At MandarinHour.com, we offer the convenience of learning Chinese Mandarin online in a live, one-to-one classroom setting without having to leave your home or office. After you look through the course descriptions and decide which one is for you, we'll decide which teacher best fits you for your course and time zone.
Next, sign on to access your teacher's booking calendar and pick the date and time for your lesson. When that time comes, log into MandarinHour.com where your teacher will be waiting for you. During the lesson, you'll be able to interact not only just by seeing and talking with your teacher, but also by swapping files and watching high-quality video.
Our lessons are hosted using the latest video conferencing technology for the internet. This web-conferencing software has been specifically designed for interactive on-line education and provides a fast and stable e-learning environment. Our platform provides the highest quality of audio required for on-line education.
Our award winning*, text- to-speech, web-based language platform is taught by experienced, certified Mandarin teachers who have been selected for their highly proficient English and Mandarin. "Text-to-speech technology" literally means you'll click on a word and a voice through your computer will pronounce it for you. This incorporates single words and whole phrases as well.
*eLearning Grand Award at the Information and Communications Technology Awards held in Asia 2006.
After selecting the "register now" tab, you will be asked to complete our simple registration form. Once this form has been submitted, you will see a "make a payment" tab which will automatically take you to PayPal. This is where you will make your payment for the full price, indicated on your registration page. Once this is completed you will automatically be sent back to the MandarinHour.com registration page. From there you will follow the simple steps to download the web conferencing software. When these first few steps are completed, your registration is done! After the payment has been processed with PayPal, you will receive an email from us acknowledging your registration. From the point you receive this confirmation email, you'll only have to wait a maximum of 24 hours before you can book a class. It is during this period when we assess your registration and select the most suitable teacher for you. Once this is done, you will receive an email from us with information about your allocated teacher. You can then log into your new MandarinHour.com account and book a lesson on your teacher's calendar, which will be posted on your personal home page.
We offer a range of courses - from entry level to a comprehensive program, for business, travel, or advanced students. Your options include learning Simplified or Traditional Chinese and/or Pinyin. You will learn single words, phrases, dialogue and be introduced to basic Chinese culture. Our business courses include an introduction to business etiquette while our comprehensive Integrated Chinese program teaches Chinese character writing.
We can, upon request, tailor a course to accommodate your particular requirement. For example, if you're looking for a business-language course, we'll introduce industry-specific words and phrases so that your lessons are customized to your particular business. Our customized lesson plans narrow the language and cultural gap often experienced when carrying out business in China. Additional charges may apply if substantial changes to your course are necessary to accommodate your requests. Before registering please contact if you're interested in this personalized option and we will assess your particular course requirements.
Click here to see details of our courses offered
At MandarinHour.com, we have four areas of focus - travel, business, general interest and the study of Chinese culture and language. For a basic introduction to Mandarin, our Survival Course for Business will teach you simple communication words and phrases and our basic Survival Travel Course will similarly enhance your experience when visiting China. The Practical Chinese Course is better suited for those wishing to be introduced to Mandarin for more general personal reasons and a broad scope of subject material is covered. Our dedicated Chinese Business courses are specifically focused to target business communication and etiquette. If you conduct business in China, knowing industry-related phrases will pay off. We also offer courses for the more serious student. Integrated Chinese is a highly in-depth course used by Universities worldwide. This complete course includes Chinese character writing. Please see Courses Offered for specific course details.
Each price quoted is for a fixed number of classes per course. For example, if the course you want to take includes 20 classes, this means the course has 20 hours of one-to-one classes with your teacher. All courses are paid in full at the time of registration. Your account will only be debited when you are actually in a one-to-one class with your teacher. Access to your online course for self-study is free of charge, each and every time. Remember that self-study is strongly recommended to help keep within the number of classes advertised for the price. However, if necessary, additional classes are available and cost US$12.00/hour.
For specific course pricing, please see our Courses Offered.
MandarinHour.com follows the same principles of those in a traditional school setting. This means that we teach structured courses with set lesson plans from carefully researched study material. These materials are used by all of our teachers in order to consistently guarantee the highest level of educational standards. The curriculum has been approved by our Head of Education, Dr. Wang, who believes that if teachers focus on the approved course program, students will receive maximum value. We do, however, have the ability to adapt a course syllabus to accommodate your specific requirements. Additional charges may apply if substantial changes to your course are necessary to meet your request.
