I have been taking the online class format with Ju for several months. I am a heritage Mandarin speaker, with strong conversational skills. I decided to take lessons with Ju to improve reading and writing skills, as well as more deeply advance my knowledge of Mandarin. I opted for her online learning format, because it is better suited for my busy schedule and just as effective as compared to in-person. Ju is knowledgeable and patient, always willing to explain concepts. I like her customized curriculum and homework that she tailors to each student. For advanced and heritage speakers, she can create personalized lesson plans to target specific areas of improvement. I highly recommend Ju for advanced Mandarin speakers as well as in general, for your custom goals for Mandarin learning! read more

Working with Ju has been a total delight AND a well-structured and paced introduction to Mandarin learning. She follows a well-regarded textbook, but using both spoken, character-based, and auditory inputs that have helped me solidify learning from week to week. Ju's style is also quite personable and I have enjoyed chatting with her about things like family, where we live, and general cultural references. For those who want to study Mandarin, I think it's important to say that because the language is unlike many Romance or Germanic languages, it requires daily attention in order to flex new muscles of both tone and visual character learning. Ju has been helpful and patient helping me put together a homework structure that really helps me retain information, combining use of Skritter (app) as well as listening and reading. read more

I'm taking the online class format, and it's great! All of the learning materials are provided in a very structured way, making it easy to follow along and review concepts. Plus, the homework is straightforward to do online, which is super convenient. Even though I'm learning remotely, it feels just as effective as an in-person setting. Ju is an incredibly kind, understanding, and patient instructor. Her lessons are well-structured and easy to follow, and she does a fantastic job of explaining concepts clearly. I really appreciate her personalized approach and how she makes sure I truly understand each lesson before moving on. If you're a complete beginner looking to learn Mandarin, or even if you have some prior experience, I wholeheartedly recommend this class! read more

I've been working with Ju for about five months now, and it's been great! I had never studied the language before, but I've improved so much. She offered me a free trial class, and I could immediately tell she's highly experienced and knows exactly how to teach beginners. I thought online classes might be difficult, but they're really not that different from in-person ones. In fact, it's even better--when I have scheduling conflicts, Ju does her best to find another time for me. Once, I was out of the country and she kindly rescheduled a class for the weekend. I'm tone-deaf, so picking up Mandarin tones has been hard for me, but Ju is incredibly patient. She gives helpful tips and cues that actually work. I mess up a lot when speaking certain words, but she always encourages me, so I never feel embarrassed. She even adjusts my homework to fit my busy schedule. It's clear she genuinely cares about my learning. read more

Ju is a fantastic teacher! I admit that I was skeptical about learning a tonal language via zoom but Ju offered an introductory class for free so I gave it a try. After just one lesson I was excited to continue. I had never studied Mandarin before but Ju has helped me to gain a relatively good command of grammar and vocabulary (including tone) in just a few months which is impressive. She is very well organized and clearly has a tremendous amount of Mandarin teaching experience. I would absolutely recommend her instruction! read more

I have seen Ju for private Mandarin lessons several times a week. I was out of the country for 4 months, so I am getting ready to start my class with her again. I studied Mandarin at university, and I lived in China for 3 years in my early 20s. I have had quite a few Mandarin teachers and tutors over the years. Ju is a stand out among my many Mandarin tutors because she is effective, clever, thoughtful, and deliberate. She is skillful at honing in on my distinctive flaws and helping me to improve. It's really quite remarkable. She knows my exact individual mistakes that I am prone to making, like dropping a 'le' at the end of sentences, and she corrects me in a fun and humorous way, so I never feel embarrassed or shy. I am quite an introverted person, I do not like speaking much in public, that is why it's so impressive that Ju can get me to speak Mandarin, correct me, and keep me excited about learning. I'm studying Mandarin privately with Ju because I am preparing for the HSK exam. She has a lot of experience in preparing adult students for this exam, and she has been of great help to me. She listens to me when I tell her what my goals are for learning Mandarin, and she thoughtfully helps prepare me to accomplish my goals. No matter your level of Mandarin, please seek out Ju if you are serious about improving your Chinese. read more

