"The first lesson went very well! My instructor was very punctual, and we got right into the lesson. He was very kind and helpful."
Nick Endahl
Mandarin Chinese course in Paterson.
Mandarin Chinese Lessons in San Francisco
You’re probably aware that San Francisco is a multilingual city, but did you know that Chinese is the most spoken language after English? To be precise, there are around 147,371 Chinese speakers according to the 2020 census, which make up about 17.5% of the overall population. The reason why both Mandarin and Cantonese are so widely spread in San Francisco is due to the large percentage of residents of Chinese descent who choose to live and work in the city. As you can imagine, this large community has made a big impact on San Francisco, and nowadays there are many Chinese institutions, restaurants, and stores you can visit. What’s more, the city is home to the oldest Chinatown in North America, and one of the largest concentrations of Chinese immigrants in the country, which makes it a great place to get immersed in the language.
Why Study Mandarin Chinese in San Francisco?
Learn Mandarin Chinese for Work and Travel
No matter what it is you do, if you choose to learn Chinese, you’ll increase your competitiveness in the city and get access to many well-paid positions. This is especially true if you’re interested in working in the local hospitality industry, one of the most prominent in San Francisco, which offers great jobs for bilinguals like Chinese-speaking Wealth Relationship Advisor for Citi, Merchant Experience Partner for DoorDash and Implementation Director for Citcon. If you have your own business, speaking Chinese will help you attract many more clients within the local Chinese community and even build successful professional relationships with Chinese speakers in the city and abroad. Additionally, being able to communicate in Chinese can open up one-in-a-lifetime opportunities in amazing cities like Hong Kong, Beijing, and Shanghai that can take your career to the next level and change your life forever.
Learn Mandarin Chinese for Social
Every year, there are many celebrations in San Francisco that highlight Chinese culture. Many take place in February as part of the Chinese Lunar New Year celebration, and among these one of the most popular ones is The Chinese New Year Parade. The parade is full of life and it showcases amazing acrobats, dancers, martial artists, elaborate floats, and wonderful performers that wear the most elaborate costumes. If you prefer a more peaceful event, you can check out the Chinese Flower Market Fair, which takes place at Jackson and Washington Streets and offers the perfect chance to be part of a beautiful Chinese tradition that consists of buying certain flowers and plants at the beginning of the year to invite good fortune into your life. Especially auspicious flowers you should buy include peach blossoms, orchids, chrysanthemums, and little trees bearing oranges or tangerines. Lastly, near the end of every Chinese New Year celebration, there’s a fun and colorful street fair at Grant Avenue, Sacramento, Washington, Jackson, and Pacific Streets where you can surround yourself with Chinese traditional music, enjoy puppet shows and magic shows and taste delicious Chinese food.
Learn Mandarin Chinese for Culture
One of the most popular language groups in the city is Bay Area Chinese Language Group. They organize weekly language exchange events where you can meet native speakers and other language enthusiasts in the city like you who gather to have conversations in Mandarin and Cantonese and learn about Chinese culture. Most of their events take place at different pubs around town or online and welcome learners of all levels, so whether you’re an advanced learner or you’re just starting out, you’ll find many language partners with whom to practice your skills. Besides, these meetups are completely free and don’t require any registration before attending, so if you want to boost your skills and make new friends, don’t miss this opportunity!
Another great way to meet people who are interested in Chinese culture is to attend the events organized by the San Francisco Qi Gong Meetup. This friendly group meets every Saturday at Lafayette Park, located at Gough Street & Washington Street to practice Qigong's powerful breathing and movement techniques and relax in the park, which makes it a perfect weekend plan to stay fit, reduce your stress, and get to know this fascinating practice rooted in Chinese philosophy, medicine, and martial arts.
Where to learn Mandarin Chinese in and around San Francisco?
If you’re interested in learning Chinese in an academic setting, the San Francisco State University has a great Chinese Program that offers many graduate and undergraduate courses in Chinese language, linguistics, literature, and translation. On the other hand, if you’re just looking for useful resources that you can use on your own, you can check out the Main Library, located at 100 Larkin Street, where you can find excellent audiobooks like Collins Easy Learning Mandarin Audio Course, which can be the perfect companion for holidays and business trips abroad and Modern Mandarin Chinese for beginners. However, if you’re looking for a Chinese course that meets your own specific requirements, your best choice is to study at Listen & Learn. Simply send us a quick inquiry now and one of our team members will get in contact with you as soon as possible to find out what your language goals are and answer every question you might have about the course. After that, you’ll be paired up with one of our native Chinese teachers that will create a completely personalized course that you’ll love.
