Chinese Now!

Are you thinking about your first steps in Chinese language study, or have you studied Chinese in the past and find yourself wanting to continue making progress in the language? 

Whatever your level of Chinese language proficiency, and whatever your purpose in studying Chinese, we look forward to supporting your studies through great classes with experienced and supportive instructors. Chinese Now! takes a distinctive approach to Chinese language education, offering hybrid programs that combine face-to-face and online studies in a personalized, convenient approach; and also taking a very distinctive and effective approach to Beginner-level classes. We have great programs in Professional Chinese; we make available a fantastic downloadable list of online resources, ways to get involved in the Washington, D.C.-area China community, and documentary films; and we coach our students on how to make the most of their developing Chinese language skills. Please contact us regarding the following class options:

Group Classes – We take an innovative approach to programs for adults. We suggest that students consider a once-weekly, small group class as the cornerstone of their studies, and that they do private lesson tutorials to supplement and personalize their program. For Beginner- to Intermediate-level students, group classes center on Saturday sessions at our school in Bethesda. Then we work with students to arrange for additional private lesson sessions, held at the school or at a student’s home or office, or in a hybrid approach as we describe below. This combination of small group classes (maximum six students) along with personalized tutorial sessions is a great way to ensure that students know that they are not alone in their studies, but also to benefit from the increased flexibility that comes with only needing to travel to one scheduled group session per week.

Hybrid Study Options - In order to help students learn better and progress faster, Chinese Now! offers structured, technology-based study opportunities for students, in addition to face-to-face sessions with our teachers. We strongly believe that face-to-face sessions, and Chinese Now!’s personalized, relational approach to language education, are the best way to study language. But technology is improving. A combination of face-to-face and technology-based learning can help to ensure that you progress, and improve the likelihood that you achieve your Chinese language goals. Let's start with some additional explanation of how this works: 

• A “hybrid” program is a combination of face-to-face learning and online studies. These programs are intended for students who should have more frequent lessons and study more than their schedule may permit. Imagine how much more convenient it would be if you could study with your instructor, without traveling to and from class.
  
• These programs are great for busy people. We know many professionals who studied Chinese in college or lived in China. They realize that Chinese at even an intermediate level would make a difference in their lives and their career. They find the story of contemporary China to be compelling. Or perhaps they are just starting out with Chinese. The common problem? Students struggle to find time to do what is necessary to progress, to make flashcards for vocabulary memorization and to schedule enough classes each week to actually use their Chinese. With a hybrid program, you can study more efficiently, and may be able to make more progress than you thought you could. 
• This type of program combines online curriculum emphasizing whatever is most important to your studies: conversational Chinese, listening, reading, and/or writing – one, two, three, or more times per week.
• This type of program is not only for adults. Many middle and high schools offer Chinese language programs that enroll students, but many younger students find that studying Chinese in classrooms of 15-20 students does not offer them much time to actually speak. When can they find time in their busy student schedules to use their Chinese?
• Online tutorials are usually shorter than a face-to-face private lesson. We suggest in most cases 40-minute sessions. We would also mention that these lessons are with our teachers in the Washington, D.C., area, not in China. You may be surprised at how engaging these lessons can be, and how much easier it is to make progress in Chinese, using this approach!

Private Lessons – We can also be very flexible for our students. Private lessons may make sense for many adult students, particularly those that have some Chinese language background or for those that wish an especially focused program of study. Private lessons can be scheduled at the school or at the student’s home or office, and programs can be structured to take account of prior studies as well as the student’s specific objectives. 

Supplemental Resources - Finally, all Chinese Now! students benefit from supplemental resources including a library of documentary films about China, that we would be happy to lend to you; recommendations about supplemental online and offline Chinese language study tools; and we would be glad to introduce you to some of the organizations in Washington, D.C. that organize events and programs related to contemporary China. This is not something that you can typically find, through a tutor.

Tuition & Fees -  Programs with one face-to-face and one or two online tutorial sessions per week start at $325 per four weeks, including access to online curriculum through ChinesePod. Many of our classes utilize ChinesePod, whose library of over 3000 lessons provides our instructors the ability to tailor programs to our students' level-specific and topic-specific priorities.

If you have questions regarding our programs for adults, please feel free to visit or contact us. We look forward to talking to you about your potential Chinese language studies and recommending a program that fits your needs and interests.