SKYPE Private Lessons

SKYPE and the internet have opened up opportunties for anyone with a desire to learn Chinese.  Geography is no longer a limitation as ChinaKids trains the best teachers from all over China and the U.S. to provide world-class instruction to anyone with an internet connection and camera.  Whether a young child with no previous language exposure to advanced students preparing for the College Board Advanced Placement Test, ChinaKids SKYPE private lessons will advance your child in Chinese language studies. 

Click on the image below and

take a look for yourself.

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SET UP

  1. Sign up for a SKYPE account at www.skype.com.
  2. Test out your camera and audio with other friends or family members on SKYPE.
  3. Purchase textbooks at: http://www.betterchinese.com/Products.html.  Your teacher will tell you what series and volume to sign up.  Your child will be learning simplified Chinese characters so please purchase simplified Chinese when ordering materials.
  4. Purchase a small white board with a red and black pen and eraser
  5. Purchase several red fat tip markers, Crayola or a similar brand is fine
  6. Set up an assessment appointment.  This time will be used to test out the connection as well as an opportunity for the teacher to meet the child, learn about his/her interest and get your child comfortable with the computer teaching environment.  The teacher will also at this time orientate the parent on how homework and assessments will be communicated.
Contact Zhaoyi at Zhaoyi@chinakidsusa.com or call 773 525-6000 to schedule an assessment.

 

Tips on making the most of your lesson time:

Be ready to go 5 minutes before the lesson starts with books, headphone, white board, eraser, markers and blank white paper.  Be sure to have all handouts sent via email, printed out prior to the start of the lesson.

Have your snack prior to the lesson.

Close all other applications and windows on your computer.  Only have SKYPE to optimize the flow of sound and picture quality.

Make sure you are in a quiet area.  Depending on the location of your computer, you may want to purchase a headset with microphone.  The one we recommend is:

Logitech ClearChat Comfort USB Headset (Black) 

You can purchase it on Amazon.com

Before the lessons starts be sure to check all your presets so that the screen does not “go to sleep”.

Decline calls if they come in.

 

Trouble Shooting:

  • If the screen freezes or audio cracks, hang up and call back.
  • Given the time of day and how many people on the network depending on what type of internet connection you have, the transmission of data can be slower than normal.  Make sure all other windows are closed and that the only program running on your computer is SKYPE.
  • If connection continues to be a problem, erase and re-install your SKYPE application/program.

Tuition:  $660 for 12 45-minute sessions, plus one-time new family fee of $30. 

*Sibling and early registrations discounts do no apply for SKYPE classes.