“I’m a native English speaker as well as able to speak and read Italian. I decided to learn Mandarin at the Balwyn Community Centre, because I thought it would be challenging (so true!) and because there are many people in our neighbourhood who speak it. After 3 years of weekly classes, I feel that I’ve learnt a lot about Chinese culture, and history as well as to read, write and listen to the language at a basic level. Our teacher, Mary, is very patient and works hard to teach topics that we’re interested in (shopping, eating, clothing, and the weather 😊). Mary uses a variety of tools in class, e.g., online videos, audio and hard copy hand-outs – sometimes, we even have homework to do ☹. I really enjoy the online quizzes that we do from time to time too. At the end of the year, we celebrate our progress in class by going to an authentic yum cha restaurant. Overall, I’d highly recommend Mary’s Mandarin classes – they are fun, informative and challenging!”