Mandarin

Cardiff & Vale Tutors provides high quality Chinese tuition to both adult learners who seek knowledge in Chinese culture and language and to students particularly aimed for GCSE and A level.

Our Chinese tuition offers a range of levels, from absolute beginners to advanced learners to support their Chinese language competence in the key areas of Listening, Speaking Reading and Writing, which are designed specifically for language learner and professional. These four key skills are also taught closely with cultural awareness, so the linguistic skill will further improved by understanding its cultural elements involved in learning a modern foreign language. By utilising this teaching method of marrying language points and cultural backdrop, the horizons of students will be largely broadened by highlighting possibility and mobility available to those with the transferrable language skills in the professional setting. Expectations, motivation, persistence and personal resilience over language learning process will be positively raised, improved and strengthened. It is highly beneficial to a Cardiff & Vale Chinese tutee to learn a variety of skills, including basic principles of the Mandarin/Chinese language system (the difference and complexity between written Chinese and spoken Chinese), which enables students to learn Chinese with a solid foundation in order to search for reliable sources such as dictionaries and online materials independently and effectively. The abovementioned learning ability is targeted at improving Reading skill. In relation to Speaking, our one-to-one Chinese tuition is an incredible opportunity to practise conversational skills at an intensive level, ensuring that speech is both accurate and idiomatic. Listening skill will be improved intensively by providing students with relevant and up-to-date media materials such as the latest Chinese movies and the most accepted commercial accessible for the Chinese language learners. Writing skills are regarded as the most crucial part in the process of Chinese learning where regular writing tasks are aimed to train students’ thinking pattern in Chinese as well as to improve tutees’ confidence and fluency in writing Chinese. Constructive written feedback will be provided to students, which is essential to evoke students’ learning initiative and aspiration throughout.

BEGINNERS

Initially, students are required to grasp the basic Chinese in thematically diverse topics ranging from Greetings and Numbers, Family and School/University, Time and Weather, Work and Hobbies, Shopping and Food, Traffic and Directions, which are frequently communicated in daily life. These topics are generally relevant to the Chinese enthusiasts who are willing to introduce themselves, to expand social networking, to share their personal and vocational life in set phrases and conversations. Ultimately, this tuition for Chinese beginners aims to assist tutees to identify key distinguished elements distinct from spoken and written Chinese, to understand the allocated topics students have studied, and most importantly, to use confidently and fluently the set phrases and expressions in context-based conversions.

ADVANCED LEVEL

As the study of Chinese progresses, an Advanced-level Chinese learner is required to master a sophisticated level of Chinese language and culture. At this level, a broader understanding of contemporary Chinese culture and history is expected from the tutees to express themselves in Chinese logically and intelligently. Considerable attention will be paid to current affairs such as Transportation, Education, Tourism, Festivals, Infrastructures and Politics across Chinese people’s lives. These well-defined topics will be used to encourage students to take confidence expressing their insights, as they start to engage in discussing controversial societal issues such as cultural identity, social-political belongings and environmentally friendly stances, etc. Consideration of current affairs enable students to make perceptive comparison between different cultural backgrounds, supporting them to become an advanced use of Chinese in a global context.