Students ' Reviews
• Alexandre Lafontaine (Student of Muscial Education at McGill University; minor in East Asian studies)
Chinese Mandarin course beginner to intermediate level
Duration: December 2009 - April 2012
''I have spent about two years studying mandarin with Chee Lan before continuing at McGill University. I did so for credits required for my minor, otherwise I would have never left her lessons! Her meticulous attention to details and gentle approach to teaching has created results that I could have never predicted. To this day, I still owe everything to her. Studying mandarin requires a lot of personal work regardless of the teacher; however, her teaching methods really helped me speed up my progress. I regularly recommended Chee Lan to those who compliment my Chinese as I owe a lot to her. In my opinion, the most important, and yet too often overlooked, aspect of the Chinese language are the tones and pronunciation. Chee Lan has done such a good job at correcting my mistakes and making sure that I would have the most precise pronunciation. I am often complimented on these aspects of my Chinese and I am sure all of her students also impress others with their pronunciation. She is unmatched in her professionalism and flexibility and I highly recommend her lessons to anyone willing to jump in the mandarin learning adventure.''
Note:
-In the summer of year 2012, Alexandre went to China to participate as a volunteer in helping the Chinese children building up their libraries.Here is the news report with his photograph reported in China Daily regarding the volunteering activity he participated: http://www.chinanews.com/zgqj/2012/05-31/3930172.shtml
-In September 2012, after two years and four months studying Mandarin with me, Alex entered into the 4th level of Chinese language class at McGill University. He was exempted from the first 3 levels, each covering a year of studies. .
-In March 2013, Alex won the first place in the Mandarin oral contest , "Chinese Bridge" 汉语桥, of eastern Canada. He subsequently represented Canada to go to China for international students competition. Click to view the video of Alexandre's performance at the competition in China.
Mandarin Chinese Lessons from intermediate beginner level
Duration: August 2012 - present
''I have been taking lessons with Chee Lan for the last 4 months. Before arriving in Montreal, I had been taking Mandarin classes for one year at a reputable Chinese school in New York.
Chee Lan is a dynamic teacher with excellent teaching skills. Her conversational class is very interactive and she keeps it at exactly the right number of students to optimize the learning experience. After practicing in her classroom for 4 months, my sentence structure has greatly improved and my Mandarin vocabulary has been much enriched as well. I am also able to memorize Chinese characters more efficiently than I did. In short, my knowledge in the language has increased very rapidly in the last four months at a rate much higher than in the past. I strongly recommend Chee Lan to anyone who wishes to learn Mandarin as her classroom is the best place to learn Chinese that I've experienced! ''
• François Beaumier (Director of Software Engineering at TouchTunes )
Mandarin Chinese course at beginner level.
Duration: April 2009 - June 2010
“J'ai suivi des leçons avec Chee Lan pendant les derniers sept mois et je suis très impressionné par son professionnalisme et son efficacité pour l'enseignement du mandarin.
Après avoir participé à des leçons de groupe durant six semaines , pour un total de 12 heures de cours, j'ai appris la bonne méthode pour prononcer correctement les quatre tons du mandarin. Depuis, ma performance orale s'est grandement améliorée et je suis beaucoup plus facilement compris par mes interlocuteurs chinois. L'apprentissage des tons du mandarin est un des aspects les plus difficile pour les Occidentaux. Les débutants ne réussissent que rarement à exprimer les tons correctement et ils sont difficilement compris par les chinois d'origine. J'avais auparavant étudié le mandarin pendant une année sans y parvenir, j'étais donc très excité d'y réussir aussi rapidement. Chee-Lan m'a aidé a surmonter ce défi, la partie la plus difficile de la langue chinoise.
Chee-Lan est un professeur sérieuse,qui me guide aux limites de mon potentiel d'apprentissage. Elle est aussi très habile à expliquer et à faire comprendre, les parties les plus essentielles de la langue. En plus de l'amélioration orale, Chee-Lan m'a également initié à l'importance de l'apprentissage des caractères chinois. Après avoir suivi des leçons de mandarin avec Chee Lan, mon intérêt s'en est trouvé grandement augmenté. Je n'ai jamais autant aimé apprendre le mandarin qu'actuellement. ”
François' comments translated from French to English as follow:
I have been taking Mandarin lessons from Chee Lan for the last 7 months and I have been very impressed by her professionalism and efficiency in teaching Chinese.
