It has been my desire for a long time to be fluent in Chinese.   To get to that point, my requirements for instruction are:

• to get a lot of conversational practice
• improve my listening skills
• to read and type Chinese.

Learning to write Chinese characters is not all that important important to me.   Furthermore, I wanted instruction that fit my schedule.   That led me to hire eChineseLearning.com.

I had tried various alternatives.   Before eChineseLearning.com I attended a local community college, but after I finished the course, I had to wait another quarter for the next level.  That was a major disappointment.  Their course offering simply didn’t meet my schedule demands.

Prior to my one quarter at the community college, I was a subscriber to Yoyo Chinese.   I like the price point and the convenience of online learning, but there’s no opportunity for two-way conversation.  I’ll write about Yoyo Chinese at another time.

So, I started searching companies that taught on the Internet.  I narrowed the choices to four services: two in Taiwan, two in China.   They all seemed to be good.  The two choices in Taiwan were too expensive.    The first service in China didn’t get back to me quickly and wasn’t prepared to provide their pricing.

When I e-mailed eChineseLearning.com, I received a phone call from China within a couple of hours.  I was impressed!  The representative explained that the pricing depended on the type of lessons, the frequency, and the duration of the contact.   The price per class unit decreased accordingly.

She helped me schedule a free 30 minute lesson with one of their instructors.   The 30 thirty minute lesson started off with a joke.   What a fun way to start off!   She also gauged my ability and made some recommendations.

I enrolled and was assigned a teacher, Chloe.   She’s been teaching me over the past year twice a week, and doing a great job!   We start of with free conversation.  After that we work on a lesson from  “Integrated Chinese“, a popular college textbook.   We worked through Level 1 Part 2, and we’re currently working from Level 2, Part 1, so I’m essentially doing second year college work.  Hope to make it through Level 2 Part 2.

eChineseLearning.com is dedicated to the quality of their instruction, so at the end of every lesson, an e-mail is sent asking for your evaluation.  The staff meets weekly to discuss how to make the learning experience better for their students.

When I first started my lessons with Chloe, my conversation was slow and I stumbled a lot.    But I noticed over time that I was more confident and capable.   Had I remained in the classroom, I know I wouldn’t have had the level of attention that I can get one-on-one.

Now and then, during lessons, I’m able to go raise a point, perhaps even crack a joke and get a laugh at the other end.    That makes me a very satisfied eChineseLearning customer!

Want that 30 minute free trial?   Click here to sign up.   When you speak with them, please tell them that Dave Landis recommended them.