Mandarin Chinese language in Online Chinese is taught only by native speakers. All of them are certified teachers of Chinese as a foreign language and, in addition to working with Online Chinese, work in universities and language schools in different cities of China. Teachers undergo a three-stage selection, which includes a review of the resume, an interview and a demonstration lesson, which tests their qualifications.
Communication in online classes is in Mandarin Chinese. The experience of many years of teaching shows that the ability to constantly hear and immediately practice the language being studied is the best way to practice language skills. The student feels the advantage of this method after a few lessons, when he not only understands what the teacher is saying, but also begins to think and speak Chinese. When learning from scratch, the student before the start of the course receives a list of phrases used by the teacher in the classroom in writing and audio format. These phrases are also a support for communication and class work at the initial stage of classes. Unlike the traditional system of language teaching (in high school or university), Online Chinese builds the entire learning process around language skills training, rather than accumulating intellectual knowledge of the language, which have no direct practical application when communicating with native speakers.
We proceed from the fact that the language is a set of skills that are used in certain life situations. That is why training skills in the context of language situations and is the main goal of each individual lesson and the entire training course. Therefore, Online Chinese has an aspect-oriented language teaching system, where each course is divided into three separate disciplines: Basic Course (vocabulary, grammar, hieroglyphics), Listening and Speaking Practice.
We are absolutely sure that the separate study and memorization of hieroglyphic lines, graphemes and keys, as well as their English names outside the context of specific hieroglyphs, words and language situations is ineffective. When enrolling to Survival Level A1.1, the student receives a guide developed by the Online Chinese Methodologists about hieroglyphs, which includes basic information on the structure, writing rules and ways of memorizing the hieroglyphs. Tables of features, graphemes and hieroglyphic keys with names in English are also included in the Manual and serve as a reference book that can be used at any time without having to learn what is not relevant at this stage of the curriculum. The main work on the development of hieroglyphs the student performs in online classes and after classes in the practice.
Classes are online individually through Skype. Students receive in advance all the training materials in electronic form and can print them out for the convenience of their classes. Our teachers try to make the classes as interesting as possible, making students active participants in the educational process. Every skill trains in different forms with the use of different types of perception and memory.
We use educational materials published by educational publishing houses and universities in China. It is the Chinese materials that are best standardized for the passage of the entire language program in levels from A1 to C2.
All major levels of the Online Chinese program correspond to the HSK levels. The result of the final test after each main level (A1, A2, B1, B2, C1) will correspond to the levels HSK1, 2, 3, 4, 5. Thus, by successfully passing the final exam with us, you can automatically evaluate your current level of HSK and to understand whether you need additional preparation for this exam. In addition, Online Chinese has special courses to prepare for the HSK exam, where methodically and in exam time (exam simulation), individual skills are polished and strategies are given for a more successful passing of the exam.
The experience of effective study and teaching of the language both in China and around the world shows that the minimum number of lessons per week should not be less than 8 academic hours, and the number of hours in one lesson is not less than two hours. It is such a standard of intensity of activities, adopted in Online Chinese, combined with an aspect system, immersion in Chinese in class and homework are crucial for effective language skills and learning outcomes.
At the request of the student, Online Chinese provides a certificate of attendance, indicating the name of the student, the start and finish dates, the number of hours, the level at which the training was conducted.
If you know in advance that you will not be able to attend the lesson, you must notify the manager via Skype Online Chinese or by e-mail: info@onlinechinese.ru. In the message, indicate your name and surname, time of classes, and the date of the pass. If you missed the class without the advance warning of the teacher or manager of Online Chinese, the money for this lesson is deducted from the paid amount.
The Online Chinese academic hour is 50 minutes. Thus, if in the schedule classes lasts from 19.00 to 21.45, then from 165 minutes of classes, 150 minutes are the study time, and the remaining 15 minutes are the time of rest for students and the teacher.