The type of courses we offer:
Face-to-Face 1-to-1 (Individual) General Mandarin Chinese
These Mandarin Chinese lessons are more general in nature and are targeted at students with a whole range of different needs. While all beginners level students can expect to cover Survival Mandarin Chinese - required for short visits to a country where English may not be spoken and/or the intention is to make good contacts with the local population, students then generally progress in different directions depending on their needs. Typical students include those buying property overseas, spouses of overseas nationals, people about to set off on that long-awaited world trip, Mandarin Chinese culture enthusiasts and those who are keen to pass a particular Mandarin Chinese examination. Inquire now about our Mandarin Chinese Courses or Take A Free Mandarin Chinese Level Test
Face-to-Face 1-to-1 (Individual) Business Mandarin Chinese
These Mandarin Chinese lessons are driven towards people who have a requirement to learn Mandarin Chinese to bolster their work output. For novices, you will find it useful to learn basic greetings and business etiquette; and once you have become more proficient then reading and writing will come to the fore. Typical students include those concerned with import/export, those seeking work in multinational companies, international negotiations, and anyone working with international colleagues or administration. Even on our most rudimentary beginners lesson, students can expect to finish the lesson with decent telephone and e-mail Mandarin Chinese, as well as a good enough grip on the language for a short trip to the country. Inquire now about our Mandarin Chinese Courses or Take A Free Mandarin Chinese Level Test
Face-to-Face Closed (Private) Group General or Business Mandarin Chinese
If there are 2 or more of you with the same level of Mandarin Chinese, the same targets within the language, and be able to study at the same time and location, then you'll be happy to know that these Mandarin Chinese lessons can also be made available for Two-to-One Mandarin Chinese Lessons or Small Group In-Company Mandarin Chinese Lessons. Listen & Learn do not generally recommend classes of more than 6-8 people, although Taster lessons in Mandarin Chinese can run with up to 12 people. Bookings must be made for all participants at the same time. Inquire now about our Mandarin Chinese Courses or Take A Free Mandarin Chinese Level Test
Skype, Google Meet or Zoom Online 1-to-1 (Individual) General or Business Mandarin Chinese
Your colleagues and yourself can be trained by our native-speaking fully-qualified Mandarin Chinese tutors at a time and location to suit you. Classes can take place any day, even weekends, and can happen in the morning, afternoon or evening. If the case may be that your home or office is not convenient, there is always the option to take your classes at the office of your teacher. Study books for the lesson are provided. Inquire now about our Mandarin Chinese Courses or Take A Free Mandarin Chinese Level Test
Skype, Google Meet or Zoom Online Group (Closed or Open) General or Business Mandarin Chinese
Those wishing to learn Mandarin Chinese in groups of 2 or more together (Two-to-One Mandarin Chinese Lessons or Small Group In-Company Mandarin Chinese Lessons) can sign up for our group classes. All students must be at nearly the same level of Mandarin Chinese proficiency, must have the same needs from the language, and must be able to study at the same time and place as the others. Bookings must be made for all students simultaneously. Listen & Learn do not propose group sizes or more than 6-8 people, but In-Company Taster Mandarin Chinese Lessons can occur with up to 12 people. Inquire now about our Mandarin Chinese Courses or Take A Free Mandarin Chinese Level Test
Top Tips For…
mandarin-chinese Songs
Stranger in the North- Wang Lee Hom
Are you looking to acquire some Mandarin Chinese vocabulary while enjoying some nice music? Then, you should give “Stranger in the North” a try. This is a pop and rap song that talks about a traveler who wants to get to know different places in the world and describes the beautiful landscapes he wants to visit. As it uses a lot of complex sentences and prepositions, it’s more suitable for Advanced students. Plus, the rap sections are fast-paced and include many colloquial expressions, so it may be hard for beginners to understand what the singer is saying.
Check out the song here!mandarin-chinese Songs
Light Years Away- 邓紫棋 (GEM)
Those who love pop ballads and would like to improve their Mandarin Chinese skills should listen to “Light Years Away” by GEM, a great track to start getting familiar with this tonal language. As you may know already, a word can have multiple meanings in Mandarin depending on the tone the speaker uses. In this song, you will find some examples of how this can occur (and you will notice them because it is a slow-paced piece), such as the word “ma,” which the singer pronounces with rising and falling tones.
Check out the song here!Playhouse- JiaJia
Learning Mandarin Chinese does not only entail memorizing words from a textbook: you can also improve your listening comprehension and learn new words by doing something enjoyable, such as listening to music. For example, “Playhouse” by JiaJia is an inspiring piece that talks about self-acceptance and love. It’s a great track for beginners, as it has a very slow pace and a lot of repetitions, while also using simple grammar and everyday vocabulary. For example, some of the most common words you will learn include love (ái), kiss (wen), hate (taoyán), and work (Gōngzuò).
Check out the song here!mandarin-chinese Apps
The Chairman’s Bao
If you are an advanced-level student of Mandarin Chinese, you should download The Chairman’s Bao app to your phone, available on both Android and iOS. This is an online newspaper that has been simplified, so that Mandarin learners can understand. Access the app and you will find thousands of articles about politics, travel, lifestyle, and more. The app includes an interactive dictionary, so when you are reading, you can tap on an unknown word and find out its meaning. Further, you can read in both simplified or traditional Chinese characters.
Check out the app here!mandarin-chinese Apps
Chinese Pod
Do you learn better by listening to podcasts? Then, ChinesePod is the app for you. It features hundreds of high-quality podcasts, categorized by level and topic, so it’s easy to find something that interests you. For example, you can learn traditional Chinese recipes or listen to businesspeople and entrepreneurs. Most of these materials include a transcript in Chinese (for the most advanced learners) and in English for those who are just starting their language journey. A big advantage over other apps is that you can download all the content and listen to the podcasts without an Internet connection.
Check out the app here!Memrise
Similar to Duolingo, Memrise is an app that offers bite-sized lessons in a great variety of languages, including Mandarin Chinese. You can find the lessons categorized by topic, such as family, food, jobs, and more. Some of the tasks include translation from Mandarin to English and vice versa, transcribing what you hear, joining two words that go together, and other interactive exercises that will help you remember vocabulary items and phrases in a fun way. And the best part is that you can use Memrise even if you only have 5 spare minutes a day.
Check out the app here!Testimonials
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