Finding an Excellent Chinese Tutor A Family Guide

Finding an Excellent Chinese Tutor for Your Child

For parents who don’t speak Mandarin and for parents who have limited Chinese proficiency having a Chinese tutor or a Chinese teacher on a regular basis becomes a way to keep the Chinese program going at home. With so many choices available to parents online and offline, where can you find an excellent Chinese tutor/teacher for your child and your family?

There are three important factors to keep in mind prior to your search.

Speaking a language is different from teaching a language
Teaching children is very different from teaching adults.
Not every native speaker knows how to teach his or her own native language.

Here are the five steps for you to manage your search.

Family goals

This is the top question because the more clearly your family goals are the more clearly you can let the candidate know what you expect.

What level of help does your family need? Is it for target language input, school Chinese homework help, or test preparation?
Is there a special area that you want to see the tutor focus on? Listening, reading, speaking, writing, or conversation? How about making it interesting and playful so your child is eager to learn more.
An experienced tutor can help and supplement your child’s existing Chinese language program, such as the world language school program, Chinese immersion school, a bilingual preschool,…etc.
An excellent teacher can assist you with your family’s needs from where you are now. Many families and homeschool families add the Chinese language to their curriculum with this approach.
Understanding your family and your child’s target language needs. What is your short-term goal for the first three months? Ask yourself this question so your answer is tangible. Use an incremental time frame for future goals.

A good candidate

There are Chinese native-speaking tutors and non-Chinese teachers. They are available for you. Does your Chinese tutor speak Mandarin as the native language? China has many regional languages and Mandarin Chinese is the official language. The Chinese government continues to promote Mandarin in order to reach all areas. Here are some key questions to explore with your candidate.

Ask if your candidate speaks another Chinese language at home.
Does your candidate have experience teaching young children? If so, in what capacity?
What is your candidate’s professional working experience prior to working as a Chinese language tutor?
Where did your candidate go to university and what was his/her major at school? Many non-native Chinese teachers have studied Mandarin for years and have spent extensive time studying in China or Taiwan. Their western educational background can be an invaluable asset to connect with your child.
Does your candidate have an official evaluation of his/her Chinese proficiency level in speaking and reading from ACTFL or Department of State in the U.S.?
Has your candidate had any world language teaching professional development training in the past five years?
Have your candidate met with you and your child in a teaching session for a minimum of 15 minutes? You can see if this candidate is a good fit for your child and your family from the observation and engagement. Request a full recording of this session for pronunciation and teaching evaluation by a trusted authority and service.

Online and in-person Classes

The beauty of technology has expanded the ways people learn everything. You and your child can take a class online if an in-person program is not available to you. Here are the best ways you can arrange with your tutor and teacher.

The length of each class matters but the quality of teaching is the key. Be there and see it yourself.
The rule of thumb is the younger the children the shorter the class time. The attention span needs to be considered.
Young learners engage the best when a parent is present and learning with them together in a class. When a parent is a part of the learning team your child enjoys it more and it shows a new family lifestyle with a new language at home.
What is your child learning in each class? Is your child moving forward with new content? This needs to be marked as a checkpoint every so often to make sure your child is engaged in the process.
Evaluate and review every quarter with your family goals to see if there is any adjustment that needs to be done.

Dollars and value

With the world market opens to parents, pricing sometimes becomes the determining factor in selecting a Chinese tutor. However, there is are two reasons for a rate difference, these are the effectiveness of the class and the value of a teacher can offer.
Ask the candidate her fee and if she has a cancellation policy.
Understand if a child learns Mandarin with someone who has limited teaching experience the child might end up speaking things incorrectly without even knowing it. It could become a habit. Think about this like learning how to play a musical instrument. When it is not learned correctly it will take a lot of time to unlearn, to correct, and remove the not desired habit.
Language is communication. Being able to be understood when having a conversation with a Chinese native speaker is important. It takes time to build up speaking skills. Good habits start from the very beginning.
Is your candidate bilingual? Has your candidate learned another foreign language? Can you candidate communicate with you effectively in your native language?
An excellent candidate is someone who has been a foreign language learner and who understands what it is like to learn a new language.
Is your candidate familiar with quality teaching resources that you, as a parent, can use outside of the class time?
If one-on-one tutoring is not an option you can consider joining a group class with an excellent teacher.

Working together

Finding an excellent Chinese tutor for your child is your first goal.