I've worked with Ju for about 4 months now and my mandarin has significantly improved. Each class is rigorous, on point, and effective. I previously took mandarin for about 6 years in high school/middle school, but the pace of learning with Ju has outweighed those 6 years. She has a good path to learning mandarin with the books. Some exercises seem trivial, but in reality, they're very effective. When things start to seem easy with her, it's because I have actually learned what is going on. I'd recommended her for 1:1 tutoring for anybody looking for a personal challenging pace. read more

I've been studying with Juju for a few months now and have had a great experience. As an ABC (American born chinese) who grew up in a Chinese speaking household, I have good intuition on tones and pronunciation, but am very weak on grammar and proper sentence structure. Within our first class, Ju immediately identified my areas of improvement and has worked hard to help me build a strong foundation in grammar fundamentals. As a teacher, Ju is incredibly organized and always comes prepared for each class with a lesson plan and feedback on my homework from last time. She writes out complex concepts on the whiteboard and is very clear in her instruction. Ju also uses audio transcripts and a mobile app (Skritter) to help me with my listening comprehension and reading/writing. As a person, Ju is friendly and professional. She is an easy person to chat with, and over the course of our lessons, we've talked about everything from our jobs, to our favorite Chinese food, to living in NYC. I've had a great time learning Chinese from Ju and highly recommend her for anyone looking for a personable, well-organized, and extremely knowledgeable teacher. read more

I've wanted to learn Mandarin for a long time, and after trying a few online solutions on and off, I finally decided to commit to in-person instruction with a regular schedule, and contacted Ju. The structure Ju brings to the educational process has been exactly what I needed. We meet for 1.5 hours once a week, with a manageable but effective amount of homework in-between to keep the lessons fresh in my mind. Ju's instruction is thorough and really helps build up an understanding of the fundamentals, as well as the nuances, of a new language in a way so that things actually get internalized rather than relying on rote memorization. She actively learns new languages herself, and it's easy to see that she is familiar with what it's like to be the one on the other side of the table learning. The pace has been brisk, manageable, and rewarding. After only a half dozen lessons, I already had made more progress than all the previous false starts I had put together, and I really felt it all coming together as a whole (which is not easy to get from a less structured curriculum/instruction). It can be difficult to maintain a realistic and rewarding learning pace while keeping a full schedule with work, etc. but Ju made every effort and worked with me to accommodate my schedule. If you're serious about learning Mandarin, Ju is the teacher to go to. read more

Ju is a star! Like your favorite hairdresser, you will not want to go anywhere else. I have started learning Mandarin for the second time, and this time...wow, such a great progression! Ju has a very good method combined with a lot of experience. She knows how to make odd concepts clear to non-Mandarin speakers. Her classes are a careful balance of speaking, listening, and writing. Mandarin looks so attainable and enjoyable with Ju! Classes are small, so she has the time to dedicate a lot of attention to every student, and to correct their pronunciation. Her lessons are complete and carefully studied to separate speaking and writing, so that you can progress in both Chinese characters and conversational fluency, without ever feeling overwhelmed or lost. I have progressed a lot, and in a global way: no shortcuts, nothing has been neglected for the sake of speed. An excellent way to learn Mandarin, I recommend her to anyone who wants to start or to fine-tune learning Chinese. Xièxiè (Thank you) Ju! read more

For anyone that is looking into Mandarin lessons for a small office, I cannot recommend Ju's Mandarin class enough. We came into her class with very specific requirements for instructing a small team of people that travel frequently and previously had no experience with the language. I'm happy to say she has exceeded out expectations, has kept us engaged, and has always made herself available to help people catch up when they've had to miss a lesson. Her approach is versatile and great for a small office environment, going beyond the text that she provides and focusing on realistic goals. I've done a lot of research into classes for my colleagues and I to take, but none seemed to invest as much time and understanding in their students in the same manner that Ju does. She is easily the best fit for our office in Singapore and I'm confident you won't be disappointed if you choose her as your instructor. read more

Finding a good Mandarin teacher is very important to me as I will be leaving to Asia in a few months. In the past, I have had some lessons in city and UC colleges, so I do know what type of teachers help me learn well. Since some of the reviewers have already written of their experience, here is a shortened list of reasons why I rate 5 stars for Ju's Mandarin class: 1. Her private lessons are personable, catered to the student's level 2. She teaches both simplified and traditional 3. She works with me using a highly recommended textbook and workbook (I have used these books in college courses before) 4. the lessons are structured and organized - uses both classroom and conversational settings 5. competitive pricing 6. lessons are at home (but may depend on your location) 7. teaches outside of the book, and sometimes pushes me to go outside my "beginner" level, so that I can learn new vocab and more fluid sentence structures. :) read more

