PM courses - Practical Mandarin

Question 1 of 20

1. Question

I’m about to teach the Beginner course! How should I adjust my teaching style according to their level?

I want to share as much knowledge as possible, so keep adding additional vocabularies, sentences and information. They will need to learn a lot of new things in the two hours.
Treat them as I would like to be treated when learning a foreign language. If I was learning Russian, I'd like to keep the teaching accessible, understandable and concise. Demonstration - Practice - Revision.

Question 2 of 20

2. Question

My student just finished Entry Beginner, what have they achieved after the 10 weeks?

Pinyin Pronunciation and Self Introduction (name, nationality, job, likes and dislikes etc). The equivalent of HSK 0.5 - Now they will be ready to complete HSK 1 in Advanced Beginner
Pinyin Pronunciation and Basic Survival Skills (introduction, shopping, directions etc). The equivalent of HSK 1 - Now they will be ready to complete HSK 2 in Advanced Beginner.

Question 3 of 20

3. Question

What should I tell students about the Advanced Beginner course at the first lesson?

The focus of this course is on pronunciation and self introduction, you will start learning how to pronounce like a native using the pinyin table - and learn about self introductions such as name, nationality and occupation. As well as the basic principles of Chinese characters.
The focus of this course is on survival skills in China, you will learn about things like directions, shopping and transport. There is the second segment on pinyin, which is pinyin tone pairs. You will also start to learn how to recognise 50 common Chinese characters.

Question 4 of 20

4. Question

How should I adjust my teaching style for Elementary students?

Speak very slowly, give instructions in entirely in English, ask them to repeat what you're saying sentence by sentence.
Speak very slowly, give very simple instructions in Chinese (add in the occasional English word to help them understand), encourage them to speak simple sentences in Chinese using what they have learned.
Speak at normal speed, give instructions in Chinese only, encourage them to tell stories in Chinese.

Question 5 of 20

5. Question

What should I tell students when they ask what’s the difference between Elementary T1 and Elementary T2?

It's Term 1 & Term 2.
The Elementary level is divided into two terms - term 1 and term 2. Each term is 12 week in total, after completion of 24 weeks you will complete HSK 2. In T1, you will start HSK 2 anew, for 8 units. Term 2 is a continuation of that, for the remaining 7 units, with more challenging content.
Don't know. Tell them to ask HQ.

Question 6 of 20

6. Question

How should I adjust my teaching technique for Intermediate level students?

Speak slowly, and gives simple instructions Chinese - try to minimise using English as much as possible. Gradually introduce the concept of story telling so that students can start to construct longer sentence and scenarios.
Speak in normal speed, and give instructions in Chinese. Gradually introduce the concept of debate and discussion, so students can talk about topics in class.

Question 7 of 20

7. Question

How should I explain Chinese grammar in Elementary and Intermediate level?

Tell students that's just the way Chinese grammar is, they need to get used to it.
Use as many linguistic terms as possible, breaking the sentence down to very small detail, teach them Chinese grammar like you would teach English grammar.
Give simple examples, and give the students the context in which the sentences are used. To help them to familiarise with the concept, let them practice how the grammar is used like in real life.

Question 8 of 20

8. Question

How should I adjust my teaching style for Upper Intermediate level?

Speak in normal speed with some adjustments. Give instructions entirely in Chinese and write in characters. Introduce the concept of discussions gradually, in which students can talk about topics using the vocabulary they have learned.
Speak in the same speed as I would with with my Chinese colleague. Give instructions entirely in Chinese and write in characters. Introduce the concept of debates in which students can discuss topics freely.

Question 9 of 20

9. Question

My Upper Intermediate students ask me if they can skip a term, or do they have to follow the course term by term – what should I tell them?

I don't know.
No, they have to follow the course term by term as otherwise they will not be able to learn.
For higher levels, learning follow a more flexible trajectory. As Upper Intermediate/HSK 4 courses are topic based, they are able to skip a term should they wish too. For Upper Intermediate T1/T2 students, if they find the 四上 topics too easy, you can recommend them to join the Upper Intermediate T3/T4 course for the next term (四下）instead.

Question 10 of 20

10. Question

What is the level of HSK 5/HSK 6 students? What materials should I use to teach them?

Completely fluent in daily conversation - I will need to refine their conversation to a native level of fluency. To teach them, just follow the PPT closely and let them read aloud from the HSK 5/HSK6 textbook.
Completely fluent in daily conversation - I will need to refine their conversation to a native level of fluency. Utilise multiple resources to teach them, apart from materials provided by PM, can also be creative and introduce resources from other media (funny youtube clips, magazine articles) that the students may be interested in to create a fun and interactive lesson.

