Clients

CITY A.M. reports Chinese Original language success

Journalist Kathleen Brooks, writing for the renowned London newspaper  City A.M., describes Yalan Chuang, the Course Director at Chinese Original. She writes that Yalan, “a woman who teaches Chinese to the City, is going from strength to strength” - March, 2010

Chinese Original on TV CHANNEL 4

Course Director, Yalan Chuang, interviewed by 8pm News presenter Kylie Morris, “Chinese alphabet gets new characters”. -News, 21 August 2007

 

Chinese Original in legal magazine CHAMBERS AND PARTNERS

Course Director, Yalan Chuang, was interviewed by the Managing Director of   Chambers and Partners, Catherine McGregor, and was featured in the article “Facing the Future” AOB the magazine for Company Secretaries - Autumn 2007.

 

Our Corporate Clients

We have extensive experience in offering a high level, dedicated service to clients including multinational companies, governmental and non-governmental organisations, and educational institutions.

 

Hundreds of high calibre individual professionals & testimonials 

Before you read these testimonials we want to re-affirm that every one of them is genuine. Some initials are used in order to preserve client anonymity.  We welcome feedback on our service.  Please email us at  info@chineseoriginal.com

Yalan Chuang, Director of Chinese Original

 

Chinese for Executives Course

“I  was apprehensive at the idea of taking Mandarin classes but Chinese Original made it painless and effective. I was impressed by the cutting edge approach and the quality of my teacher. The content was customized to my need and the schedule flexible enough to accommodate my busy work hours. My teacher was very attentive, patient, enthusiastic and diligent. Thanks to her I developed basic conversational skills much faster than I would have thought, and the whole experience turned out to be fun.’” – G. Fonkenell, CEO, Pharo management LLP, New York and London

“Yalan and her team have been teaching me Mandarin for 10 months.  During that time I have been highly impressed with their abilities as teachers, which have allowed me to make significant progress in speaking, reading and writing the language.”  – Catherine McGregor, Managing Editor, Chambers and Partners , London and Hong Kong

 

Corporate Training – Chinese Tailored Programme

“We have found Chinese Original to be very professional and helpful and we would have no hesitation in recommending their services.  The language classes are well structured with a pace set appropriate to ability of all participants – which makes all of the difference for us novices!  The classes are interactive and our teacher ensures that the lessons are informative and fun.”   – Sarah, Human Resources, China Construction Bank (London) Ltd

 

Business Chinese Course

” I have thoroughly enjoyed my learning experience at Chinese Original. Yalan has a unique talent in weaving a wide range of topics such as philosophy and economics into our lessons, whilst ensuring that we stick to a structured curriculum. Not only does this fuel our lively discussions, but this also provides me with ample opportunity to practice my Mandarin. In addition, the greatest advantage of learning from Yalan is that her lessons are as effective over Skype as her face-to-face lessons are. She is very punctual with marking my work and she always takes the extra mile to accommodate my schedule especially when we have to juggle with different time zones. In short, she is an extremely dedicated and capable teacher, who is in a class of her own given her trilingual fluency in French, English and Chinese.”  - H.L., Investment Banking Analyst, Dubai

” I have been studying conversational Mandarin with Chinese Original for over two years now with 3 different instructors. The quality and standard of the teaching is excellent and very professional.  I began from scratch and it has been incredibly useful for doing business in China.  A few words and sentences can go a long way in relationships and trust.  I am happy to recommend their courses for any business professional.” – Rick Kwan, Vice President, Carbon Finance, Climate Change Capital, London

 

Chinese for Banking and Finance Course

“As a native Chinese mainlander who left the country more than a couple of decades ago, my requirement for tutoring is rather specific – it is a lot more than merely brushing up, and yet much of the basics are still intact.

Having determined the above, Yalan set about devising a tutoring programme that specifically catered to my needs. Focus was not only placed on bringing my vocabulary gradually up to date, but also making me feel more comfortable with all the basics that I had once mastered as a teenager. Consequently, each lesson consisted of going through the text book material as well as plenty of conversations on relevant topics where my ability to express succinctly is put to practice.