I had a 6 week window where I wanted to develop my writing and speaking skills in an intensive fashion. To provide some context, I grew up speaking some mandarin but my grammar, vocabulary and literacy was quite weak. Ju was the perfect teacher who could provide customized tutoring to my goals and my current level. She had me go through a textbook,the New Practical Chinese Reader, which was pretty thorough in terms of offering basic grammar structures and vocabulary. During our lessons, we practiced the content I learned through dialogues she developed. This was quite helpful in hammering in the grammar structures, rules and to help me with my pronunciation. On top of that, she had me write/type short essays about myself and things that I cared about so that I could learn the correct phrases and vocabulary to say in conversations. I would say her greatest strength is her flexibility. She recognizes what aspects you want to focus on and spends more time on these. For example, I know that I will most likely never need to hand write Chinese, so learning the strokes and even memorizing characters was not as important as being able to recognize the text and solidifying my pinyin so I could type it. Also, since I had a bit more of time, she gave me a lot of work and practice to do during the week and was responsive to my questions over email. Overall, the most important thing is she gave me a foundation of the basics and gave me an approach so I could self-study on my own time while I start working. I'd highly recommend her for someone looking for personalized tutoring. read more

After living in China and having failed to learn the language, I decided to seek out a Chinese language teacher. After a lot of searching I found Julianne. Julianne is a great teacher, she is easily approachable and, as we go, she explains the Chinese language really clearly. My weak point is really spoken Chinese. Thankfully Ms. Zhu is incredibly patient and is quick to suggest strategies for when I'm totally screwing things up. Learning Chinese, as with anything, requires a great deal of commitment. One of the biggest problems for me is finding time to refresh my memory of the Chinese that I am studying. Julianne does assign a healthy dose of homework, so be prepared for that. A good teacher in one to one circumstances. I like her concern towards my learning and I like that she has an ongoing interest in languages other than Chinese. read more

Really enjoyed Ju's class. It was just the perfect balance for me. I was with the program for about 1 year. Unfortunately there were schedule conflicts that didn't work for me. read more

As an ABC (American-born Chinese), one of my biggest regrets in life was not learning how to speak Mandarin when I was younger. My parents spoke to me in Chinese, so I can understand conversationally, but I never really developed the tongue or grammar to speak back. Because Mandarin is such a complex language, I think it's crucial for Mandarin instructors to have a hands-on approach to teaching. Ju's class is perfect because of the small class sizes (there's only 4 of us in my session) so it feels almost like private tutoring. The structure of her program keep the classes interesting, as we do a mix of listening, speaking, and writing (in pinyin for now, but moving onto characters in future sessions!) I'm so busy with work during the week that I wasn't sure how I'd be able to handle a language class, but I was actually surprised about how much I could learn in just one hour-and-15 minute session per a week! I remember languages classes in high school moved at an overwhelming pace, but Ju's class is really tailored to busy people who want to actually learn/absorb the language. We have homework each week, but it's very manageable and definitely helpful. Looking forward to continuing with Ju! read more

I took the introductory class with Ju and found it to be very enjoyable yet practical. I think I learned more conversational Chinese in 10 weekly classes than I did in my full credit college Chinese class. Ju is a great instructor and even arranged an extracurricular activity for us. Highly recommended for both new learners and those with some background. read more

Living in Singapore, I wanted to learn Mandarin for a while, but always found a good enough excuse that kept me away from it. Then i came across Ju, who I've worked with Ju for 5 months now - from not being able to speak or understand a word in Mandarin, i can now understand chinese speakers around me in the workplace, and can also speak basic mandarin - enough to get around in a foreign place. Ju's lessons are fantastic, they're enjoyable and very informative. Her classes are a mix of learning through notes, as well as in-class conversational mandarin. She also provides audio recordings of the lessons and take home notes, so you can practice your new vocabulary during the week. Also, being a working professional, it was very hard to find time for these classes given our work and travel schedules, but with Ju you don't usually miss much as you've always got the audio recordings to catch up and she's always available via email or a phone call. I would recommend Ju for anyone keen to start learning Mandarin. read more

