Award-Winning Mandarin Chinese Courses & Classes in Portland, OR

Varsity Tutors is happy to help you focus on your language studies by setting you up with a Portland Chinese course. Many students who didn't grow up exposed to Chinese languages have a difficult time mastering Mandarin, Cantonese, or one of the other languages spoken in China. Working with a professional instructor in a Portland Chinese course can help remove some of those barriers, giving you the opportunity to actually use the language taught throughout the courses.

Mandarin Chinese is quickly becoming an international language thanks to China's growing influence. With more than one billion speakers worldwide, knowing this language can be extremely helpful if you want to work in international business or if you simply want to travel to mainland China and Taiwan. Because Chinese is becoming an important language to learn, more students across the country are enrolling themselves in language programs - including students at top schools like David Douglas High School and Central Catholic High School. What's more, many colleges and universities have Chinese language courses as well, with some even offering exchange programs where you can study abroad in a Chinese-speaking country for an extended period of time. Many students from institutions like Reed College, University of Portland, and Lewis and Clark College have mastered Chinese with the help of classroom lessons combined with a supplemental Portland Chinese class like the one offered by Varsity Tutors.

Our Chinese class is an excellent way to get ahead. Whether you're enrolled in Chinese lessons at your high school or college and need a little extra assistance, or you want to master Mandarin, Cantonese, or another fascinating Chinese language from scratch, this class is a great way to do it. Best of all, there's more to these lessons than the lectures taught by your instructor. You learn alongside other students also interested in Chinese, which means you've got a network of people you can interact with, practicing conversations and overcoming challenges as a group. For most students, this level of interaction makes it easier to comprehend the complex language structures covered in Chinese, helping them learn how to communicate more naturally.

What could a Portland Chinese course help me review?

There's a lot of time and effort that goes into learning a new language. But for Chinese specifically, things are a little more complex. Along with learning new vocabulary words, grammar structures, and word order, you also have to learn two components that are completely foreign to English speakers: tones and Chinese characters. This makes learning Chinese through self-study even more difficult than other languages, which is why we recommend learning in a collaborative Portland Chinese course where you're given detailed explanations and constructive feedback. Let's look at a few of the areas this course can help you with.

Thankfully, Chinese grammar isn't too complicated. The language has no articles, plurals, or verb inflections. This means that you don't have to spend a lot of time memorizing grammar rules once you've got the hang of it. On the other hand, you may find yourself trying to use English-style grammar rules when first speaking Chinese. A Chinese course can help you with this so that you pick up the grammar quickly without reverting back to English as your reference point.

Chinese orthography is the most complicated writing system in use. They don't read and write with a standard alphabet, but rather with a series of pictures. Each picture has its own assigned meanings, and there are more than 20,000 Chinese characters in use. To achieve relative fluency when navigating China and reading modern literature, you'll want to learn roughly 2,500 of those characters. The benefit of studying through a Chinese course is that your instructor can choose the characters taught in class, so that you're spending your time learning the most important Chinese characters first. They can also help you with learning Pinyin, a Romanized version of Chinese using the Latin alphabet. Depending on your goals, you may choose to study Pinyin, traditional characters, or simplified characters - or even a mix of the three. Whatever you choose, you can get the help you need in our Chinese course.

Speaking and listening are key elements of any language, but Chinese is especially different. Words change their meaning depending on the tone the speaker uses, and Mandarin Chinese uses four different tones. For most students, tonality is a foreign concept, making it difficult to master. For this reason, we recommend studying in an environment that lets you collaborate with other Chinese students, so that you can work together to recognize and comfortably use tones and other challenging concepts.

How can a Portland Chinese class help me learn Chinese?

For starters, the class places you in an interactive learning environment where you can actually engage with the material. Instead of memorizing definitions and key concepts, you get to actually practice using Chinese in a way that gets you comfortable with the language. This also allows you to benefit from valuable feedback from your instructor and peers, who can share tips and tricks when it comes to mastering Chinese.

Another great feature of the Portland Chinese class is its flexibility. Our lessons are conducted online in a virtual classroom, which means that all you need is an internet connection to get started. Classes are offered in multiple sessions, so you can choose a time during the week that works best for you. Is your schedule currently too busy to enroll in a Chinese class? No worries! We offer new sections every month, and you can even choose between two and four-week courses. Hop on and practice Chinese at a time that's good for you. That way, you can learn a new language without any added stress and inconvenience.

How can I find a Portland Chinese course?

Are you ready to take your Chinese language skills to the next level? We're happy to help you along the way! Get started by contacting Varsity Tutors and asking one of our friendly consultants to assist you with finding a Portland Chinese course that works for you. Call today to start your Chinese journey.