Mandarin for Adults & Business | WBS MBA & UK Finance | 10+ Yrs Exp | Customised Lessons

Find out more about Christine

• Do you speak this language fluently because of your origins or because a teacher inspired you to learn?

  I speak Chinese fluently because of my origin, but I still can speak Portuguese fluently, which is not my original language, I learned this language because I had a very wonderful teacher who uses the great method to let me practice a lot, and I'm using the same method that my portuguese teacher used.

• 2) Can you name a living, historical or fictional character that you think is the emblematic representative of the language's culture?

  I think the character may be "long history and great future"

• Is there a typical word, phrase, tradition or behaviour in the language that you particularly like?

  The local expressions in Chinese, different regions have different ones, and they show the personality of the region, I like to study them.

• Why does speaking this language matter to you?

  Firstly, I think the country is moving to a leading role in the world, and there are more career opportunities in this country. Secondly, China is a country so different from others, the culture is so charming, I think it's a great experience to live and work in China.

• 5) What is the main difficulty in learning this language and what can help the process of learning?

  According to my Chinese learning students, the most difficult part is speaking and listening, because Chinese is not a language that respects all grammars, China had the first indigenous grammar book in 1889.
  So there are a lot of local expressions that only can be learned with native speakers.

• Provide a valuable anecdote related to your language learning or your days at school.

  When I was learning Portuguese, I remember I had learned "cansado" which means tired, and "casado" which means married. Their difference is only a "n" and their pronunciation is very similar for me as a beginner. And one day my brazilian friend asked me how are you in portuguese, I replied "to casada" which is I'm married... I wanted to say "I'm tired". I realized this mistake from my friend's surprised face, it was embarrassing.
  
  So I think in Chinese learning is the same way, a very little difference can make a very different meaning. I practiced a lot with portuguese native speakers to learn, I think Chinese learning needs practice with native speakers, too.

• How has travel or a specific trip helped you to increase your skill and knowledge of the language?

  I have learned two years Portuguese in China before going to Brazil, and the first few days I still can't understand Portuguese, this disappointed me a lot. But I think after 2 months living together with Brazilians, I had learned a lot of their daily expressions, even those I will never learn in a textbook, and I can communicate all in Portuguese with local people, this trip was necessary for my language learning.

• What makes you a Superprof in language?I came to London to do my MBA course, and I started to have european students here. One of my students recommended Superprof, he said it's being searched. I checked Superprof site, it's very organised and Superprof doesn't charge commission of tution fee if I'm in a premium account.

  I came to London to do my MBA course, and I started to have European students here. One of my students recommended Superprof, he said it's being searched. I checked Superprof site, it's very organised and Superprof doesn't charge commission of tuition fee if I'm in a premium account.