No, we don't. Fa Yin (020 625 43 09) and Kai Wah (020 642 13 58) are the two schools in Amsterdam that do. They teach mainly children of Cantonese parentage. 
Cantonese is the native language of Guangdong (Canton) province in China. It is the language spoken in Hong Kong and Guangzhou. As most Chinese restaurants in the Netherlands are Cantonese in origin, it is often the language you hear in Chinese restaurants. 

The school was founded in spring 2004. The team consists of Chinese, Singaporean and Dutch with one goal in mind: to teach people from all over the World the official Chinese language. To begin with, we start in Amsterdam :). 

The paramount criterion in our teacher selection is their teaching capabilities. It is of course very logical but we like to emphasize that we pay special attention to the teachers' ability to understand and communicate with the students. It is great if a teacher knows lots of history and culture about China and perhaps 50,000 characters by heart. But even more important is his or her ability to pass this knowledge on and help the students learn. In other words, Teachers are selected based on their ability to give the students a rewarding learning experience, even if they know only 4999 characters. :) Although most teachers are native Chinese, we don't exclude other nationalities, as long as they meet our criteria. 

The average group size is often around 10. However, this varies a lot per season as well as per course. In general, the higher the level, the smaller the group. 

Chinese is not a difficult language, but it is certainly very different and therefore requires a little hard work. We can't learn the language for you, but we can provide you a conducive environment to make the learning process fun and rewarding. We know the challenges adults are facing, studying Chinese in a non-Chinese environment; therefore our courses are tailored especially to help the students overcome these obstacles. We hope to do this by the following: 

1. Emphasising on conversation and practical usage.
We know the frustration of spending years studying hundreds of characters, yet not being able to use it in a practical way. While poetry, grammar and writing are equally fascinating, we want you to be able to speak, starting with sentences like 'say that again' (再说一遍 zai shuo yi bian) or 'please speak slower' (请说慢一点 qing shuo man yi dian). We like you to be able to understand the signs in Chinatown, read the Chinese menu and comfortably say: 'Please bring me a pot of tea'. (来一壶茶 lai yi hu cha) 

2. Providing you means to learn on your own.
A few hours a week under the guidance of a teacher is a good way to learn, but you can also learn a lot outside of the classroom. That is why we also have an extensive website and apps so that you can also keep up with Chinese outside the classroom. 

3. Culture appreciation.
Language is culture. It is not possible to learn a language and not the culture. Speaking Chinese, or any new language, is not just a matter of literal translation. The Chinese often express their ideas quite differently from the Dutch. A Chinese may say 'Yes' when he means no; a Chinese may ask a question that appears strange or even rude to the Western ears, and vice versa; a Chinese may not want to discuss certain topics. We will devote time to discuss such cultural peculiarities so that you can approach the language with cultural sensitivity. Besides, we like to explore other cultural aspects which the students find interesting. What we will include in the course depends on the students' interest. So do let us know. 

4. Achieving your goal.
Everyone can start a course, finishing it is the challenge. To reach any level of proficiency within a short period of time requires a little hard work and perseverance. Set yourself a realistic goal and we will help you achieve it. We will try our best to make the lessons interesting so that you'll look forward to the next lesson. Combining fun and hard work is the challenge. Let's do it together! Whatever your reason for wanting to learn Chinese, we are here to help you. Good luck and we look forward to seeing you in class! 

Course data for regular courses (classes) are mentioned at the schedule page. For the exact dates, click on Time table. The individual courses can start any time (as long as teacher is available).

We usually have 2 courses a year. One in February/March and one in September. 

We do not organise classes for children anymore. For regular children classes you can contact www.mandarinstars.nl or Kai Wah (020 642 13 58). We appreciate if you mention our name.

An open registration means that the course starts, if we have enough students.

In this case, you register and fill in your availability. Once we have enough students, we will contact you and your fellow students with a proposal for dates and times, as much as possible taking into account everybody's availability. If enough students accept the proposal, we will start. 

As a beginner, it is best to start with the 101.
But you may already have a head start and you can skip one or more courses.

To find out which course suits you best, look at:

• your knowledge
• your available time
• exposure

Subject to sufficient availability, you may move to another class during the course period. If applicable, with additional payment of course fees and book fees. It is not possible to pause and wait until the lessons fit better into your personal agenda (see payment conditions).

Also have a look at the vocabulary requirements on the ‘Which level?’ page.

If you speak Cantonese and know how to write Chinese characters, you can skip beginner classes. You will miss some basic information about Mandarin, which you have to learn on your own. Of course, this is just a general advice. It depends on the personal circumstances to know what is best to do. See also the previous advice. 

In a course of 12 lessons you can learn roughly between 100 - 150 characters. That is between 200 en 300 words. In the beginning it usually takes more time to acquire new characters. After a while you see the system in the Chinese characters (yes, there is!) and you will learn faster. 

Around 4 - 6 hours. 

Tip: allocate ample time for making homework.
Without planning and a lot of enthusiasm, you can get very far the first weeks. However many "unexpected" events can than easily mess up your study and it will be hard to finish the course.

Beginner: We use A Key to Chinese Speech and Writing, Volume I. 
(Chinese with English explanation)

This book is written by Zhang Pengpeng, a senior lecturer at the Beijing Language and Culture University, together with a Frenchman Joël Bellassen, an associate professor at the Seventh University of Paris and chairman of the French Association of Chinese Language Teachers.

This book combines the best of the East and the West and is one of the best books for learning Chinese in a foreign environment. 

Intermediate: we use New Practical Chinese Reader, starting from part 2. By Liu Xun, Zhang Kai, Liu Shehui, Chen Xi, Zuo Shandan & Shi Jiawei (Chinese with English explanation)

Travel Chinese:

The booklet is specially developed by our school. They accompany our courses but are excellent materials for self study and to bring along on your trip as a phrase book. All phrases are in Chinese and pinyin (Chinese written in Latin alphabet) with English translation. Audio can be found on our website.

A5 size course/phrase book.

The booklet is available for sale at € 30/-. 

For beginners, we advice Oxford Beginner's Chinese dictionary. This is a Chinese-English and English-Chinese pocket dictionary. It is designed for people learning Chinese and therefore has many extras like a list of measure words and the stroke order of a character. We also offer other dictionaries and books in our bookshop. 

Please pay attention that a lot of (cheap) dictionaries are made for Chinese learning English. Those dictionaries have often small characters and do not mention the pinyin.

Beginners don't need a dictionary from the first day. 

From the fourth week on, you can, without any extra costs, change your study day or even go more often to a course of the same level for the registered period. You don't have this announce this in advance, but we do request that you introduce yourself to the teacher in the new class.
No refund is possible if you do not make use of the offered classes. 

Before we start a serie of individual lessons, we agree on a certain schedule. After we start, there are only limited possibilities to change the scheme. We offer different packages. The choice of package determines the maximum number of changes after the start. Whatever course you follow, you always need to inform us at least 48 hours in advance of changes, otherwise the lesson is void.

We like to advice you that in order to achieve good study results, it is important to maintain a regular scheme. 

Our usual lesson duration for a beginner group is 2.5 hours. Higher levels are usually 2 to 2.5 hours. 

Taking into account our international students and teachers, most lessons are taught with the support of simple English.

We do not offer trial lessons.

We believe that a single lesson does not give you an insight into what it is like to learn a foreign language. Learning a language requires dedication and discipline and only after a few months you will know if you are up to it.

Of course, you are always welcome to ask us questions, to make well informed decisions. Or try the free online lessons at www.ChineseSpeechTrainer.com