I took Ju's Mandarin class in Singapore. Ju is a great teacher and really cares about her students. She is able to recognise the needs and abilities of different students and customise her teaching style accordingly. I highly recommend her for anyone wanting to learn Mandarin. read more

I decided to take 1-1 classes with Ju Lao Shi after reading some Yelp reviews. I think she is a fantastic Chinese teacher! Probably due to the fact that she has previously worked as a full-time teacher at a private school for several years, I definitely feel that her curriculum structure is very clear and systematic and the teaching is fun as well as effective. My main purpose of taking classes was to brush up my Chinese since I had taken a 6-month break in my classes and felt I was falling behind. She has a strong focus on grammar which has been very helpful to me since I feel my foundation was not very strong. Also, she focuses on the written part of Chinese and that has also been a huge help since it helps provide me with a visual aid and benefits my audio understanding as well. Finally, her lessons are very structured and personalized to my own level of understanding and that is something I always felt was missing in group classes. While group classes have their benefits, I think 1-1 lessons can be hugely helpful to ramp very quickly on a language, especially something as hard as Mandarin. Also, the focus with a 1-1 lesson with a really good teacher can be great for a student at any level. It's hard to find good language instructor to teach adults as many of them are not professionally-trained teachers. Therefore, I definitely feel that I've got a good deal. Ju Lao Shi is on time, dedicated with sending feedback and homework after each lesson and is worth every $ you spend with her--her price is competitive as well. My sense is that if she starts a language school, it will be a very full class! if you need a strong teacher with the ability to teach you Chinese at any level, I would highly recommend Ju Lao Shi! read more

I've been studying with Ju for two months, and I can already see the progress I've made in a relatively short time. Now, I'm able to speak a bit and understand quite of lot of conversation. Her teaching method is personalized, yet sufficiently comprehensive for my needs. As a physician and surgeon, I don't have a lot of unused time. Ju's teaching sessions and assignments allow me to study efficiently. I highly recommend Ju for those who aspire to speak Mandarin socially and/or their professional aspirations. read more

A few of us at our company wanted to learn Mandarin which we felt would be helpful for careers here in Singapore. Ju brings a very approachable teaching style to the classroom and knows how to use a combination of both fun and rigor to the material. Having learned Cantonese for many years in my elementary years, I know how difficult it can be to keep a classroom engaged in the coursework. Ju's love and is passion shine through as she helps people work through taking up a new language. I highly recommend her for group lessons for all levels. read more

Ju is an excellent teacher! She is extremely knowledgeable and knows just how to explain a new concept in a way that will stick. She is also extremely personalized and constantly adapts the class to meet my needs as a student. I would recommend her to anybody studying Mandarin Chinese, whatever their learning goal might be. read more

Ju is very focused and effective teacher. She presents the material and agenda always at the beginning of the lesson and does a follow up of skills learned last time. During the 1.5h lesson we go through character understanding, pinyin, reading, discussion, grammar and she always has an answer to my questions. She is patient and easily notices if I need repetition or follow up, and adapts her teaching to my level. That is exactly what I look for in a private language teacher. Ju also speaks other languages which is important for me in a language teacher. I often have questions that are related to other languages because it helps me understand the similarities and/or differences in languages. I speak fluently 5 languages and can basics in 3 more languages. Most of all, studying with Ju is fun because we can talk about cultures and I get to learn useful sentences (in addition to the book material) that I can use when I travel in China. read more

I tried to study Mandarin on my own for a few months and was able to pick up some basics but Ju's class was a huge improvement! Compared to other lessons her class is very organized and creative! She uses all forms of learning including listening, writing, speaking, and even dives into comprehensive understanding. This helped me a lot because I learn by utilizing the material and not just hearing it! She is an extremely passionate teacher who really cares about her students learning. Her professional teaching experience has enabled her to tailor her classes to her students level and learning ability. The location is also great in the middle of Manhattan! With this class I have been able to communicate correctly and speak Chinese with people all over the world! read more

