Background
This project introduces fluent speakers of Mandarin in the Canberra region to others who want to practice and improve their skills in the language. Tutors and learners then make their own arrangements to meet, usually for one or two hours a week on a one-to-one basis.
The project has been running since 2001, and over 600 Mandarin speaking volunteers have assisted over 500 people learning Mandarin during this time. Follow-up evaluations indicate that most participants see the project as an exchange from which both sides benefit. Real friendships have been made, and much intercultural understanding gained.
How much does it cost?
The project is a voluntary one on all sides. There is no payment involved, although participants are encouraged to become members of ALMA.
Who are the tutors and the students?
Some tutors are professionals in the government or private sector, some are international students at university or college, and others are retired. The majority are from mainland China, but some are from Taiwan or other Chinese speaking countries. Tutors join the project to make friends and contacts in the ACT community; many are also interested in improving their English language skills.
The Mandarin learners who tutors meet come from an equally wide range of backgrounds. While many are enrolled in some kind of formal Mandarin class at university or CIT, others are learning on their own, or just wish to keep up their language skills acquired previously in classes or in a Mandarin speaking country.
Acknowledgments
ALMA thanks the Canberra Southern Cross Club for its support of this project in 2001-2002, and the Australian National University for its ongoing support. The ACT Office of Multicultural and Community Affairs also gave ALMA a grant to buy textbooks and teaching materials in 2003.
Information for tutors
Previous experience of teaching Mandarin is not essential to volunteer for this project. The majority of ALMA's volunteer tutors do not have any teaching experience. The learners you meet will be aware of this and should guide you in the kind of help with Mandarin language that they want. If your student is enrolled in a Mandarin course, they will probably ask you to help with assignments or to give them speaking and listening practice.
Opportunities to improve your English skills
The majority of students have beginning level Mandarin skills, so discussion in your meetings about Chinese language and culture will probably be mainly in English. This should give you plenty of practice in speaking and listening. If you want a more formal language exchange arrangement or specific help with some aspect of English, discuss this with your student at your first meeting. Most students are happy to help you to practise English, particularly speaking.
Teaching resources
The ACT public libraries, particularly Dickson and Tuggeranong, have a wide range of Chinese language resources that you and your students can view and borrow.
How the project works
ALMA will provide the contact details of someone in the Canberra region who seems to meet the requirements you have outlined in your registration form (e.g. time and place for meetings, preferred age range and level of Mandarin). It is then your responsibility to contact them to arrange a first meeting.
At the first meeting we suggest both sides discuss what they hope to gain from the tutoring experience so you can decide if you want to continue to meet. ALMA recommends that, for reasons of personal safety, you arrange to meet the learner in a public place, especially initially.
To register as a Volunteer Tutor download, complete and return this registration form
Information for learners
Our experience with the Mandarin Community Tutoring Project in the ACT indicates that it is advantageous for both sides if the language partners agree on some ground rules for their meetings early on. For example, how much time is to be spent on each language if the meetings are seen as a language exchange. ALMA also recommends that tutor and learner meet in a public place, such as a coffee shop or library, especially initially.
Since your volunteer tutor is unlikely to be a trained language teacher, it is very important to take control of your own learning, particularly if you are a beginner learner of Chinese who is not enrolled in a formal Mandarin language course. Some strategies students have found useful are to:
Set some language goals for yourself, for example decide each week on what you want to practise or learn to say in Mandarin
Spend some time each week reviewing what you have covered in your meetings
Make use of local public libraries and online programs and resources to experiment with different Chinese language courses and materials
To register as a Volunteer Learner download, complete and return this registration form
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