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Chinese Classes
EMW's Philosophy about learning Chinese in China: Mandarin or Cantonese.
At EMW IMMERSIONS we feel that there is no "magic pill" for learning the Mandarin Chinese and Cantonese languages. We feel that hard work on the part of the student, coupled with quality instructors and a developed curriculum is the only way to truly learn and master the Chinese language. With this in mind we designed our classes to allow for maximum student interaction, allowing opportunities to both practise and question the Chinese you have learned. By having very small class sizes and by involving the student in class activities we create an intimate, friendly and interesting environment where students are not afraid to take risks or to try something new while learning Chinese. We also use a well rounded approach in our Chinese classes, following the idea that we should crawl before we run, and that babies speak before they read and write; our classes focus on learning to listen and speak Chinese, especially in the lower levels, and then begin to introduce and focus more on learning to read and write as the Chinese skill level progresses.
Our Teachers
All of our Chinese teachers have university degrees and are trained, qualified teachers; in fact, the majority of our teachers not only have an education degree, but a specialised Teaching Chinese to Foreigners degree. All of our teachers are young, late 20s. We find that this younger generation of Chinese teachers are more open to creative teaching methods as well as working with foreign students. They are much less rigid in their teaching and do not rely on rote instruction the way some Chinese schools do. Despite their young ages they all have years of experience teaching. Many of our Chinese teachers come from northern China and so naturally speak very standard Mandarin. All Chinese teachers have also received Mandarin certificates from the Beijing government, certifying that their Mandarin meets or exceeds that required to teach it.
Mandarin Chinese and Cantonese classes
Our small group classes are designed specifically for adults and university students who are looking to learn Mandarin Chinese or Cantonese, whether it be for business, educational or social reasons. Four weeks of intensive Chinese classes are able to give a solid grounding and improvement in any student's Chinese.
We offer instruction at four Mandarin Chinese and Cantonese language learning levels:
Basic
Elementary
Intermediate
Advanced
Upon arrival at our school, Chinese language students will be administered a level placement test and grouped into the appropriate classes based on their scores.
Our Chinese classes are Monday through Friday, 5 hours every day. Morning Chinese classes are three hours long and have a maximum of four learners. These classes are for group activities and give a chance to really practise previously learned Chinese as well introducing new concepts. Afternoon classes are for tutoring and small group instruction, usually 1:1 or 2:1 teaching. Here students can work on individual learning problems and Chinese questions that need to be explained or practised. These hours also serve to introduce new topics and preview the next day's Chinese grammar and vocabulary.
Our Mandarin Chinese and Cantonese program is kept very small, with an overall maximum number of 16 Chinese learners per session, helping to create a friendly and sociable learning environment.
Extracurricular cultural classes
In addition to our Mandarin Chinese and Cantonese language classes, we have included a wide variety of China cultural classes that are designed to introduce you to all aspects of China and give you a deeper understanding of Chinese culture and everyday life.
Options include, but are not limited to:
Learning Chinese chess
Learning calligraphy
Learning Chinese painting
Learning Chinese cooking
Learning kung fu
Learning about Chinese music
If there are other options that you are interested in, we will do our best to organize an additional class for you.
Students can register in up to three options (four if including cooking). These chosen options are available 2-3 times a week at lunchtime as well as in the evenings and will have a maximum 6:1 student:teacher ratio in each class. In addition, 2-3 times a week there will be a general culture class that is open to all students (no need to preregister) that will introduce a cultural concept. Topics for these classes can be as varied as idioms, popular songs, Chinese games, Chinese crafts or debates.
