Ms. Sibylle Oester from Swiss (the second lady from the left)

Cantonese Beginner 1 – 4 Half Day class (15/5- 17/8, 2012)
Cantonese Lower Intermediate Level 1 – 3 Evening class (11/9, 2012 – 24/1, 2013)
Cantonese Lower Intermediate 4 – Advanced (4/3 – 18/12, 2013)

Markus Burri from Switzerland (the gentlemen in the middle)

Mandarin Beginners – Lower Intermediate Full Day (3/9 – 21/12, 2012)
Mandarin Lower Intermediate – Upper Intermediate Full Day (4/2 – 10/7, 2013)

Sick and tired of business meetings in China, where you cannot directly communicate with your business partner? Learning Mandarin as a seasoned European manager, is it worth the efforts and can one speak after let me say one year of intense learning?
I have tried it. 10 months of private lessons every day at the Hong Kong Language School. Yes, Mandarin appeared to be more difficult than French or Spanish that I have learned in the past, but yes, one can learn that language! After 10 month I can express myself and the Chinese seem to have fun listening to me, and I do understand provided the Chinese follow my “please, speak slowly…”
I was very satisfied with the Hong Kong Language School. Not only do they have qualified teachers, but also understand different needs of individuals at different stages of the learning. One can “customize” the lessons with the school, and also directly with the teacher. They are flexible, even if you have to cancel a lesson at very short notice due to other business commitments. Friendly yes, qualified yes, even the coffee is ok. I can recommend the school to all who are serious to make an effort and want to dive into the most widely spoken language on this globe.

Yukari Kawamura from Japan (the second lady from the right)

Cantonese Lower Intermediate – Upper Intermediate(6/6 – 11/9, 2013)

1, Why did you choose Hong Kong Language School?

— School location is close to my house and school fee was cheaper than others.

2, How’s the school environment?

— Excellent. I love free snack and drink. Thank you.

3, How’s the class atmosphere?

— Teachers and classmates were so friendly. It was gooood.

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

— Teachers are really helpful. My hk husband and I believe that I improved speaking Cantonese a lot since I go to this school. Indeed, I have taken a Cantonese class at another school. But it didn’t help me much. So I guarantee that hk language school is really effective to study Cantonese.

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

— I wish to come back to school after I settled my new job. Don’t want to forget Cantonese and learn new vocabulary.

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

— Yes, because I really enjoyed studying at hk language school.

Clare Visanji from UK (the lady on the left)

Survival Cantonese (21/10 – 26/10, 2013)
Skype Lessons for Cantonese & Chinese Reading/Writing (22/11/2013 – present, once a week on Thursdays)

I found the Hong Kong Language School after an internet search and luckily for me it turned out to be a very good school indeed! My classes were very enjoyable and adapted to suit both my needs and abilities. It made learning fun and didn’t seem like work at all. There aren’t many English-language tools available for Cantonese learners and having a good teacher is therefore essential in order to make progress.

I would not hesitate to recommend HKLS and look forward to continuing with studying Cantonese.

Diana Fahrmann-Li from Germany

Mandarin Upper Intermediate 1 & 2 (21/2 – 20/3, 2013)
Mandarin Upper Intermediate 3 & 4 (9/4 – 7/5, 2013)
Mandarin Advanced 1 & 2 (23/5 – 20/6, 2013)

1, Why did you choose Hong Kong Language School?

— First of all the location of the HK Language School is very convenient. I live on Kowloon side and could reach the language school easily by ferry. But there are many other ways to reach the school: subway, bus etc.

Secondly I met some teacher in person when I did the assessment test. Their person and professional competence convinced me that they are motivated and I could learn with and from them.

Finally I think the price for the language class is very reasonable . If you compare the price with other language schools in Hong Kong the one here is almost the cheapest and the classes small enough to learn as much as you want and as you yourself do for it.

2, How’s the school environment?

— The school environment is very nice. The school rooms are small but big enough to learn in a peaceful atmosphere. There is a tea corner where you can serve yourself with water, tea or coffee and there are even some snacks in case you get hungry before or after class. The other students are from different countries and you get easily in touch with them even if they are not your classmates because the size of the Language School allows it.

3, How’s the class atmosphere?

— At first I had private classes without classmates. Then one woman joined my class and we got along very easily. We had the same language level which I think was perfectly matched by the school. The class atmosphere was very good, we had good conversations in Mandarin and by learning from the other classmate’s strenghts and weaknesses I could improve my own language skill.

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

— I was very satisfied with my teacher. She is a native Mandarin speaker so I could learn not only vocabulary and grammar but she also taught me much about China’s history and culture. We constantly spoke Mandarin with each other so my Mandarin language skill noticeably improved within the months I took the language classes. Through the speaking practice I have now no more hesitation speaking with native Chinese people.

Actually my expectations were exceeded. I never thought I would make such a progress within this short period of time.

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

— If I would come back to Hong Kong I would take lessons again in the HK Language School. Besides the conversation class next time I would complement it with the reading and writing course.

The above mentioned shows that taking classes in the HK language school really paid of for me.

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

— Yes of course, I will recommend the HK Language School. I was very satisfied and achieved what I intended to. The location is convenient, the school fee is very reasonable and the teachers and staff of the school are friendly and competent.

