Beginner Classroom Chinese for Non-native Teachers

Course Duration:

One full-day workshop in person or online plus six sessions online

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Course Dates:

August 6th to November 4th, 2025, including six online workshops and one full-day session at the University of Auckland or online.

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• Session 1 (full-day online) - Wednesday 6 August 2025 9am-2pm

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• Session 1 (full-day face-to-face) – Thursday 7 August 2025 9am-3pm

• Session 2 (online) - Tuesday 19 August 2025 from 3:45-4:45pm
• Session 3 (online) - Tuesday 2 September 2025 from 3:45-4:45pm
• Session 4 (online) - Tuesday 16 September 2025 from 3:45-4:45pm
• Session 5 (online) - Tuesday 7 October 2025 from 3:45-4:45pm
• Session 6 (online) - Tuesday 21 October 2025 from 3:45-4:45pm
• Session 7 (online) - Thursday 4 November 2025 from 3:45-4:45pm

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Registration Dates:

Registrations open on 3 June and close on 10 July 2025.

This course introduces the Chinese language and culture to absolute beginners, with a focus on oral communication and classroom language.

Participants will develop a stronger understanding of the key oral skills needed to speak and teach the language to beginner learners.

By the end of the course, participants will be able to communicate basic personal information, such as greetings and introducing themselves including name and age. They will also learn useful formulaic expressions and conversational vocabulary to connect with their Chinese speaking students and parents. Additionally, they will gain valuable insights into Chinese culture.

The course will be supported by the asynchronous ‘Beginner Chinese for Primary School Teachers Course’ available on our digital learning platform.

The course will be delivered in both Chinese and English. No prior knowledge of Chinese is required.

At no cost for NZ registered teachers.

Tui Tuia | Learning Circle Languages is funded to provide professional learning for provisionally and fully registered Primary, Intermediate and Secondary teachers throughout Aotearoa New Zealand.

Teacher Experience

"The Beginner Chinese for Non-native Teachers course has far exceeded my expectations. The facilitator is kind and encouraging. The LMS materials are well set out and easy to follow. I am so glad and grateful that I started this course. Chinese is a very logical and easy to understand language. The lessons have been well paced with plenty of practice materials and time between lessons. I have been able to share my learning with the tamariki in my class immediately, from practicing simple greetings and calendar time etc. I would strongly recommend this course for all kaiako. I feel very well prepared to graciously welcome new Chinese families into our kura, upholding the mana of the tamaiti, the whānau and the kura."

(Rachel Ammundsen, May 2025)

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"The Beginner Chinese for Non-native Teachers course was a fun, interactive dive into Mandarin, where we learned everyday essentials like greetings and numbers through games, songs, and plenty of conversational engagement and laughter. Annelise was incredibly supportive, creating an encouraging space where mistakes were welcomed as part of the learning journey, because mistakes mean we're learning! She patiently helped us fine-tune our pronunciation and made sure everyone felt confident while tailoring the course to our needs. I recommend that teachers attend this PLD, as it offers easy-to-use resources and a strong focus on cultural appreciation. This course has sparked a genuine love for language learning in me, while celebrating inclusion and diversity in our classrooms."

(Vanessa Jansz, May 2025)

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Our partner: Center for Language Education and Cooperation

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