Certified Mandarin Instructor & Bi-Cultural Communications Coach

Todd C.

Deep knowledge of the language and the culture!

Todd has been my Mandarin teacher for about three years. I began at zero having no knowledge of pinyin, tones, pronunciation, grammar, or characters. I am now working through a Chinese science-fiction young adult novel, I feel my pronunciation and tones are often much better than others I've practiced speaking/listening with, and my command of the grammar, characters, and vocabulary continues to grow at an accelerated rate. I'm extremely happy with my progress and have more desire to learn than when I started. There are a few points I really value from Todd's teaching style and expertise. One, I signed up to learn Mandarin but I'm also learning Chinese culture. It's really helped to keep me engaged and I feel like I'm garnering a better understanding of how the language is used and how to communicate more effectively. Two, Todd understands the challenges I face in learning Mandarin with English as my first language. He's able to explain and bridge gaps in my understanding because of his intimate awareness of the learning process. And three, I'm learning to speak Mandarin without translating. My material has no English and is the same as a Chinese student would use. I feel like I'm getting a lot of cultural insight and learning more colloquial language. My roommate is Chinese and I have a number of other Chinese friends and many of them have had the opportunity to meet and spend time with Todd. Two things always jump out from these interactions. One, they are impressed with the quality of his Mandarin. And two, his extensive knowledge of Chinese culture is exceptional and typically far beyond what they are aware of -- they get very engaged when Todd is able to share with them more about their own culture. I can't recommend Todd enough. I attribute my continued desire to learn Mandarin and Chinese culture to having him as a teacher.

Austin, 224 lessons with Todd

Excellent tutor

Todd worked with my teenage son and was very helpful. Todd clearly has a deep love and appreciation of Chinese language and culture and shares this with his students. He is always very patient and accommodating. As a native English speaker he appreciates the unique challenges of learning Chinese as a second language.

Leslie, 25 lessons with Todd

EXCELLENT TUTOR

Todd takes the time to really listen to what the student needs and makes a custom lesson plan for your child. If you have an English speaking American child learning Mandarin … Todd is the perfect choice since he also had to learn the language from the ground up, just like your child is doing. I am so happy we found him!

Carissa, 1 lesson with Todd

An Ideal Teacher

Todd was the exact teacher I needed to push my Mandarin level up significantly. He speaks clearly and slowly, which is huge for a beginner and which helped me get a solid grasp of the basics. He's also very much able to understand my fumbling about with trying to cobble sentences together and is able to render them in a way that a native Mandarin speaker would. He's incredibly impressive with how much Mandarin he knows, even though he isn't a native speaker. He knew how to push me in a constructive way with my pronunciation, vocabulary, and sentence structure that I couldn't have learned myself. Highly recommend!!!

Dan, 21 lessons with Todd

Exceptional and effective Mandarin teacher with a deep understanding of the language

I have been taking lessons with Todd for nearly half a year now, and I couldn't be happier with the progress I've made in learning Mandarin. I went from zero knowledge of the language, to now being able to read elementary level stories and hold basic conversation. As a native English speaker, I found it helpful that he had already gone through a similar learning journey, and was aware of the common challenges and insights that came from that perspective. As an adult learner, it was important to get a teacher to match my learning style, which he excels at. He starts initial lessons with a focus on proper Mandarin pronunciation, using texts he himself authored. His feedback is clear and constructive, helping me to progress quickly. I built up a good foundation of vocal muscle memory, which is very important to have and improve upon with later lessons. We’re now reading through elementary level stories, which helps me grasp important language characters and constructs. He also asks questions about the text (and holds general conversation) which helps improve my listening comprehension and speaking skills. Crucially, lessons are very enjoyable with Todd. He is personable, funny, kind, and engaging - if I happened to have his classes back when I was in college, his class would have been among my favorites. I’m excited with my progress so far, and hope to keep this skill lifelong to improve on and use. If you’re looking for a best-in-class Mandarin teacher with a deep understanding of the Chinese language and effective style, look no further.

Alexander, 103 lessons with Todd

Knowledgeable and patient tutor

Really works with you on pronunciation to give you a true understanding of the language. Very patient with you and makes sure you truly understand how to make the correct tones

Stuart, 118 lessons with Todd

Excellent teacher!

Todd is very patient and kind in his teaching. He also includes cultural references to clarify the language and it's proper usage. I would highly recommend him.

Debra, 13 lessons with Todd

Excellent tutor, highly recommend!

Todd is a wonderful and patient teacher who has an exceptional command of Mandarin. He pays attention to both pronunciation and meaning. I grew up speaking elementary Mandarin with a Taiwanese dialect. He is the first Mandarin tutor/teacher I have had who helped me standardize and correct my pronunciation, which is important in helping me sound more professional at work. He also used various modalities while teaching, such as videos and reading materials that we went over together each session. I found our sessions very effective even with minimal/no homework in between. It was a pleasure to learn from him!

Sheela, 4 lessons with Todd

Knowledgeable and Excellent Teacher

I found Todd for my daughter, a sophomore in college. Her classes are getting difficult and she needed support. She is in 3rd level Mandarin and is very happy with Todd. We feel so fortunate to have him. Thank you so much.

Sophia, 30 lessons with Todd

Highly qualified tutor.

Todd is an excellent tutor. He is not a native Chinese speaker, but unlike most native speakers, he has very high standards when it comes to teaching pronunciation -- in my experience, most native teachers will accept your pronunciation as valid far too early, even going so far as to say that your pronunciation is “標準” ("standard")...even if people can barely understand you. He will not only point out issues in your pronunciation, but give you very concrete measures that you can take to address these issues. After just a month or so with him, I have already started to see improvements in my own pronunciation. Not only this, but Todd also previously lived in China for many years and is intimately familiar with Chinese culture, so he can teach you about this as well. Comes highly recommended overall.

Brent, 40 lessons with Todd