Speak Chinese.
Get in touch with us at info@speakchinese.co.uk
Welcome!
About Speak Chinese.
We teach Mandarin and Cantonese to adults and teenagers in one-to-one lessons online. You can take your lessons in English, Italian, Spanish or French, so grammar points, corrections and questions are handled in the language you are most comfortable with.
Each lesson is planned around what you want to do with Chinese, whether that is getting by on a trip, talking with family, preparing for an exam or working with Chinese-speaking colleagues.
Speaking and listening come first, with characters introduced at a pace that suits you. We design our own course materials, available in each of the languages we teach in, and adapt them to every student’s level and goals. Our teachers, Daniel Chan and Ryan Choi, bring together experience of teaching Chinese and a working knowledge of the languages our students speak.
Our Language Courses
We offer courses in Mandarin and Cantonese for learners at every level, from first words to advanced conversation. Each course follows a clear progression, but the pace and emphasis are set in your lessons: more speaking practice if you want to talk with confidence, more reading and writing if you need characters for study or work.
Cantonese Courses
Our Cantonese lessons are taught in English, Italian, Spanish, French or Mandarin. We focus on everyday speech from the start: pronunciation and tones, useful phrases and real conversation. As you progress, you can bring in reading, Cantonese films and media, or the colloquial written Cantonese used in messages and online.
If you already speak Mandarin, we build on what you know. Lessons concentrate on where the two languages differ, in sounds, tones, vocabulary and grammar, so that you can move quickly from understanding the characters to speaking natural Cantonese.
Mandarin Courses
Our Mandarin lessons are taught in English, Italian, Spanish, French or Cantonese, from beginner to advanced level. Speaking and listening come first, supported by pinyin/zhuyin and a gradual introduction to simplified or traditional characters. Later, you can prepare for the HSK, read texts that interest you or practise Mandarin for work.
Mandarin varies from region to region, and both our teachers know that range well. Ryan teaches Putonghua as assessed by the Putonghua Proficiency Test, while Daniel specialises in southern and Taiwanese Mandarin, so you can choose the accent that suits you. Cantonese speakers can also improve their Mandarin with us, focusing on the pronunciation, tones and vocabulary that differ between the two.
Courses and workshops on request
If you have a particular aim, we can build lessons around it, using your own materials or focusing on a single area such as conversation or exam preparation.
For companies, we offer language training and workshops shaped around your team’s work, from meetings and emails to business customs with Chinese-speaking partners. Sessions are scheduled to suit your working hours and taught in English, Italian, Spanish or French.
What Our Students Say
Our students appreciate the personalized and engaging approach at Speak Chinese. Hear their success stories as they share their language learning experiences.
Emily Chen
''The tailored Cantonese lessons helped me communicate with my family in no time!''
Michael Johnson
''Learning Mandarin with Speak Chinese has been an exciting journey; I love the interactive lessons!''
Sofia Garcia
''The cultural insights incorporated in the lessons have deepened my appreciation for the language and its heritage.''
Why Learn With Us?
Most Chinese courses are taught in English. With us, you can also learn in Italian, Spanish or French, or study Cantonese through Mandarin and Mandarin through Cantonese, with a teacher who knows which parts of the language learners from your background find hardest. All lessons are one-to-one, using materials we have written ourselves.
Experienced Teachers
Years of Practice
Multilingual Teaching
Learn in Your Language
We have taught Chinese for over a decade, to individual learners and to companies, and to students from across the globe. That experience shapes how we teach: we know where learners tend to struggle, which approaches work for beginners and which for advanced speakers, and how to adapt lessons for a busy professional or a team preparing for work with Chinese-speaking partners.
We teach Mandarin and Cantonese in English, Italian, Spanish and French, and each language through the other. Ryan Choi teaches both in English, and teaches Cantonese to Mandarin speakers and Mandarin to Cantonese speakers. Daniel Chan, a native Italian speaker fluent in Spanish and English, teaches Mandarin and Cantonese in all three of those languages.
Original Materials
Built for learners
We write our own course materials and offer them in each language we teach in, so explanations, vocabulary lists and grammar notes are always in a language you understand. They cover Mandarin and Cantonese from beginner to advanced level, in simplified or traditional characters, and we adapt them to each student’s goals.
Diverse Chinese
Accents and Scripts
“Chinese” is not a single language. Most courses teach the Mandarin of Beijing with simplified characters, yet the language is spoken and written in many different ways around the world. We teach both Mandarin and Cantonese, with a choice of accents and of simplified or traditional characters, depending on your interests, your background and where you plan to use what you learn.
Get in Touch
If you have a question about our courses or would like to book a first lesson, send us a message. You can write to us and we will reply as soon as we can.