I have found my experience with Chinese Original fruitful as well as enjoyable. Having recently completed the Business Chinese module, I thoroughly look forward to starting on the Financial Chinese module with which my ultimate target is to become fully fluent in all business and financial situations. And I am convinced that Chinese Original is one of the very few providers in the market that can help me reach my full potential.”  - M.Z., Investment Banking Executive Director, London

“Yalan teaches me Business and Financial Mandarin, and I can truthfully say that she is the best language teacher I have ever had. She has the rare combination of proficiency in languages (French, English and Mandarin (taiwanese, mainland chinese)), the ability to teach with the objective of retention and long term mastery of the language, and also knowledge of the relevant subject at hand – in this case, financial mandarin. She is extremely diligent and will often go a step further in meeting my needs as a student. Her easy going but stern teaching method has ensured that I work hard, but enjoy the process of learning Mandarin!” - Esther Chan, Portfolio Manager, Aberdeen Asset Management, London

“Being a fluent conversational Mandarin speaker, I was initially sceptical about how different business Mandarin would be. However, Chinese Original has brought a whole new language into the conversational Mandarin which I was well versed in. The sessions I had experienced with my trainers were structured but also flexible as I was able to learn the materials which I desired. I hope one day I would be able to converse and/write in a professional manner in advancing my career.’ – S.L., Associate, Goldman Sachs, London

 

General Chinese Courses for Adults

“The classes have been very well structured and have made the opening steps of a challenging language accessible. Our teacher’s broad teaching knowledge and experience is valuable, as is her ability to accurately identify problems students have as and when they develop. The small class size along with the impetus on communication means a development of an active understanding of the basics of Chinese is possible from the first classes. I am very satisfied with the way the first term has been conducted, and an impressed with the amount of material we have covered in a relatively small period of time.”  – Morgan W Stark, University College London, PhD

“I started lessons at Chinese Original as an out of practice intermediate speaker with gaps in vocabulary and grammar. Because of the small class sizes, I have been able to work on my weaknesses with teachers who are excellent at tailoring classes to meet different students’ needs. The course is well-structured with a clear programme of progression, and good attention is paid to speaking, reading, writing and grammar. The course materials also address a mix of common, everyday and formal language. Overall, Chinese Original offers an excellent and well-rounded course, and suddenly I find I’m recognising and using more advanced characters without realising it!” - Bryony Sanderson, Media Account Manager, MEC UK, London

I have been fascinated by the Chinese culture and history for some time and I have always wanted to be able to speak Chinese and to write and understand Chinese characters. Beside the cultural interest I also have a business interest inChinaas I am in global marketing and deal with many Chinese customers. When I did my initial internet search my aim was to find a language school with high standards and where I could expect individual attention. After two terms with Chinese Original I very much feel that I made the right choice. Yalan and her colleagues are very professional and helpful, the lessons are structured very well and after each lesson I feel motivated and challenged. I am very pleased that I can already write and recognise a substantial amount of characters and I am able to hold a basic conversation. My aim is to be able to have a business discussion in Chinese and read Chinese history books within the next few years and I am confident that with Chinese Original I will achieve my goal. -Mehmet Sonmez, Business Development Director, London

“After a trip to China I decided it was essential to learn the language if I was serious about doing business there. I tried a ‘teach yourself’ course, but it soon became clear that Mandarin was too complex for me to learn properly by myself. I contacted several companies who offered courses in London, but found Chinese Original to be very responsive to my needs so I signed up for individual tuition. Although they are very accommodating in fitting lessons around my schedule, there is no compromising on the standard of tuition. The course is very well structured to develop vocabulary and grammar together. Teachers are excellent, they plan lessons well, set relevant homework and push me beyond my comfort zone while still building up my confidence with the language.

 At the start, I did not intended to learn to read and write Chinese but agreed to try this early on. It’s harder than it looks, but it is a very interesting area of study and gives a much deeper insight into the language. I am now able to compose simple emails which helps enormously with my business dealings.  So Chinese Original has exceeded, by far, my original objectives. Although I am still far from fluent, after 18 months, I can use Mandarin confidently for basic situations.” - Dave Howard, Howard Communications, London

“Chinese Original’s teaching method is to focus on tones and speaking before learning to read and write. Now after 6 weeks I have mastered my tones and as a result I feel very confident about speaking. I am now learning to read and write as well much faster with this strong speaking foundation. Most importantly, Chinese Original training team takes pride and cares about every one of their students. The trainers will never use a ‘one fits all’ approach to the teaching, and always will take the time to think about what will suit each student best.” – Shelley Davies, Oxford Graduate, Film Producer

Chinese Courses for Children

“Chinese Original teaching method is truly original and effective. Not only do the teachers make the children want to learn Chinese, but their fun teaching techniques make it sound easy! Wether it is mastering the intonations, forming the letters or listening and repeating songs and words, there is something for every child.” – Candice Thompson, mother of Theo aged 8, London

“I would highly recommend Chinese Original classes for children. Our daugther had a fantastic time last year and made good progress. The teachers are all very competent and enthusiastic and they can really support children as the class sizes are kept very small. Yalan, the director, designs the curriculum very carefully to ensure it is tailored to the chidlren’s ages.”  - François Josserand, father of Elsa aged 5, London