What follows after hiring is to work with your Chinese tutor or teacher to pave the joyful learning journey.

From here, you are not alone anymore, you have a professional to work with and to answer your questions and concerns. I am looking forward to seeing you bring Mandarin Chinese to your home and make it a part of your family lifestyle with a happy mindset!

More teaching tips,

Teach Your Kids Chinese When It Is Not Your Native Language

Teach Your Child Chinese When It Is Your Heritage Language

There Might Be Fear

Be Like Water

Mr. Fool Moves The Mountain

Image by Jerry Wang

Finding an Excellent Chinese Tutor for Your Child

By Amanda Hsiung-Blodgett on / Bilingual Parenting, Teaching Chinese to Children

Finding an Excellent Chinese Tutor for Your Child – A Family Guide

There are three important factors to keep in mind prior to your search.

Speaking a language is different from teaching a language

Teaching children is very different from teaching adults.

Not every native speaker knows how to teach his or her own native language.

Here are the five steps for you to manage your search.

Family goals

This is the top question because the more clearly your family goals are the more clearly you can let the candidate know what you expect.

What level of help does your family need? Is it for target language input, school Chinese homework help, or test preparation?

Is there a special area that you want to see the tutor focus on? Listening, reading, speaking, writing, or conversation? How about making it interesting and playful so your child is eager to learn more.

An experienced tutor can help and supplement your child’s existing Chinese language program, such as the world language school program, Chinese immersion school, a bilingual preschool,…etc.

An excellent teacher can assist you with your family’s needs from where you are now. Many families and homeschool families add the Chinese language to their curriculum with this approach.

Understanding your family and your child’s target language needs. What is your short-term goal for the first three months? Ask yourself this question so your answer is tangible. Use an incremental time frame for future goals.

A good candidate

Ask if your candidate speaks another Chinese language at home.

Does your candidate have experience teaching young children? If so, in what capacity?

What is your candidate’s professional working experience prior to working as a Chinese language tutor?

Where did your candidate go to university and what was his/her major at school? Many non-native Chinese teachers have studied Mandarin for years and have spent extensive time studying in China or Taiwan. Their western educational background can be an invaluable asset to connect with your child.

Does your candidate have an official evaluation of his/her Chinese proficiency level in speaking and reading from ACTFL or Department of State in the U.S.?

Has your candidate had any world language teaching professional development training in the past five years?

Online and in-person Classes

The beauty of technology has expanded the ways people learn everything. You and your child can take a class online if an in-person program is not available to you. Here are the best ways you can arrange with your tutor and teacher.

The length of each class matters but the quality of teaching is the key. Be there and see it yourself.

The rule of thumb is the younger the children the shorter the class time. The attention span needs to be considered.

Young learners engage the best when a parent is present and learning with them together in a class. When a parent is a part of the learning team your child enjoys it more and it shows a new family lifestyle with a new language at home.

What is your child learning in each class? Is your child moving forward with new content? This needs to be marked as a checkpoint every so often to make sure your child is engaged in the process.

Evaluate and review every quarter with your family goals to see if there is any adjustment that needs to be done.

Dollars and value

With the world market opens to parents, pricing sometimes becomes the determining factor in selecting a Chinese tutor. However, there is are two reasons for a rate difference, these are the effectiveness of the class and the value of a teacher can offer.

Ask the candidate her fee and if she has a cancellation policy.

Language is communication. Being able to be understood when having a conversation with a Chinese native speaker is important. It takes time to build up speaking skills. Good habits start from the very beginning.

Is your candidate bilingual? Has your candidate learned another foreign language? Can you candidate communicate with you effectively in your native language?

An excellent candidate is someone who has been a foreign language learner and who understands what it is like to learn a new language.

Is your candidate familiar with quality teaching resources that you, as a parent, can use outside of the class time?

If one-on-one tutoring is not an option you can consider joining a group class with an excellent teacher.

Working together

Finding an excellent Chinese tutor for your child is your first goal.

What follows after hiring is to work with your Chinese tutor or teacher to pave the joyful learning journey.

From here, you are not alone anymore, you have a professional to work with and to answer your questions and concerns. I am looking forward to seeing you bring Mandarin Chinese to your home and make it a part of your family lifestyle with a happy mindset!

More teaching tips,

Teach Your Kids Chinese When It Is Not Your Native Language

Teach Your Child Chinese When It Is Your Heritage Language

There Might Be Fear

Be Like Water

Mr. Fool Moves The Mountain