After having participated in group lessons for 6 weeks, for a total of 12 hours of lessons, I have learned the right way to pronounce the four tones of Mandarin correctly. Since then, my oral performance has tremendously improved and it has been much easier for the Chinese with whom I have conversations to understand me. Learning pronunciation of the four tones of Mandarin is one of the toughest challenges for Westerners. Beginners of the language rarely pronounce the tones correctly and native Chinese speakers find it difficult to understand what they are trying to say. I had previously studied Mandarin for one year but was unable to speak with correct tones. Therefore, I was very excited that I had made it so quickly. Chee Lan has helped me to surmount this challenge- one of the most difficult aspects of the Chinese
Chee-Lan is a serious teacher, who challenges my limits. She is also very adept at explaining and made me understand the most essential parts of the language. In addition to oral improvement, Chee-Lan also enlightened me as to the importance of learning Chinese characters. After studying with Chee Lan, my interest in Mandarin has increased greatly. I have never enjoyed learning Mandarin as much as I do now.
• Deborah Baremberg (Student of McGill University. Major in Cognitive Science, concentrations in Psychology and Linguistics)
Mandarin Chinese Lessons at beginner level
Duration: September 2012 - March 2013
''I believe that Chee Lan’s teaching methods strike the much sought-after balance of seriousness and adaptability. Her lessons are structured and follow an overall curriculum arc as the class progresses through the levels. At the same time, she is more than willing to leave the beaten trail and address any questions from the students concerning vocabulary, grammar, or culture; or, to gloss over areas towards which there is less enthusiasm in favour of spending more time in areas of interest. Combined with the small class size, the result is a highly personalized, flexible, and enjoyable class dynamic led by a motivating, caring, and very knowledgeable teacher.
I have taken Saturday morning lessons with Chee Lan for nearly six months, and have greatly enjoyed the experience. Students from other programs who attended trial lessons would consistently comment on how much faster our class’s progress was; indeed, under Chee Lan’s expert guidance, students confronting the ambitious, boundless challenge of learning a language are limited in their progress only by the amount of work they put in.
No matter your ultimate language goals, I would enthusiastically and earnestly recommend Chee Lan to anyone wanting to learn Chinese! ''
• Nicolas Berthiaume (CEGEP Student);
Chinese Mandarin course from beginner to upper beginner level.
Duration: November 2007-October2008; April2009-August2009
“My name is Nicolas Berthiaume and, as of now, I have been taking mandarin Chinese classes with Chee-Lan Lo for about a year and a half on and off because of awkward and busy school schedules. Nonetheless, I have always been more than satisfied with her teaching. Through her unique and interactive style, she clearly teaches language skills from the very beginning to the more complex, preparing lessons and managing time so to allow you to learn what you really want to learn quickly. As a matter of fact, I was able to understand tones – something I had been struggling with for a while before meeting her – from the first lesson, and in about six months I learned about 350 characters! Such achievements could only have been realised under Chee-Lan’s patient guidance, as her door has always stays open for students; indeed, no matter what the problem was, a simple E-mail or phone call would do, and she’d come back to me with a complete and comprehensive answer which helped me progress not only in class, but also at home. I would eagerly recommend her to anyone who wishes to learn Chinese and is serious about it, as Chee-Lan’s definitely the best I’ve seen with private tutoring.”
In August 2009, Nicolas finished his study with me as he had been accepted by University of Concordia as a full time student, minor in Chinese language. He was exempted from the first level of the course after his pre-study under my guidance .
• Anabelle Masclet (Professional English-French translator under OTTIAQ )
Mandarin Chinese Lessons at advance level.
Duration: November 2008-Present
« Je prends des cours privés de chinois mandarin (niveau avancé) auprès de Chee-Lan Angelina depuis novembre 2008. Chee Lan est une professeure formidable : ses qualités de pédagogue sont indéniables. Patiente, elle s’adapte aux problème de l’élève, décèle ses lacunes et ses difficultés, et propose de très bonnes méthodes de travail. Elle conseille systématiquement les points à approfondir, les exercices à faire et les site internet intéressants. De plus, comme elle aime enseigner, son enthousiasme est communicatif. Elle est assurément une alliée de taille dans l’apprentissage du mandarin. Je la recommande sans hésitation : excellente méthode, gentillesse, disponibilité et flexibilité...Un vrai cocktail de réussite ! »
Anabelle's comment translated from French to English as follow:
"I have been taking private, advanced-level Mandarin lessons from Chee-Lan Angelina since November 2008. Chee Lan Angelina is a wonderful teacher and an undeniably qualified educator. Always patient, she adapts to students' problems, pinpoints their weaknesses and difficulties, and suggests excellent study methods. She systematically recommends follow-up activities, exercises and interesting websites. Teaching is clearly her passion and her enthusiasm is contagious. There is no question, she is an important ally in my study of Mandarin. I recommend her without hesitation. Excellent methods, kindness, availability and flexibility: she has what it takes to be a true success!"
