This beginner course offered in partnership with Chinese Community Center provides adult language learners a basic introduction and foundation in Mandarin Chinese. This course will cover the hanyu pinyin phonetic transcription system for Mandarin Chinese, as well as the pronunciation and use of many common vocabulary terms and idiomatic expressions. Students will create a foundation for long-term study or simply acquire the skills necessary for basic communication while in China for business or pleasure. This class emphasizes listening and pronunciation skills and does not require the memorization of written characters or any previous knowledge of Chinese.

Course materials will be provided.

Course Dates

Mondays, February 1 – April 4 (10 weeks)
Time: 6:30 – 8:30 pm

About the Instructor

Jiaqi Lun is the course instructor and has taught the Crash Course in Chinese at Asia Society since its inception fall 2014. While she is a gifted adult educator, she is also a Mandarin Chinese teacher in Houston Independent School District. She is certified to teach Kindergarten – 12th grade Mandarin Chinese as well as preparation courses for the Advanced Placement (AP) test in Chinese.

Ms. Lun is also experienced in curriculum design and development. She wrote the Chinese II lesson exemplar for the Houston ISD LOTE Department and the textbook for Travel Chinese for the Chinese Community Center. Due to her strong work ethic, knowledge of instruction, and keen communication skills, Ms. Lun was nominated the Exemplary Teacher to Support Beginning Teachers as a KEY Teacher Leader in 2014 and was presented with the 2012-2013 Houston ISD Effective Teacher award.

Presenting Partner