Teachers We Worked With
Ningxi P.
Ningxi is from Fujian, China. She immigrated to the United States when she was 17 years old. One of her hobbies is photography. She likes taking pictures of everything in her life as a way to record her daily. She is currently a CUNY Brooklyn College undergraduate student majoring in Childhood Education and will study bilingual education (Chinese and English) for her master's degree. She is passionate about working with children and has some experience teaching children Mandarin. She also likes to talk about Chinese culture to others.
Felix Arthur Ventouras
Born in NYC, obtained his B.A. from UNCSA in Winston-Salem, NC, and his M.A. from Hunter College CUNY, in NYC, with a focus on music composition, and a post-graduate degree in conducting and arranging for Concert Wind Band at the Ionian Conservatory in Kerkyra, Greece. He was invited to assist maestros Lukas Foss at the Music Festival of the Hamptons, John Mauceri at the Ravinia Festival, and Tan Dun谭盾 including the Santiago International Festival and the 2017 Venice Biennale; he also worked as a ballet accompanist for American Ballet Theater, the Bolshoi Ballet, Manhattan Youth Ballet, Dallas Black Dance Theater, Houston Ballet, Oklahoma Arts Institute, the National Dance Institute, Jacob’s Pillow, and the Misty Copeland Foundation BE BOLD ballet program.
As a composer, his original ballets Dracula, Cinderella, and Chekov’s Three Sisters, were premiered in Belcourt Castle of Newport, RI, the Peninsula School of Performing Arts of Palos Verdes, CA, and the Moscow Museum of Modern Art with director Andrey Bartenev. As a performer of tango, with the Gardel Trio (Shanghai), he toured China, Japan, and Russia, and in 2019, won 2nd place in the 72nd Coupe Mondiale for World Music category.
A life-long learner, Felix is passionate about learning and teaching languages, having previously taught German and English in Shanghai, before moving on to Mandarin and Greek in NYC.
Felix is available for Kids’ Mandarin and music classes.
Wen C.
Wen, from Fujian, immigrated to the United States at the age of 12. While settling down with English as a second language, Wen has never dropped her mother tongue (Mandarin and the Fuzhou dialect). In her past work experience, Wen has worked in various positions that require a dual-language exchange, from assisting Chinese patients at a dental office to composing both English and Chinese flyers for a youth activity center. She has also worked as a literacy tutor to students for the New York Public Library. Wen is currently an undergraduate student majoring in Marketing and Advertising at CUNY Baruch College. Wen is only available for kids’ classes.
Ross K.
Ross is a Taiwanese American from Oregon who grew up speaking Mandarin, English, and some Taiwanese Hokkien at home. After graduating with a degree in biochemistry from Reed College, he spent a year teaching English and Chinese in Khartoum, Sudan.
Afterward, he worked in Taiwan as a teacher and translator for four years. Ross specializes in business, scientific, and technological Chinese but has experience teaching students of all levels. He is also a collector of Chinese idioms. Ross is only available for online classes.
Shaowen W.
Shaowen, born and raised in Ningbo, Zhejiang Province is a native speaker of Mandarin Chinese and Wu dialect. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology from the University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign and a Master of Arts in Sociology from the New School for Social Research in New York City. Shaowen conducted her doctorate on the Sociology of China at the New School and taught undergraduate-level classes about sociology and Chinese culture as an adjunct instructor for four years. She is compassionate about teaching the Chinese language as well as Chinese culture & society to learners of all education levels.
TinWai Wong
Having grown up in a trilingual environment, Tin speaks English, Mandarin, and basic Cantonese. She immigrated to New York in 2016, after obtaining her undergraduate and master's degrees in art, she has since been working as an artist focusing on linguistics and semiotics. She has given many talks about art in relation to eastern and western languages.
She is also obsessed with her cat, Soda, whom she believes is her biological son.
Shuya L.
With an enthusiasm for languages, Shuya obtained the TEFL certification and worked with English learners across different proficiency levels to facilitate their second language acquisition processes. She is pursuing her master’s degree in education at the University of Pennsylvania and has been giving study sessions to students taking Mandarin classes at her university. Shuya aspires to use her knowledge, skills, and passion for foreign language education to improve the learning experiences and results of Mandarin learners from all linguistic backgrounds.
Tong Xu
Tong, from Changchun, received her bachelor’s degree in Chinese Language and Culture from Guangdong University of Foreign Studies in Guangzhou and a Master of Science in Teaching English as a Foreign Language (TEFL) from Johns Hopkins University.
She is a Mandarin native speaker and got the Mandarin Proficiency Test certificates of 2nd grade, A level. Being familiar with ancient and modern Chinese literature, she enjoys sharing Chinese history with students. She loves writing Chinese poetry and is good at playing the zither (A traditional Chinese musical instrument) as well.
Hanwen Zhang
Hanwen Zhang, originally from Tianjin (天津), immigrated to the United States as a teenager. Hanwen received her Master of Social Work in Social Work from New York University, and currently pursuing her Master of Science in Software Development from Boston University.
Hanwen works as a forensic social worker focused on the mental health area, and she is dedicated to combining both passions in Software Development and Human Development to design and develop user-friendly products that make people’s lives better, easier, and fuller.
Ziqian C.
Ziqian, has more than six years of working experience in Chinese public schools. She won First Prize in National Teaching Skills Contest for the English Teachers in School (NTSCETS) – Secondary School and First Prize in the English Teaching Competition of Hebei Province – Elementary/Secondary School before achieving a professional master’s degree in education in Hebei Normal University. Ziqian believes that teachers are not only the ones who impart knowledge but also the representative of positive energy. The positive energy of teachers gives people positive and upward motivation. Ziqian loves her students, and always makes them will feel safe and warm around her.