• Charles Durocher (French teacher, Teaching French as a second language - CSDM, Montreal)
Chinese Mandarin course - beginner level
Duration: January 2012 - April 2012
"Dès le premier cours que j'ai suivi avec Chee Lan, j'ai éprouvé le sentiment d'avoir choisi la meilleure façon d'apprendre le mandarin. Son approche pédagogique se situe en équilibre entre efficacité et convivialité. Cours après cours, j'étais étonné des progrès que je faisais en si peu de temps. D'ailleurs, la petite taille des groupes permet aux étudiants d'être plus actifs dans leur processus d'apprentissage.
Chee Lan témoigne d'une juste sensibilité aux besoins et aux difficultés des étudiants ; son enseignement se fait de manière personnalisée et adaptée au rythme d'apprentissage propre au groupe.
Ses stratégies d'enseignement sont variées, ce qui m'a permis de développer les différents éléments linguistiques du mandarin : la phonétique, la syntaxe, le vocabulaire, la morphologie, etc. Chee Lan prend aussi le temps d'expliquer les éléments culturels autour de la langue afin de permettre aux étudiants de mieux comprendre ce qui est vu en classe et, ainsi, de mieux transférer les apprentissages en situation de communication.
En somme, la pédagogie de Chee Lan s'est avérée très stimulante pour moi et m'a grandement permis d'élargir ma capacité à parler et à comprendre la langue. Pour toutes ces raisons, je n'hésite aucunement de la recommander à quiconque cherchant à s'enquérir du mandarin. "
Charles's comments translated from French to English as follow:
" From the first course I took with Chee Lan, I experienced the feeling of having chosen the best way to learn Mandarin. Her teaching approach is balanced between efficiency and friendliness. Course after course, I was amazed at the progress I have made in such little time. Moreover, the small group size allows students to be more active in their learning process. Chee Lan reflects a precise sensitivity to the needs and difficulties of students; her teaching is individually adapted to the rhythm of the whole learning group. Her teaching strategies are varied, which allowed me to develop various linguistic elements of mandarin: phonetics, syntax, vocabulary, morphology, etc. Chee Lan also takes the time to explain the cultural elements around the language to enable students to better understand what is learned in class and thus better transfer learning to communication situations. Overall, Chee Lan’s pedagogy has been very exciting for me and it helped me greatly to broaden my ability to speak and understand the language. For all these reasons, I have no hesitation to recommend it to anyone seeking to acquire knowledge of Mandarin."
Mandarin Chinese Lessons of beginner level
Duration: April 2009-October2009
"Je suis un cours de mandarin donnée par Chee Lan dans le but de préparer mon long séjour professionnel en Chine. Chee Lan a mis l'accent sur ce dont j'ai besoin pour me donner une connaissance fondamentale de la langue avant mon départ. Elle a une méthode bien structurée et adaptée à mes besoins : les notes de grammaire qu'elle a préparées sont très claires, l’utilisation des enregistrements et des fichiers audio sont fort utiles et cela m'aide pour comprendre les finesses du mandarin Elle est aussi très patiente, communicative et disponible . J'aime beaucoup prendre des leçons avec elle."
Philippe's comment translated from French to English as follow:
"I am taking a Mandarin class given by Chee Lan to prepare for my long business journey to China. Chee Lan has emphasized what I need to give me a fundamental knowledge of the language before I leave. She has a well-structured method adapted to my needs: the grammar notes she prepared are very clear, the use of recordings and audio files is very useful and this helps me understand the finer points of Mandarin. She is also very patient, communicates well and is readily available. I really enjoy taking lessons with her."
Philippe departed to China in October 2009 to assist the Chinese government for construction of an agricultural project in Yuan Nan province. I have just received a news report from him regarding the progress of the project under the cooperation of the city of Montreal, the working team of Architectes Corriveau et Girard and the Chinese government.
• Denis Richard ( writer )
Mandarin Chinese course at beginner level
Duration: May 2011- June 2011
The following is the message I received from Denis when he was travelling in China:
"Hello Chee Lan,
Our trip to China is fabulous - and the courses you gave me made all the difference. Everyone I met say that they are impressed with the accent and intonation and that I had an excellent teacher !
We enjoyed Shanghai, Suzhou, Zhouxhuang, Hangzhou - and our next stop is Xi'An.
Many thanks,
Regards,
Denis"
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