CHINESE FOR HERITAGE SPEAKERS
Understand Chinese, but can’t quite say what you think?
One-to-one speaking practice that starts from the Chinese you already have and takes it into the conversations adults have: work, relationships, the news. Bring what you got stuck on last time, and say it next time.
WHERE IT STOPS
Everyone’s mix is different
Fine at the dinner table
You follow the family chat and answer the usual questions. Then someone asks about your work, and the words aren’t there.
Your accent sets expectations
Some heritage speakers sound so natural that people speed up and use words they never learned. Others feel their accent gives them away. Either way, the conversation gets harder than it should be.
Practice can feel public
Relatives finish your sentences, strangers switch to English. For some people that makes speaking feel risky. For others it just never seems like the right moment.
Home Chinese isn’t always Mandarin
Maybe your family spoke Cantonese, Hokkien or Shanghainese, or mixed in English. Maybe you read far less than you speak. We start from what you actually have.
You don’t start from zero here, and you don’t sit through what an adult beginner needs. You extend the Chinese you already speak to the places it hasn’t been yet.
YOUR FIRST LESSON
We start from your Chinese, not a textbook
Where your Chinese lives
Who you speak Chinese with, what comes easily, and the one thing you’d most like to be able to say. Skip any question you like.
How you want to be corrected
Straight away, once you finish a thought, or all together at the end. You choose, and you can change it in any lesson.
From familiar ground, one step further
Start with something easy, like family, food or your week. Then move toward what you want to talk about: your job, a relationship, a plan, a view on the news.
What you leave with
What you can already say, where you got stuck, and where to start next. A few things you can use, not a list of everything you got wrong.
TEACHERS
Teachers who work with heritage speakers
Teachers are joining this page
Start with a free speaking check, or look through all our Chinese teachers.
FREE · 15 MINUTES
Not sure where to start? Talk for 15 minutes.
A short conversation with a teacher, nothing to prepare. Afterwards you get a few lines in writing: what you can already say, where you got stuck, and where we’d suggest you start. Then decide whether you want lessons, and with whom.
- In the Good Talk classroom, in your browser
- Use as much English as you need
- Free, once per person
READ · WATCH · LISTEN
Chinese to read and listen to
QUESTIONS
Before you book
I can’t read Chinese characters. Is that a problem?
No. Lessons are about speaking. If reading along would help, ask your teacher to put pinyin or English in the lesson notes.
My family spoke Cantonese, Taiwanese or another Chinese language. Is this for me?
Lessons are in Mandarin. What you picked up at home still helps, and your teacher will take it into account. We don’t teach Cantonese or other Chinese languages yet.
Will the teacher be surprised by how I speak?
The teachers on this page say they work with heritage speakers. Mixed skills are normal: fluent in some places, stuck in others. Tell your teacher how you want to be corrected, and change it whenever you like.
How much does it cost?
Each teacher sets their own prices, shown on their card. Some offer a trial lesson. The speaking check is free, once per person.