Helen O.
Helen, from Tianjin, received her bachelor's degree in elementary education (grades 1-6 and Dance. She now majors in TESOL for graduate school at Queens College. She is a general education teacher who works at DOE elementary school. She is a native Mandarin speaker and knows traditional Chinese as well. She loves sharing Chinese culture in New York. She performed Chinese folk and classical dance at Lincoln Center, the Chinese consulate, and Time Square as a dancer.
Jianting (Jane) Z.
Jane holds a TESOL Certificate from Teacher College, Columbia University. With a strong passion and enthusiasm for education, she became an experienced teacher of both Mandarin and English as a foreign language with some exposure to curriculum design. Concurrently a committed and effective volunteer and organizer in educational programs and commercial enterprises. She is adept at working with children and adults from different cultures, income levels, ages, and abilities, including those with disabilities. She likes reading, arts, meditation, and various aerobic activities.
Vicky S.
Vicky was born in California and raised in Taipei, Taiwan. Vicky is a Taiwanese-American who grew up speaking Mandarin, English, and mild Taiwanese Minnan Hua. She moved to California at the age of 15 and is currently an undergraduate student at New York University specializing in Music Business.
Yiqi Y.
Yiqi, born in Sichuan, is a first-grade teacher, currently teaching at a public school in Brooklyn. Yiqi has a bachelor's degree in English and a master's degree in Teaching English to Speakers of Other languages. While Yiqi was studying for her master's degree, she was a teaching assistant at the Department of East Asian Studies at New York University. During 2015-2016, Yiqi, as a home school teacher, tutored Chinese to elementary students. Yiqi has a wide range of students who come from public and private schools, such as Avenues: The World School. Yiqi is also the head content writer at Early Sparks.
Mi Z.
Mi currently holds New York State Teaching Certificates in early childhood, childhood, and bilingual education. Mi has been working with elementary students since 2010. Before she came to New York City, she worked as a headteacher at a private school in Rochester, New York. Now, she is a second-grade bilingual teacher at an elementary school in Manhattan.
Ross K.
Ross is a Taiwanese American from Oregon who grew up speaking Mandarin, English, and some Taiwanese Hokkien at home. After graduating with a degree in biochemistry from Reed College, he spent a year teaching English and Chinese in Khartoum, Sudan.
Afterward, he worked in Taiwan as a teacher and translator for four years. Ross specializes in business, scientific, and technological Chinese but has experience teaching students of all levels. He is also a collector of Chinese idioms.
Zhijing Z.
Zhijing, from Guangzhou, received her master’s degree in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages from Teachers College, Columbia University, where she also received training and certification in teaching Chinese as a foreign language. Before coming to New York, Zhijing studied at the Chinese Culture University in Taiwan. She is also teaching Chinese to adults and also tutoring Chinese to elementary school students in bilingual schools in Manhattan.
Zhijing has returned to China and is now an English teacher in Beijing.
Huan R.
Huan is a licensed Chinese language arts teacher in China. She received her B.A. in Teaching Chinese to Speakers of Other Languages in China and her M.A. in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages in the U.S. Huan now has a new position at a private school in NYC.
Ruohan C.
Ruohan has been practicing in different roles in the field of education for the past six years. She graduated from Pennsylvania State University with a master's degree in education and received her bachelor's degree in Teaching Chinese as a Second Language in China.
Angela L.
Angela, from Xiamen, received her master's degree in Business Administration from Thomas University, is a veteran teacher at Sishu Mandarin (formerly Indacube) since 2017. She is fluent in Mandarin, Cantonese and Min dialect. Angela is a teacher with great patience and especially experienced in teaching Beginners.
Yanyi F.
Yan, born in Hong Kong and raised in Mainland China, received her bachelor's degree in Linguistics, Asian and Asian American Studies from the State University of New York at Stony Brook. She is now pursuing her master's degree in TESOL and Chinese at NYU Steinhardt. Yan is now a Chinese language teacher working at a school in NJ.
Abigail M.
Abigail, from Luoyang, received her master’s degree in TESOL (Teaching English to speakers of other languages). She enjoys learning and teaching languages by utilizing her solid educational preparation, as well as her leadership, teamwork, and organizational skills. Besides her native language, Mandarin Chinese, she is also fluent in English and Korean.
Abigail has returned to China and lives in Yunnan now.
Jinyue M.
Jinyue, born and raised in northwest China, Xinjiang, who goes by Maggie, is a passionate and dedicated teacher at Sishu Mandarin (formerly Indacube) since early 2018. Having received her master's degree in 2017, Maggie decided to use her knowledge of language to teach Mandarin Chinese. She also had extensive experience in translating websites from English to Chinese. Maggie is experienced in teaching middle and high school students.
Yan Chang Z.
Yan Chang, from Guangdong, received her bachelor’s degree in Early Childhood Education from Brooklyn College and plans to further her study in bilingual education in the year 2020. She is a native Cantonese and Mandarin speaker.
Yan Chang currently is focusing on her graduate school study.
Shirui Y.
Shirui, from Chengdu, started teaching Chinese in 2014 and received her master’s degree in Chinese culture at Hong Kong Polytechnic University. In 2017, she received the Certificate of International Chinese Teaching Ability and the Certificate of Accreditation in Teaching Chinese as a Second Language from China. She is also a visiting scholar in the TCSOL program at Teachers College, Columbia University.