Our courses are structured so that each class is one-hour long. A maximum of two hours can be booked in succession. You have the option to select Simplified or Traditional Chinese and/or Pinyin at any time during your program. We use text-to-speech technology in all our courses. This practical application enables you to click on any word, phrase or paragraph and the text will be translated and sounded out for you in a clear voice. Self-study and practice are absolutely necessary during your Mandarin language education. Your self-study will progress more quickly with assistance provided by our text-to-speech application and therefore maximize the time spent with your teacher.
Our teachers have been selected for their academic and teaching qualifications as well as for their fluency and highly proficient teaching skills in both English and Mandarin. All of our teachers have taught in the traditional classroom and will continue to receive training for web-based language instruction. This will make certain their teaching skills remain at the highest level while also ensuring their confidence in web technology. Our teachers are based in North America and Beijing and have international experience.
Booking your class is easy and always done online. Log into your account, then you'll see your pre-assigned teacher's booking calendar. The calendar looks just like a regular monthly calendar and this is where you will select what day and time you would like your class. Classes are booked for one hour, but an optional maximum of two hours can be made. Any time your teacher is unavailable, that time will be blocked off in order to prevent a double booking. Once you have entered in your booking details, they will be posted in the calendar as a temporary class, as your teacher needs to confirm the details. Upon approval, you will receive an email from your teacher confirming your class as booked and the temporary booking in the calendar will automatically be changed to a confirmed status. Your teacher's calendar will show your local and UTC (London, England) time so that there is no time zone confusion.
You will have the ability to cancel or change your confirmed lesson without being charged as long as you make these changes 24 hours before the class starts. You can do this through your online booking calendar. If you change or cancel a confirmed class 12 to 24 hours prior to that class, the changes cannot be guaranteed, but your teacher will try to accommodate your request to the best of their ability. You will not be able to change or cancel your class less than 12 hours before your confirmed class time. No refund will be given to a student who does not attend a confirmed class.
All payments can be made through PayPal using VISA, MasterCard, Amex and Discovery credit cards as well as bank transfers and personal checks. Please note that MandarinHour.com does not handle ANY payments that are made on your account. MandarinHour.com does not have access to your financial information nor do we retain any of your financial details. This is the safest, securest and most convenient for all parties and transactions.
We offer quality language training at MandarinHour.com and we're committed to service excellence. If you are not satisfied with our service or product during the course of your program, we will be happy to refund the credit balance in your account. Please note that charges for classes already taken will not be refunded. Any confirmed class not attended by a student will not be refunded. Course refund requests or general account enquiries can be emailed to . We will make every effort to answer your email within 24 hours.
You can take courses with us no matter where you live. As long as you have an internet connection, our classes are available anywhere. During registration, you can select the time zone where you live and whether you prefer to have your classes in the mornings or evenings. Then we will match a teacher to the times you choose or as close as possible.
We do our best to select the most qualified and friendly teachers, however, if you find you are not happy with your assigned teacher, send us an email at and we will contact you to address your concerns. If necessary, we will happily reassign a new teacher to you. This will not affect your progress as your lessons are automatically recorded in your personal account.
This is a tricky question to consider because each student is unique. A person new to Mandarin may find it difficult to get accustomed to the sounds at first. Since Chinese is spoken with four tones and is both non-alphabetic and non-phonetic, the initial learning curve may feel steep. However, Chinese grammar is less complicated than many Western languages. Once the first few hurdles are overcome, progress should be quick. We suggest that new students take at least two classes a week and combine this with a few more hours of self-study. At MandarinHour.com, we recommend all students to combine their lessons alongside self-study as this is crucial in developing your language skills.
MandarinHour.com is committed to being a 24-hour service, fitting into your schedule and busy life. However, there is a possibility that your teacher might not be available at your desired time and day due to another student's booking. If this is the case, your booking calendar will show the times your teacher is unavailable and where a booking cannot be entered. Other than this, our teachers will make every effort to accept your booking, no matter what time of the day or night.
Once you have paid for your course, your account will be credited with the number of classes that your course outlines. As each class is booked your account will be debited accordingly. For example, if you paid for a Business Chinese course, you will have paid for 20, one-hour classes with your teacher, which means 20 hours will be credited to your account.
If you haven't finished your course material within the allotted 20 hours, additional classes are available for US$12.00/hour. Your teacher can help advise you regarding how many extra classes you'll need in order to finish the course material. You'll be able to purchase these additional classes through your account, using PayPal.
Please keep in mind that MandarinHour.com's courses are structured to combine your one-to-one classes alongside self-study. If you are committed to this program of study, the lesson material should be completed within the outlined number of classes.
