Chinese Language Courses

We offer high quality courses in Chinese language, from absolute beginners to GCSE level,
designed to be clear and accessible to native speakers of English.

The content of courses is varied according to learners’ needs and interests, but an example of
a typical 20-hour course syllabus from beginner level would include the following topics:

Introduction to Chinese dialects; Why are we studying Mandarin?

Pinyin, the transcription system for representing Chinese pronunciation.
Chinese tones.
Greetings & ways of addressing people.
Talking about yourself – Jobs, nationalities, languages you speak.
The numbers; Ages.
Dates, Days of the week, Months of the year.
Asking about dates; Birthdays and other special dates.
Counting and measure words.
Family terms; Talking about our families.
Shopping; Prices; Chinese Money; Haggling in a market.
Shopping for food and drinks.
Chinese names.
How Chinese characters work.
Basic grammar patterns and sentence structures including statements and questions,
positive and negative responses, common verbs, and Chinese word order.

Our courses are carefully designed and systematically structured to highlight and utilise those
areas where Chinese is easy for English learners so as to build confidence. Right from the
start, however, emphasis is placed on those aspects which are vital for communication, for
example accurate tones.

About the tutor

Dr. Richard Stibbard has been learning Mandarin Chinese since 1997 and is well placed to
teach English learners, having been through the learning process himself and experienced at
first hand the difficulties involved. Having a first degree in Linguistics and having studied
many other European and non-European languages, he is able to analyse the Chinese
language and present it in an accessible way. Crucially, this involves having a perfect
command of pinyin, the transcription system, and the ability to teach this. Dr. Stibbard’s
academic background in phonetics enables him to do this in an efficient and very clear way
which paves the way for very accurate Chinese pronunciation. Also vital is an understanding
the nature of the writing system – how Chinese characters work and how they relate to the
language itself. These are areas in which Dr Stibbard is highly read and again this knowledge
informs his teaching to make learning an enjoyable and achievable experience.
Chinese Culture Workshops

A language is always best learnt in conjunction with an understanding of the culture which
gave rise to it. We offer workshops in aspects of Chinese culture designed either to
complement and give depth to our language courses or as stand-alone events for the general
public. Typical topics covered include:

What China Chinese means to you – brainstorming.

Identify China geographically – major cities & sights; climate & dialects.
Brief introduction to Mandarin and survival skills for travel in China.
Language & culture: cultural homophones, gift-giving, lucky and unlucky numbers.
Buddhism, Taoism and Confucianism: Chinese religion, magic and social code.
The Chinese Zodiac and fortune-telling.
Chinese festivals.
Food and Culture: Chinese delicacies, cooking methods, invitations, and table
manners.
Business culture at the table.
Chinese tea and tea tasting.
The use of chopsticks.
Bargaining in China.
Chinese art and calligraphy.

Chinese cooking

We offer cooking demonstrations and hands-on cookery classes. Cecilia Stibbard, originally
from Hong Kong, has been cooking Chinese food for the last 20 years and has adapted
traditional Cantonese cooking styles to suit the English taste. From authentic traditional
Chinese dishes to innovative East-West fusion, from fabulous feasts to budgeted healthy
meals, there is something to awaken the most jaded of tastebuds!