduated.But soon for personal develpment I resigned. I just got my Level 3 Community Interpreting Certificate. I am a freelance interpreter and translator. I got my Level 2 Adult Literacy and Level 3 PTLLS certificate recently.

Maggie's profile. I am a qualified tutor from Oxford, and I am currently working as a part-time Mandarin tutor in Oxford. As a native mainland Chinese, I am not only a Chinese language expert, but I also have a broad understanding of Chinese culture and philosophy, history, tradition and customs. In China, I had extensive experience of working with Educational Bodies, Chinese Government Departments, Foreign Embassies, industry associations and organisations. I can therefore integrate up to date contents, ICT into my teaching and provide training tailored to business conversation.