Preferred Hardware
- Pentium class 600 MHz PC or higher
- Windows 98, ME, NT, 2000, 2003, XP or Vista
- Full-duplex sound card (optional)
- A headset with microphone is strongly recommended (optional)
- A microphone and speakers (optional), but headset with microphone is preferred
- 28.8 kbps modem dial-up or better Internet connection. Ideally a high speed connection.
Recommended Browsers for Hosting and Joining Meetings:
- Internet Explorer (all versions).
- Netscape with IE engine rendering.
- FireFox with IE Tab Add-On.
- Opera with Neptune Plug-in.
Preferred Set up
- Browser Support for Website Functions and Services:
- All modern browsers that support cascading style sheets may be used.
- Cookies and sessions must be enabled
- If you wish to utilize our crystal clear VoIP audio for audio broadcasting or private conversations, you will need speakers to listen and a microphone if you wish to talk. A headset is recommended for full-duplex Voice Chat, especially if multiple participants are assigned voice activated talk buttons.
- All Webcams that use a Windows driver are supported, even VCR tapes and camcorders. Webcam type hardware is optional.
- Internet Explorer and Windows operating system service packs should be current; and since a software download is required, you must be allowed to install software on your PC.
For computers using Microsoft Vista, open Internet Explorer and add the following three websites as trusted sites:
- www.webtrain.com
- www.webattend.com
- *.webattend.com
Here's how to add these as trusted sites:
- Open your internet explorer
- Go to "tools", then "internet options", then "security"
- Click on "trusted sites"
- Ensure Medium security is selected.
- Click on "sites"
- De-select the 'https required' at the bottom
- Type in the three web addresses one at a time (www.webtrain.com, www.webattend.com, *.webattend.com) and click "add" each time.
With our web-conferencing system, language software, plus our experienced teachers, MandarinHour.com can easily handle a large number of students at once. Although there is no limit to the number of students our system can accommodate, we prefer to limit the number of students per class to a maximum of five. This allows our teachers to ensure quality. If you would like to arrange a class with a maximum of five students, or if you are interested in registering for any one of our advertised, pre-arranged classes, you will receive a discount of 20% off the standard price. Even in a small group you will still enjoy the full benefit of our highly interactive lessons. If you wish to set up a multiple student class with a group of friends or colleagues, one that is completely tailored to your desired time and days, please contact and we will get back to you to make the arrangements.
No, not at the moment, however, we will soon be introducing a full range of Podcasts which will cover the subject material in your lessons. These Podcasts are designed to help you understand how the theory taught in your lessons is practically applied in everyday life. They will include easy listening conversation for you to follow and vocabulary and phrases for you to practice.
In the 1950's, the government of the People's Republic of China made the decision to simplify the written Chinese language to improve the population's literacy skills. Therefore, two distinct versions of written Chinese were created - Traditional and Simplified Chinese. The Simplified system uses fewer strokes per character and reduces the number of characters in common use. In general, schools in mainland China, Singapore, and Malaysia use Simplified characters while Taiwan uses Traditional characters.
Pinyin, more formally "Hanyu Pinyin", uses the Latin alphabet to represent sounds in Mandarin. The primary purpose of Pinyin is to teach pronunciation of Mandarin words. Most of the vowels and consonants are similar to the Spanish, French, Italian and English languages with a few exceptions. Pinyin also incorporates a system to represent the four tones of Mandarin, indicated by a mark above the letter.
Both Mandarin and Cantonese are dialects of the Chinese language, however, Mandarin (or Putonghua) is the official spoken language of mainland China. Cantonese is more commonly used in Hong Kong and Macau. Both Mandarin and Cantonese are based on the same character writing system. When spoken, both are monosyllabic and tonal. In both dialects, each syllable can be broken down into a syllable initial, a syllable final, and a tone. Despite these similarities, there are also significant differences between the two dialects.
The differences are found in the phonetics, grammar, and vocabulary selection. Mandarin has 24 initials and 38 finals, making up about 400 distinct base syllables. Mandarin also has 5 tones, giving a total of 1,400 tonal syllables. Cantonese has 19 initials and 53 finals, making up about 600 base syllables. It has 9 tones, giving a total of 1800 distinct tonal syllables. It is generally agreed that Cantonese is more difficult to learn than Mandarin.
Cantonese is a much older and closer dialect to ancient and Middle Chinese than Mandarin. Mandarin was heavily influenced by the intermixing of the nomadic peoples who constantly invaded and sometimes conquered China.
If you have a choice, we recommend you learn Mandarin. If you can speak Mandarin, people will understand you in Hong Kong, Macau and Canton (which is now called "Guangzhou" in Mandarin).
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