Sanjay Garla from U.S.A (the gentleman on the right)

Cantonese Beginner 3 & 4 Full Day class (3/10- 16/10, 2012)
Cantonese Upper Intermediate Full Day class (17/10- 28/11, 2012)
Cantonese Upper Intermediate – Advanced (15/4 – 16/7, 2013)

From: Sanjay Garla

Sent: Thursday, August 15, 2013 1:04 AM
To: Branda Kwong; KAM C CAT
Subject: hi!

Hi folks! I just wanted to let you all know that I started volunteering this week with a union here in San Francisco. I’m helping them outreach to Chinese workers. The Union lost their Cantonese speaking staff person almost a year ago and they haven’t been able to find a replacement. So I have been talking with the workers and yesterday i helped translate at a meeting. The meeting was conducted in Spanish English and Cantonese.

It was all really difficult for me, but the workers were really happy to have someone who could speak some Cantonese and they understood most of what I was saying. I also understood most of what they were saying.

I was so excited to finally see my hard work starting to pay off. I still have a lot to learn, but I think if am working on a daily basis with Chinese workers I’ll learn quickly.

I’m also glad now that I chose Cantonese instead of Mandarin. Some of the workers that I spoke with told me they can understand Mandarin but can’t speak it. But everyone spoke and understood Cantonese.

Thanks for all your support and training. I am definitely putting it to good use!

Sanjay

1, Why did you choose Hong Kong Language School?

— I chose HKLS because I wanted to have an immersion experience that was fun but also challenging at the same time. The method of teaching seemed both rigorous and engaging. Furthermore, HKLS is one of the few language schools that also sets up a homestay with a Hong Kong family. I thought this would allow me to get the most out of my short time studying Cantonese in Hong Kong.

2, How’s the school environment?

— Free coffee, tea, and biscuits along with cozy, air conditioned classrooms – what more can one want?

3, How’s the class atmosphere?

— The class atmosphere is pretty casual. I sometimes didn’t even realize that I was learning because we would become engrossed in trying to communicate about a variety of topics. Only after class would end would I realize how much I learned.

4, How’s your teacher? Was your class effective? Did you learn what you had expected?

— I had two different teachers, both of whom were extremely talented and effective. I’ve had several Cantonese teachers in the past and I can confidently say that the instructors at HKLS are by far the best I’ve ever worked with. They have the experience to explain grammar and concepts in ways that non-native speakers can understand. The teachers also teach a great deal about Chinese culture and thinking. All this is done in a conversational and fun way.

I enjoyed how rigorous the class was. Of course the instructor adjusts to the level of the class, but at the same time is always pushing students forward. I definitely got the experience that I wanted and felt that with the HKLS instructors I was able to learn very quickly.

5, Will you come back & take more lessons? Why?

— Yes! I plan to come back and take more lessons. I am so excited to be able to have conversation in Cantonese, but I know that if I want to perfect my Cantonese I need to come back and learn.

6, Will you recommend Hong Kong Language School to your friends? Why?

— Yes. I talk to a number of my friends about how great HKLS is. The teachers make HKLS the best. Attending classes at HKLS really made me realize how important it is to have experienced teachers.

Ms. Leslie Chan from USA

Cantonese Private Tuition (13/5- 9/5, 2010 & 3/6, 2011 – Present )

Financial Analyst, Assistant Vice President — Credit Suisse
External Reporting and Financial Publications
Zurich, Switzerland

1, Why did you choose Hong Kong Language School?

— I found the school by chance (or rather luck) in the HK weekly (free) newspaper

— I think this is a newspaper geared towards expats.  The school was the 1st one that I rang, but I immediately liked how friendly and accommodating the staff was.  I think it was good that they advised me to meet them first before deciding and letting them assess my needs.  They were never pushy (as we know Chinese can be!).  Price was fair, but not the main determinant of my decision making process.

2, How’s the school environment?

— Rooms and communal space were very comfortable and relaxed.  Loved the free drinks and snacks — which helped keep the energy levels up during 3 – 4 hour private lessons!  Air conditioning was a bit troublesome at times in terms of noise level and finding a comfortable level…my teacher had to keep adjusting it!  Convenient location near MTR.

3, How’s the class atmosphere?

— Structured, but fun and relaxed. Good environment for learning. Learned a lot in each lesson and laughed a lot while doing so.

4, How’s your teacher? Was your class effective? Did you learn what you had expected?

— Loved my teacher. She was professional and fun.  Flexible enough to gauge lessons around personal interests, yet also stayed structured.  I appreciated her discipline with my pronunciation and thorough explanations of proper vs colloquial Cantonese –  and made sure I learned the correct way 1st! I had private lessons so I was better able to personalize the lessons around my needs. My teacher was very good at taking interest in what I liked and tried to develop my vocabulary and speaking / comprehension needs to cater to those type of situations.  I liked her practical approach to what a person should learn.

I think we could have worked more on comprehension since this is a weak area for me.  I seemed to be able to speak, but often misunderstood what was being said to me when being asked or s/he responded.

5, Will you come back & take more lessons? Why?

— Yes, because I felt my teacher knows me well enough to understand my needs and will continue to push me, while still encouraging me and keeping things fun and practical.  I appreciated how flexible / accommodating the staff were to ensure that I could fit in my lessons everyday.  Staff are motivated to teach and considerate to their students.

6, Will you recommend Hong Kong Language School to your friends? Why?

— I think it is difficult to say that each person will have as positive experience as I did since I had the luxury of having private lessons and also a very good relationship with my teacher.  I would definitely recommend my teacher, but as she is a representative of the school, I would feel more than comfortable to recommend the school itself to my colleagues.

Vriti Manaktala from India (the 2nd lady on the left)

Mandarin Beginners Level 1 (25/7 – 9/8, 2012)
Mandarin Beginners Level 2 (17/9 – 28/9, 2012)
Mandarin Beginners Level 3 – Lower Intermediate 3 (8/10 – 17/12, 2012)
Mandarin Lower Intermediate 4 – Upper Intermediate 1 (14/1 – 4/2, 2013)

Came back & continued from Mandarin Upper Intermediate 2 on 21st February, 2013

The school has a very lively and enjoyable atmosphere and far exceeded my expectations. I met some very nice people and made good friends on the course.

My teacher Helen was excellent. I have never had such a wonderful and encouraging teacher. I found her classes a lot of fun and intellectually stimulating. Helen is fully of positive energy and so I looked forward to going to class everyday. I will miss learning Mandarin from Helen and hope I may have the opportunity to pursue some more sessions at the school with her.

My special thanks to Branda and Mini for organising the classes so professionally.

All the best.

Dr. Wang Keh-Chung PhD from USA, Taiwanese (the gentleman on the right)

Cantonese In-house Training (26/2- 9/7, 2010)

Vice President and Group Director

IC Design Group

ASTRI – Hong Kong Applied Science and Technology Research Institute Company Limited

“I took Cantonese Beginners 1&2 courses together with 16 of my colleaguesfrom Ms. Branda Kwong of Hong Kong Language School. This was an effective and appreciable learning experience. Ms. Kwong taught us basic conversation,vocabulary, sentence making, pronunciation, etc. with dedication andenthusiasm. She also shared her pleasant attitude, positive thinking ,traditional Chinese value, and some precious life experience with us. We enjoyed attending Ms. Kwong’s classes and learned a lot from her. I highly recommend these courses and related ones to those who are interested inlearning Cantonese.”