Award-Winning Mandarin Chinese Courses & Classes in San Antonio, TX

A San Antonio Chinese course can be a great way to hone your Chinese skills, and Varsity Tutors can get you enrolled in a course that can suit your needs. You'll be welcome at any level of Chinese proficiency, whether you're a Reagan High School student trying to get a head start on Chinese, a University of Texas student filling out your general education requirements, or an experienced professional looking to add a useful skill to your resume. Even if you've already got some Chinese under your belt, mastering any language can take a lot of work and presents unique challenges that a traditional classroom isn't always up to address. Your ability to consistently practice your written Chinese and conversational skills may be one of the most crucial factors in how effectively you learn the language, and signing up for a Chinese course can be a great way to get more practice into your life. Courses are flexible, so you can get the assistance you need even if you've got a busy schedule.

Chinese is a popular and smart choice for second language learners. It's the most commonly spoken language in the world, with over a billion native speakers. This makes Chinese a very useful language for anyone interested in international business and communications, but there are plenty of other reasons to learn Chinese, too, such as the access you'll gain to China's unique culture. China's complex, fascinating history goes back thousands of year, and China also has one of the most technically advanced and varied cuisines on the planet. As you gain mastery of Chinese, you'll be able to engage with the literature, poetry, and Eastern philosophies of China as well.

China's long history and cultural diversity is reflected in the number of dialects of the Chinese language. The majority of speakers use a dialect known as Mandarin Chinese, the official language of the People's Republic of China, but Cantonese has historically been the most commonly spoken dialect in America. Other dialects that may interest you include Xiang, Gan, Wu, and Hakka. All of these spoken dialects are united into the language we call "Chinese" by their use of an ancient written set of characters, which is very complex and is one of the reasons that Chinese is considered one of the most difficult languages to learn.

What will I study in a San Antonio Chinese class?

Written Chinese uses a system of over 50,000 unique characters, although only 20,000 of these are used in most communication, and 2,500 of them make up the bulk of everyday Chinese writing. These characters give no indication to their own pronunciation, so you'll have to memorize each of them in turn. This may seem overwhelming, but with dedicated practice in a San Antonio Chinese class, you can start getting a grasp on written Chinese. There's also pinyin, a system for translating Chinese characters into the English alphabet based on pronunciation, which you may want to learn as well.

Spoken Chinese presents its own difficulties. Chinese is a tonal language, which means that the tone with which a word is pronounced has an impact on its meaning. Mandarin uses four tones, for example: rising, falling, falling then rising, and flat. Some dialects use as many as nine tones. Not only will you have to train your ear to pick up on these tones in order to understand spoken Chinese, but this system also makes practicing your own pronunciation particularly important.

Chinese differs from English grammatically, as well. All words have only one grammatical form, in Chinese, so there are no plurals, articles, or verb inflections. To give an example of this, in English, to mark a word as plural, you'd usually append an -s to the end of the word. Modifiers like this aren't used in Chinese, which can confuse a lot of English speakers at first. You'll also study Chinese pronoun usage, common phrases and vocabulary, and even some Chinese history and customs. There may be a lot of unfamiliar material to learn, but with enough consistent practice, you may be on your way to understanding Chinese faster than you expect.

How will a San Antonio Chinese course help me learn all this?

A San Antonio Chinese class is presented in an online virtual classroom, where you'll be taught by an expert Chinese teacher and engage in collaborative activities and group discussions with your classmates. The class is entirely online, which provides some real advantages. You'll still see, hear, and speak with your teacher and classmates, but an online class allows for a wider range of class times to be on offer. So if you're an Alamo Heights High School student, for example, and you'd like to learn Chinese but aren't sure how you can fit classes around your sports schedule, you can find a class that will accommodate you. The same goes if you're a working professional with busy work and home lives, or any other kind of Chinese learner. Additionally, an online class means you won't have to worry about a commute, and makes attendance easy. Convenience is nice for any kind of class but may be important to you when learning a language, as so much of your ability to succeed may depend on how consistently you can access your classroom and practice your Chinese.

Group courses have been shown to help students learn new information and recall that information in the long run, and being able to speak Chinese with other students at your skill level can be a great way to build confidence in your conversational skills. However, we know that sometimes one-on-one instruction and feedback from a qualified Chinese teacher can be helpful, too. This is why a San Antonio Chinese course will allow you to reserve exactly this sort of private time with your instructor, so you can get up to speed on any subjects that you may find yourself struggling with. All aspects of the course, from accessible scheduling to group discussion to the ability to request individual help, have been designed with the intention of giving you many avenues to pursue success.

How can I get signed up?

Contact Varsity Tutors today, and we'll be happy to talk to you about our course offerings, course availability, and scheduling. We'll get you enrolled in a San Antonio Chinese course quickly. New courses start on a monthly basis, so there's always something coming up that may be just what you're looking for. Learning Chinese can open doors both professional and personal for you, and we're here to help you strive towards your goals. Give us a call to get started.