Hey forum buddies.
I am looking for a Mandarin Tutor.
I have thought about taking classes, but my level is sorta different; I do not fit in to either beginner, intermediate or advanced. I have been studying Classical and Buddhist Chinese for a few years now, so I know a few thousand characters give or take (though I tend to forget plenty I am familiar with…). I have not focused AT ALL on tones, though I know the pinyin for the characters I know (minus tones).
As I have only focused on outdated meanings (or transliterations of Sanskrit) I am unfamiliar with how many of the characters/words are used today, do not recognize “compound words” and am not good with modern expressions.
I would like to focus on reading, speaking and listening (the latter two being the bane of my existence) and do not really care about writing at this point.
If anyone knows someone who would be a good tutor in Taichung (including yourself!) please let me know or pass along this post. I would like to meet for 2-3 hours a week.
Thanks!!!
[quote=“Confuzius”]Hey forum buddies.
I am looking for a Mandarin Tutor.
I have thought about taking classes, but my level is sorta different; I do not fit in to either beginner, intermediate or advanced. I have been studying Classical and Buddhist Chinese for a few years now, so I know a few thousand characters give or take (though I tend to forget plenty I am familiar with…). I have not focused AT ALL on tones, though I know the pinyin for the characters I know (minus tones).
As I have only focused on outdated meanings (or transliterations of Sanskrit) I am unfamiliar with how many of the characters/words are used today, do not recognize “compound words” and am not good with modern expressions.
I would like to focus on reading, speaking and listening (the latter two being the bane of my existence) and do not really care about writing at this point.
If anyone knows someone who would be a good tutor in Taichung (including yourself!) please let me know or pass along this post. I would like to meet for 2-3 hours a week.
Thanks!!![/quote]
Studying Buddhist texts will actually be of some help as many words commonly used today have their origins in them; for example, 世界 (sometimes written as 界世 in the texts), 知識 (識知) and many more. I wrote about this before; I’ll link to the post in a bit 
As for tutoring, it’s hard to find a good one, I think. (I never did.) Besides tutoring, I suggest you try immersion (even just for a few minutes at the 7-11s you frequent) and an obsession for getting the tones down. I would keep some form of dictionary with you – that’s where smart phones come in handy – and look up the phrases you hear a lot (which can be hard at first); then memorize the tones and pay close attention the social (not grammatical) context in which the phrase was used. Finally, repeat what you learned whenever you get the chance Tones become easy after awhile if you stick to them at the beginning, so don’t feel discouraged. I wish I could help more with tutoring, but I don’t anyone who has time…By the way, after you get Mandarin down, you should read Fo2jing1 Yu3yan2 Chu1tan4 佛經語言初探 (very rough translation: An Initial Exploration into the Language of Buddhism). I think you would enjoy it…
Hello. I run a website teaching Mandarin Chinese from Taichung (www.ChineseLearnOnline.com). My company has also designed the online component of Providence University’s Chinese Language Center.
I can offer you one on one classes (in person at our Taichung office or online via Skype) with an experienced, trained Chinese teacher for $350 NT / hour, or a combination of classes with online exercises. The classes can be based around general conversation, local textbooks or my online lessons.
I can set you up with a free sample lesson if you’re interested. PM me here or call my office at (04) 2471-5632 during business hours.
Regards,
Adam
Okay, since you said “including yourself”:
If you want Chinese by comprehensible input with a qualified TPRS teacher, I’m the only game in town. Yes, it costs more than some other classes. Condensed milk costs more than regular milk in a carton, too. 
But most of my students would say (I believe) that the results are pretty good, and certainly much different from the results you can expect with traditionally-taught classes, which covers 99.999% of what’s available in Taiwan right now. I specialize in speaking and listening from those with zero Chinese (spoken) through intermediates, with reading attached to that if desired. However, once you learn the spoken language, you will be able to read given your background. (Actually, you will be able to read “anyway” – from what we are discovering with new techniques of teaching reading in Chinese). Anyway, it’s up to the student to decide what setup is best for his particular goals.
Via Skype. Click through in the signature line to schedule if you’re interested.