Question 11 of 20

11. Question

How many campuses do Practical Mandarin have, and where are they?

1 - Headquarters in Monument
2 - Headquarters in Monument, Classroom at Oxford St
2 - Headquarters in Monument, Classroom at Charing X

Question 12 of 20

12. Question

What are the teacher’s duties before and after class?

Before Class: Come at least 15 minutes before class starting. Set up with own laptop and own dongle. Pick up lesson activity pack from office. After Class: Ask students to take cups to the kitchen and return any chairs taken from outside classroom. Make sure class room is tidy. Return activity pack to office and if last to leave, close office door.
Before Class: Come at least 15 minutes before class starting. Pick up dongle and activity pack from the office to set up. After Class: Ask students to take cups to the kitchen and return any chairs taken from outside classroom. Keep activity pack for use next time and close the classroom door.
Turn up to class when it starts, and leave class after it finish.

Question 13 of 20

13. Question

My student missed a class and messaged me, what should I do?

Let them know that each student is entitled to UNLIMITED FREE catch up classes per term, and they can contact hello@practicalmandarin.co.uk to apply. If the time of the catch up classes doesn't work, they can either book private 1-2-1 catch up or self revise on the online learning platform.
Let them know that each student is entitled to TWO FREE catch up classes per term, and they can contact hello@practicalmandarin.co.uk to apply. If the time of the catch up classes doesn't work, they can either book private 1-2-1 catch up or self revise on the online learning platform.
Let them know they can self revise on the online learning platform.

Question 14 of 20

14. Question

My class is about to finish, and my students ask me about the next course plan – what should I do?

Say I don't know, and ask students to check on website or email head office.
2 weeks before your class ends, PM would have asked for a report of class attendance and study progress to plan for next course for the class.
1 week before your class ends, PM would have sent email and what'sapp messages to the class about their next course. If students ask earlier than the announcement, that's good sign, let headoffice know to send the announcement earlier.

Question 15 of 20

15. Question

How does Practical Mandarin book my time for group lessons?

Update your availability via email and let us know. We will contact you of any courses available.
Update your availability on Slack and let us know. We will contact you of any courses available.
Update your availability on Slack and Calendar Booking System. We will book your time directly via the calendar booking system.

Question 16 of 20

16. Question

How do Practical Mandarin book my time for private courses? Do I need to contact the students to book the lessons?

Message the students directly to book the lessons.
All lesson booking will done via Slack. Practical Mandarin will assign students to you based on the time you are available.
All lesson booking will be done via the online calendar booking system. Practical Mandarin will assign students to you based on the time you are available. Both you and the students will receive a voucher code to book the lessons. Remember to enter it when you book the time on the calendar.

Question 17 of 20

17. Question

My students cancelled my lesson today, what is the cancellation policy?

Teacher will need to reschedule with the students directly.
24 hour cancellation policy - with a certain flexibility allowance from the teacher, as changes in schedule can happen both ways. Remember to mark as no show on calendar.
24 hour cancellation policy - with a certain flexibility allowance from the teacher, as changes in schedule can happen both ways. Teacher will be paid in full if students cancel up to two hours before lesson starts. Remember to mark as no show on calendar.

Question 18 of 20

18. Question

How do I access the teaching materials? How do students access the learning materials?

Both the teaching materials for teachers and learning materials for students is shared via Zoho.
The teaching materials for teachers is shared via Zoho, the learning materials for students is on the Online Learning Platform. Students can sign up via the link on their Welcome email.
Both the teaching materials for teachers and learning materials for students is shared via email.

Question 19 of 20

19. Question

I have a good relationship with my class! Can I continue to teach them for the next levels?

This is determined by a class to class basis.
In theory, we are training our teachers to be specialist at teaching certain levels. So please be patient and wish you students a happy graduation. You can be expert at teaching your level before trying a different level!

Question 20 of 20

20. Question

My private students are taking ages to book a lesson – what should I do?

Send student a text/email to remind them of the lesson validation period stated on the calendar booking email. If still no response, let PM know in case student will ask for extension upon expiration.
Do nothing, wait for student to contact me.
Send student a text/email to remind them to book lessons. If students don't book lessons, I won't get paid, and their learning will be obstructed, they are unlikely to book another package with me.

PM Courses + Curriculums

TAKE AT LEAST A DAY TO REVIEW HSK LEVELS

Test documents including curriculum, language requirements, vocabularies are included in your Zoho files.

Teacher Entry Test