Garry Law from UK (the gentleman in the middle)

Mandarin Beginners Full Day (19/8 – 13/9,2013)
Mandarin Intermediate Full Day (2/10 – 30/10, 2013)
Finance Mandarin Private Tuition starting from 19th March, 2014

“I immigrated to HK from UK and I knew that if I was to successfully find a job and to truly experience HK, then learning Mandarin would be essential. After researching on the different language schools available, I chose Hong Kong Language School because of it’s: flexibility, competitive costs, different range of courses and quality of teaching. The school lessons were tailored according to my requirements, as I had other daily commitments. The classes were professional yet relaxed and my classes were a mixture of one to one private teaching and with classmates. Both my teachers – Carol and Lily were experienced and made my lessons both extremely enjoyable and interesting and I was looking forward to going to my lessons everyday. After two months of daily lessons, I can hold a good level of conversation in Mandarin, as a result of the effective classes. My new Mandarin skills helped me to secure a job for one of the largest financial companies in Hong Kong, and if work commitments allow, I will definitely try to come back to take on additional lessons. I highly recommend the Hong Kong Language School as your Cantonese/Mandarin school, should you wish to learn either language for social or business”.

Gary Sciscent from U.S.A (the gentleman on the right)

Survival Cantonese (4/2 – 6/2, 2013)

1, Why did you choose Hong Kong Language School?

— I took a crash course in Cantonese (Survival Cantonese) but I was already familiar with HKLS because my daughters had taken a Mandarin class at the school one summer. In both cases, the school was able to offer customized language classes with a professional language teacher on very short notice.

2, How’s the school environment?

— The school is in a full-service business district easily accessible by the subway.

3, How’s the class atmosphere?

— The classroom and office space are clean and brightly lit. My classes began promptly and there were periodic short rest breaks.

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

— My teacher was superb and was sensitive to my ability to absorb the material and paced the class accordingly. I was interested in learning some introductory Cantonese, and this course was perfect for me. My class focused on everyday dialogue and useful expressions and we used the school’s in-house developed handbook and cd that I still refer to when I self-study at home.

Of course learning, especially language learning, requires a good measure of individual effort and study time outside of the classroom. I needed a teacher to provide leadership and to help me navigate the course but in fact a fair amount of progress in my case depended on doing my homework and preparing for class every day.

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

— Yes, I will take more classes in Cantonese – it’s hard to stop once you start.

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

— I would advise anyone learning a language to look for a school that is easily accessible and has well-qualified instructors who understand your goals and can help you design a realistic language program. In both cases, HKLS met those criteria and I had a successful learning experience.

Dr. Barbara Meisterernst from Germany (the first lady from the left)

Mandarin Advance Full Day Class (11/5 – 6/6, 2011)

Linguist, Sinologist, Researcher, Lecturer
Humboldt-University, Berlin, Germany

1, Why did you choose Hong Kong Language School?

I found Hong Kong Language School in the internet when looking for a language course fitting my very tight time schedule. The information was clearly provided and the price for a four weeks course appeared to me quite reasonable in comparison with other offers. Additionally my enquiries about enrolment and payment conditions were answered promptly and in a very friendly manner.

2, How’s the school environment?

There is nothing to complain about. It is easily accessible and nicely located.

3, How’s the class atmosphere?

The atmosphere in class was perfect. With only one classmate the courses were very intensive. Additionally, I was very happy with the choice of my classmate; we had a lot of fun together in class and found a lot of things to talk about and to discuss. I also had the impression that our two teachers were very well chosen for our interests and our personalities.

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

The two teachers we had were perfect, each in her particular way. It was very good to have two different teachers who are both native speakers of Mandarin but come from different areas and have different accents, which forced us to adapt to both of them instead of getting used to just one. Additionally, their respective idiolects and their focus in class were slightly different, partly due to age, partly due to differences in interest. I did not expect to learn so much about different aspects of modern Chinese culture, different ways of life in Hong Kong and Mainland China from two so well informed, nice and open-minded people. We had very lively discussions about many topics of the day, but also about general questions of life in China and in Europe. And we also had a lot of fun together. Carol always prepared some funny games for us, which forced me to talk, and this was exactly what I expected from the course. Additionally she opened conversations about a lot of important practical topics, such as computers, software, mobile phones, etc. and in this way provided us with a lot of relevant vocabulary for everyday purposes. With Lily we had a lot of interesting and well informed discussions about both Ancient and Modern Chinese history which I enjoyed very much. It was always great with both of them. I was never bored even for a minute and I would have liked to continue for another month or two. Already during, and particularly after the course I felt much more confident with my Chinese colleagues, I understand them a lot better now and I am less reluctant to join in a Chinese conversation than I was before.

Thanks a lot again to both of you, Lily and Carol. I really miss our discussions.

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

If I ever have the occasion I will definitely come back for another course like the one I had. I learned Modern Chinese mostly on my own, and although I went to some evening classes before, this course was the first that really suited me and my particular interests. It was very good for me to have the opportunity to speak Chinese in an environment that provided normal conversational situations and discussions on everyday topics and did not just follow the (mostly not very interesting) topics in an exercise book. Both teachers always reacted to every question and topic we raised and provided the relevant vocabulary, etc.

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

Certainly for all the above reasons. If all teachers are like Lily and Carol, nothing can go wrong.

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.