Thursday evenings
June 4 – July 2
5 weeks / 5 class hours
Tuesdays 1 hour
8:30-9:30pm Eastern, 7:30-8:30pm Central, 6:30-7:30pm Mountain, 5:30-6:30pm Pacific
(June 4, 11, 18, 25, July 2)

Instructor: Charlotte
Location: Online via Zoom
Level: Beginner
Age: Adults 18+
Class Size: Minimum 2 students; Maximum 6 students

Materials Needed: All material will be provided.

About the class: The goal of this class is to help students master Pinyin logic and pronunciation techniques for independent reading of Pinyin-annotated materials and/or for further studies. In this class, you will leverage English phonetic similarities for a faster learning curve and will learn to use hand gestures to help build muscle memory when using the 4 tones. This class is great as a standalone introduction course or can pair well with any other classes for supplemental learning.

What can I expect to learn?
By the end of this course, you should be able to:

• Recognize all phonetic symbols in the Pinyin system
• Independently read any Mandarin Chinese text with Pinyin annotations
• Overcome the habit of using English-style “stress,” achieving a more natural and fluid Chinese intonation
• Master the accurate pronunciation of 50-100 core high-frequency spoken words

Cost: $100 ($75 before May 15!)

Payments options are as follows:
Pay in full today: $100
Hold your spot and pay the rest by June 1, 2026: $125 ($50 deposit now. Additional $75 paid by June 1, 2026).

Payment is accepted by credit/debit card, Venmo, Zelle, Google Pay, and Paypal.

about the instructor

Charlotte Zhu is a native Mandarin speaker and teaches standard Mainland Mandarin. She holds a BA in Teaching Chinese to Speakers of Other Languages from Shaanxi Normal University and an MS in Education and Curriculum Studies from Purdue University. She has also passed China’s national Putonghua Proficiency Test.

Charlotte has been teaching Mandarin as a second language since 2018 and has worked with learners of all ages and levels. Her teaching experience includes private tutoring and group classes in HSK preparation, AP Chinese, conversational Mandarin, and business Chinese, as well as lessons for young children and diplomatic clients.

She has contributed to projects on intercultural communication and helped author a handbook for international Mandarin learners. In 2018, she received the “Most Popular Chinese Language Teacher” award at Shaanxi Normal University.

Charlotte enjoys creating clear, engaging lessons and supporting every student in building confidence with Mandarin.