Ju is an extremely effective teacher one-on-one. She really cares about helping me meet my personal goals for learning and can work with me in my way. Other teachers have a set, rigid way and don't quite know how to "localize" their lessons for the student's unique way of learning. At the same time that she is patient, she also knows exactly what grammar and vocabulary would help me next in my path. And she can use Mandarin to describe the word's meaning rather than simply telling me the translation. I now consider her a dear friend. read more

I am SO grateful to have found Ju! I had been studying Mandarin for about two years and taken all of the available classes at City College, SF State, and had enrolled in one at the Berkeley Extension that was cancelled due to low enrollment. I was out of options but I really wanted to continue my studies. I mentioned this to a friend of a friend, who told me that Ju, a former colleague of hers at the Chinese American School, was relocating to the Bay Area and setting up a private language teaching business. I read her reviews on LinkedIn and decided to get in touch. My two principle hesitations about hiring a private teacher had been 1) they are so expensive, and 2) I was afraid it would just be someone having loose conversations with me and not really a trained teacher with an actual curriculum. (I've studied 4 different languages at the college level and know that I respond best to a structure, disciplined curriculum rather than "conversation based" learning). After one lesson with Ju I knew I had no need to be worried! Her prices are fair (and cheaper than I would pay for a private language school), her lessons are structured, and her curriculum is solid. Before we began, she set up an over-the-phone evaluation to assess my level and discuss my motivations and goals. Every session, she comes prepared with a lesson plan and follows up with homework instructions. She's also adapted the curriculum along the way to fit my needs and progress - we use a variety of media so I'm getting work in reading, writing, listening, and speaking. It's a truly personalized experience! I've been working with Ju for about 4 months now, and I can see the difference in my abilities. I can read pages of the textbook written entirely in characters (I had been scared of characters before and had purposely taken "pinyin only" classes at CCSF), am confident enough to have conversations with friends' parents who only speak Mandarin, and am, most importantly, really enjoying myself. Ju is friendly, sweet and reassuring, and ultra-professional. Learning Mandarin is a lifelong endeavor for me and I'm so happy to have Ju helping me along the way. I would recommend her to anyone. read more

Ju is an all-around fantastic instructor. She really helps to simplify learning Mandarin and runs a very efficient process (which is important to me given my busy work load/schedule). I have really enjoyed her class to date and highly recommend her to anyone interested in learning mandarin at any level. read more

Ju has been an excellent teacher. I have been wanting to learn Mandarin for some time now, but I know from prior experience that I do not learn well in a classroom environment. So I decided to work with someone one-on-one. I chose to work with Ju because she had received excellent reviews, she has prior teaching experience and she focuses on teaching written as well as spoken Mandarin. I am very pleased with our progress so far. Ju is very professional. Her lessons are well organized, and she adjusts them to meet my needs. We spend extra time on areas where I need the most work (for example, practicing tones), but we still move at a brisk pace and I feel challenged. I have only been studying with her for 6 weeks, and I feel like I have made significantly more progress than I have in my prior attempts. I highly recommend her to anyone considering studying Mandarin. read more

My wife and I are busy professionals who were looking to learn conversational Mandarin. I saw the positive reviews for Ju on Yelp, but to be honest, didn't have a strong opinion on her when we selected her. We are so excited that we went forward with her, because we didn't know how good she was when we made the decision. Ju is patient, organized, warm and personable. She brings a solid curriculum/lesson plan, as well as the openness to spend more time in areas that we really needed to hone in on. I couldn't recommend Ju more enthusiastically. read more

As a native English speaker with Chinese immigrant parents, I grew up with a rudimentary knowledge of conversational Cantonese and a mysterious cache of Mandarin phrases that somehow beamed themselves into my consciousness when I was a kid. But I have no written Chinese, no understanding of the grammar, and the vocabulary of a food-obsessed third-grader. Ju very kindly suffered through a phone conversation with my incoherent Mandarin to make sure I signed up for the right class, and she still checks in with me every so often to make sure I'm comfortable with the level. She's an extremely thoughtful, flexible, and patient instructor who seems to be genuinely interested in how languages work. I especially love that she gives us a little bit of the theory behind the characters and sentence structure--not more than we need to know, but just enough to help us understand and remember. And she's a fun and kind person. I highly recommend her classes! read more