What we’re about
Interested in learning Mandarin Chinese as a second language?
Join us as we meet to study and learn Chinese together in a friendly, interactive learning environment. This language learning group provides Meetup members with a place to learn Chinese for free.
Whether you are learning Chinese for the very first time, or you have taken some lessons in the past and are looking for a refresher course, we invite you to be a part of our Meetup in order to improve your spoken and written skills. Our Meetup groups are led by native and fluent Mandarin Chinese speakers that have experience teaching to non-native Chinese students.
During Meetups, will be using the following textbook series to help guide our learning:
• Integrated Chinese: Simplified Characters Textbook, 3rd Edition
• Integrated Chinese Workbook: Simplified Characters, 3rd Edition
• Integrated Chinese Character Workbook: Simplified & Traditional Character, 3rd Edition
Purchasing the textbook series is NOT a requirement to join the Meetup, as we will do our best to provide study guides and character sheets that will help you to keep up with the learning. Alternatively, if you wish to purchase the textbook series so that you can follow along closely, they are available for purchase on most online bookstore sites.
Each week, we will have 3 Meetup days (2 during the weekday, and 1 on the weekend). The weekday Meetups will cover the same material, and the weekend Meetup will cover new material. If you are unable to make a Meetup on either of the weekdays, we will send you the material covered during the missed day so that you can keep up with the rest of the group's pace. If you feel that you are behind or need 1-on-1 help with your learning, our Meetup teachers will be happy to provide guidance over the phone on a limited basis.
This Meetup is designed for beginners to the Chinese language and will teach Simplified, Mandarin Chinese. Each Meetup session during the weekday will last 1 hour and Meetups during the weekend will last 1.5 - 2 hours. Because learning a new language often yields the best results from practicing, weekend Meetups will contain at least 30 minutes where we will practice engaging in Chinese dialogue or reading elementary Chinese books.
In addition, to help you with your learning, we ask that you prepare for the next Meetup by listening to recordings, memorizing characters, and preparing for quizzes on your own time.
During Meetups, we ask that all members try to engage each other in Chinese as much as possible so that we can complete oral and written exercises and group-based work. Don't worry if you haven't learned any Chinese at all yet - this Meetup was created just for you so that you can begin your journey towards learning the world's most spoken language!
So let's get started and learn Chinese!
About our Instructors
Michael was born in China and came here at the age of 5. He grew up in Atlanta and learned Chinese at Atlanta Contemporary Chinese Academy (Emory) and then later at Mercer University. He has travelled extensively in mainland China and also worked there as an American expatriate. Michael has a strong interest in teaching Chinese to beginners. He teaches the Level 1, Part 1-2 and Level 2, Part 1-2 classes. During the day, Michael works in the tech startup industry.
Monica grew up in China and attended the prestigious Peking University, where she placed 5th in her Province in Academic Honors. She received her Masters from Washington University in St Louis, majoring in Law. She has been a resident of the US since 2009 and enjoys teaching Chinese to beginners and advanced speakers. She teaches the Level 1, Level 2, Level 3, and Level 4 classes. During the day, Monica works as an immigration attorney.
