When a non-Chinese student enrolls into a Mandarin Study course, it is all too familiar that they do not get a qualified Mandarin teacher. Not everyone who can speak Chinese is qualified to work as a Mandarin Teacher. For different requirements and purposes, students of Mandarin study need to select the right school for the right course and even for the right teacher.

 

General Mandarin Study

 

Generally a qualified Mandarin teacher needs to have at least a Bachelor Degree of Chinese Literature. Many who are serious about teaching also possess Certificate on Teaching Chinese as Second Language from a recognized institution. Of course, a teacher with years of teaching experience is better.

For non-Chinese student, make careful check on the teacher’s fluency on foreign language, such as English, French, etc. This can be the most disappointing aspect of Mandarin study as the teachers are not able to speak clearly with a non-Chinese student using his native language.

 

Business Mandarin Study

 

When a student enroll into Mandarin study for business reason, it would be good to check on the teacher’s qualifications beyond Bachelor Degree and Teaching Certificate. It is important for the teacher to have several years of working experience in the business world, preferable dealing with China business.

Another important aspect of business mandarin study is the emphasis of “Beijing Mandarin”. Beijing is the capitol of China as well as the business centre of China. There are more than 3000 dialects in China and everyone speaks Mandarin with localized tune. The Mandarin pronunciations between two very close cities can also be very different. However, most businessmen who are involved in international trade are able to speak “Beijing Mandarin”, which is defined by Chinese government as standard Mandarin. Generally, non-Beijing residents also study mandarin and even join mandarin exam if they hope to work for Chinese government.

 

Non-Beijing Mandarin Study

 

A student doing Mandarin study may want to consider advanced study with non-Beijing teachers to learn some dialects, such as Shanghainese to improve on listening ability. This is very useful and practical especially for one who needs to deal with non-Beijing Chinese. As an example, a businessman who do business in major cities such as Shanghai and Tianjin would want to be able to communicate with the locals beyond Beijing Chinese, especially for advanced listening. A student doing Mandarin study needs to practice more with non-Beijing teacher in order to attain the appropriate listening competency.