Our innovative teaching method, specially adapted for Western students, separates spoken Mandarin and character recognition, which has been proven to advance the pace of your language learning. We teach Chinese in small groups (with an average of 4 to 5 students), allowing our teachers to give each student individual attention.
How will you learn Chinese?
The author of the teaching materials used at Hutong School is Prof. Zhang Pengpeng (张朋朋). He is an associate professor at Beijing Language and Culture University and has taught Chinese to non-native speakers since 1975 in Beijing as well as at universities in France, Switzerland and Germany.
Based on his experiences, Prof. Zhang developed his own method separating spoken Chinese on the one hand and character recognition/writing on the other hand.
Rather than requiring students to be able to pronounce, read and write every single character from every dialogue, Prof. Zhang pays more attention to explaining the form and structure of characters and the radical-phonetic system.
This way, students can progress quicker in spoken Chinese and at the same time lay a good foundation for character memorization at a later stage because they have a more thorough understanding of the characters. In addition, Prof. Zhang focuses more on character recognition in the beginning and incorporates writing characters only at a later phase.
The course books for the Beginner and Intermediate levels are the following three books of the “New Approaches to Learning Chinese” by Prof. Zhang Pengpeng:
- 口语速成 (Intensive Spoken Chinese), for the Speaking class. The students will learn how to introduce themselves in Chinese, greet people, order food and drinks, buy things, talk about their families, etc… The focus will be on basic Chinese vocabulary which can be immediately used in common daily situations.
- 集中识字 (Rapid Literacy in Chinese), for the Reading and Writing class. For absolute beginners, the focus will mostly be on reading and recognizing the most commonly used 300 characters.
- 常用汉字部首 (The Most Common Chinese Radicals), will be used mostly as a reference book for students to improve their understanding of Chinese characters and the radical-phonetic system.
Also used are the following two books:
- 汉语口语速成: 'Short-term Spoken Chinese'
- 张老师教汉字: 'Professor Zhang Teaches Characters'
All teaching materials are included in the program fee.
| Month | Internship Program | Intensive Chinese Program |
|---|---|---|
| 1st month | Phonetics, numbers, money, self-introduction Lesson 1 : Phonetics, Hello Lesson 5 : Country, Native Place Lesson 9 : Time, Daily Schedule 5 hours of classes focusing on Chinese characters, with special attention to the most common Chinese radicals. After 1 month, students should master 50 common characters. Phonetics, numbers, money, self-introduction, shopping, ordering food | Lesson 1 : Phonetics, Hello Lesson 5 : Country, Native Place Lesson 9 : Time, Daily Schedule Lesson 13 : Wines, Drinks 40 hours of classes focusing on Chinese characters, with special attention to the most common Chinese radicals. After 1 month, students should master 200 common characters. |
| 2nd month | Shopping, ordering food, talk about family members and language learning Lesson 11: Daily Necessities, Fruits Lesson 12 : Buy things, Prices Lesson 13 : Wines, Drinks Lesson 14 : Coffee Bar, Tea House Lesson 15 : Menu, Foods Lesson 16 : At the Restaurant Lesson 17 : Eating Habits Lesson 18 : Family / Profession Lesson 19 : Languages, Learning Lesson 20 : Address, Telephone 5 hours of classes focusing on Chinese characters, with special attention to the most common Chinese radicals. After 2 months, students should master 100 common characters. | Lesson 16 : At the Restaurant Lesson 20 : Address, Telephone Lesson 24 : Means of Transportation Lesson 28 : Sports Activities |
| 3rd month | Asking the way, talk about weather and sports, going to hospital Lesson 21 : Doing Something Lesson 25 : Direction and Position Lesson 29 : Comparison 5 hours of classes focusing on Chinese characters, with special attention to the most common Chinese radicals. After 3 months, students should master 150 common characters. Changing money, room decorations, booking tickets | Lesson 31: Changing Money Lesson 35 : At the Post Office Lesson 39 : Booking a Plane Ticket |
| 4th month | Changing money, room decorations, at the post office Lesson 31: Changing Money Lesson 35 : At the Post Office Lesson 39 : Booking a Plane Ticket | Tailor-made lessons |
| 5th month | More focus on Chinese characters with the aim of mastering 400 characters by the end of the month. (200 additional characters to be learned) Review of lessons 1-20 of oral Chinese and additional exercises. | Tailor-made lessons |
| 6th month | More focus on Chinese characters with the aim of mastering 600 characters by the end of the month. (200 additional characters to be learned) Review of lessons 21-40 of oral Chinese and additional exercises. | Tailor-made lessons |
This curriculum is a guide only and may vary.