Recently we interviewed one of our adult students learning mandarin who also has two of her kids learning with Pistachio Mandarin Learning Centre. We wanted to find out why they were learning mandarin and hear what she says about their experiences of learning with us. Here’s what she had to say:
Q: How did you first hear about the Pistachio Mandarin Language Centre?
A: My children who are 7 and 9 attend Kohia Terrace School and we heard about the mandarin classes through word of mouth from friends of ours at the school.
Q: What are the reasons for you and your kids to learn Mandarin?
A: I really think it’s a useful skill to have in Aotearoa. We live in Auckland and we have a lot of Chinese families in our school and community and it’s a great skill to have now and also in the future allowing us to bridge the gap, connect and communicate. It creates a sense of inclusion which I think is pretty powerful.
Q: What Mandarin classes do you attend?
A: When we’re not in lockdown we all go to our Chinese classes at the same time on Saturday mornings at the school. I’m obviously in the adult class and the kids are in their own classes.
During lockdown, we attend our lessons online via Zoom. I really enjoy the online classes because it’s super convenient and Pistachio Mandarin has made it work really well.
Q: What do you all enjoy about your mandarin classes?
A: The kids love all the activities and games and my daughter especially loves the online quizzes. My son is full of energy so definitely loves learning through the games and activities too.
I enjoy the mix of conversational language, structure, vocabulary and grammar lessons. I thoroughly enjoy it when we’re introduced to Chinese culture through learning about different festivals for example. It’s a nice gentle pace that we follow and there is no exam that takes away the element of pressure.
Q: Would you recommend Pistachio Mandarin Language Centre?
A: Yes, definitely.
Learning another language at my age has had quite an impact on me personally. It’s been quite profound.
I’ve been able to learn enough of the language which enables me to bridge the gap with parents at school and people in my workplace because even knowing a few phrases has allowed me to see the world just a bit differently
I also think it’s important that the kids learn by example and when they see me make the effort to learn about someone else’s culture and language, it encourages them to do it too.
Interested in learning mandarin for yourself and your family? Find out more about our adult and kids group classes and online learning too.