We have the pleasure of working with a wonderful community of parents who value and support their kids’ language development. The following is a sample of testimonials for our Immersion, Elementary, and Adult programs.
IMMERSION TESTIMONIALS:
After trying multiple Chinese schools we have finally found a home! The teachers at Chinese with Meggie take a child-centered approach to language learning which I have not seen anywhere else in this city. My daughter is fully engaged and genuinely enjoys her lesson time. The classroom is a rich environment that facilitates learning through play. I appreciate how the teachers thoughtfully place children together, taking into consideration both abilities and personalities. I am over the moon to have found such a wonderful program.
–Bethany M., mother of Violet, 5-year old student
My family is so fortunate to have found Meggie as a Chinese teacher for our preschooler. Our daughter is always excited about going to “play class with Miss Meggie”…Meggie knows exactly how to be an effective teacher for this age …she is always down on the floor with the children as they play and read and sing…she has a super variety of toys that appeal to them, the group size is small and the teaching room is a very comfortable setting…so paying attention to Meggie and therefore learning the Chinese language is easy. Meggie will also spend time individually with each child during the session. We are confident our child will become fluent in Chinese with Meggie as her teacher.
— Gail B., mother of Kailing, 3.5-year old student
It has always been our goal to expose our son, Jack, to a culturally diverse learning environment. While we are happy with the Spanish curriculum at his pre-school, we were ecstatic when we found Chinese with Meggie. Chinese with Meggie’s program fosters a learning environment that immerses the students in the Mandarin language through songs, play, and even snack time. The classes are very small and the kids quickly become excited about going to school and learning. The instructors take an incredible amount of interest in the progress and care of the students. Miss Nikki has actually sent us videos of Jack counting and playing while saying the colors in Mandarin…we were so proud to send the videos on to our family! We couldn’t be any happier.
— Kim Z., mother of Jack, 2.5-year old student
We love Chinese with Meggie! This is an amazing immersion program. Normally, my 4 year old twin girls are extremely shy and very reticent about participating and interacting in group situations. It was amazing to see that during their first day with Meggie, they were already bonding, dancing, singing, and playing with her. All of the teachers are wonderful with children. The girls actually ask to go to Chinese class! During vacations and holidays, they go through “Meggie withdrawal” and ask when we’ll be going to Chinese class again. It’s great that my girls think that they are just playing the entire time and don’t even realize how much mandarin they are learning. I am an American born Chinese and my husband is Caucasian. Although I speak mandarin fluently, it is difficult with the daily stresses of parenthood to consistently speak to my children in mandarin; about 75% of the time I speak to them in English. I enrolled my children in Chinese with Meggie because I wanted them to not only learn mandarin, but also be in an environment where they would see other Asian adults speaking the language comfortably. During each session, the girls cycle between different mandarin speaking teachers so they have the opportunity to interact with Chinese adults other than myself. Experiencing different teachers also allows them the opportunity to listen to different variations in tone and accents within the mandarin language. Ever since we started 6 months ago, the girls have become much more comfortable speaking, listening and responding in mandarin at home. Although their vocabulary is still limited, there has been a very noticeable increase in the number of words and statements that they do say and although they don’t speak fluently yet, they understand much more of what I am saying to them. Chinese with Meggie is top notch. Not only are the teachers wonderful, courteous and extremely attentive, but the environment is always clean and neat and filled with high end educational toys. As a teacher myself, I can tell that an immense amount of time and effort and extreme attention to detail is placed into every aspect of this program. I am so impressed and would recommend this program to everyone!
— Annie K., mother of Jiejie and Meimei, two 4.5-year old students
Chinese with Meggie is a wonderful Chinese school! My 5 years old son has been taking Chinese classes for almost two years now, and it has been an extremely positive experience for him. He started with the full immersion classes and now he is also doing the reading program. He is always excited to go there and he is learning a lot! I’m really impressed. Meggie and all the teachers are very creative and have a very positive attitude. I can tell they really love to teach children and children naturally love them. They know how to approach and motivate the kids making the classes interesting and exciting for them. Their teaching method makes learning a joyous process, and I believe that is the reason why their classes are so effective. The class sizes are small which allows the teacher to pay attention to each child individual needs. The classrooms have lots of toys and books that are appealing for children and the teachers have lots of imagination too! My son has loved learning Chinese with them since the first day and he is highly motivated to learn more and more Chinese! I couldn’t be more pleased.
— Tania B., mother of Igor, 5-year old student
Our son Finn was born in China while we were living there on an expat assignment. After our return we were fortunate to run into a fellow parent at school who was taking her daughter to Chinese lessons!! We have always felt knowing a second (or third….) language was important and after meeting Meggie, we knew her FUN learning style incorporating total language immersion would be great for Finn….the next test was would Finn like her (and Miss Nikki) as well. The answer a resounding YES! Starting him at 2 1/2 years old, he soon went beyond my Chinese language knowledge, but more importantly he has fun which I think is key at his age. As Meggie expands the school, I’m still so impressed how well she knows all the kids and that she has hired such exceptional teachers to help her. They all take time each week to talk about each student’s progress and how best to teach them and who they might work well with in each class while still keeping class sizes small. Thank you Miss Meggie, Miss Nikki, Miss Jialu and Miss Siugi!
— Tracey C., mother of Finn, 3.5-year old student
We are more than pleased with the way our 3.5 year old and I are able to continue our Chinese education here in Austin. Meggie is a natural when it comes to teaching children. She comes prepared with a lesson plan and engages my son through play. I have also learned a great deal in the last 3 months. We will definitely continue with Ms. Meggie.”
— Evonne G., student and mother of 2 and 4-year old students
Both my children attend Chinese with Meggie classes and are having a great time learning Chinese. Learning is fun for kids here because it involves playing and interacting rather then drills and paperwork. My 2 year old doesn’t realize he is learning, but you know he is because he understands when Miss Meggie speaks to him in Chinese. Both of my children are so happy when it is time for class at Chinese with Meggie.
— T.M., mother of 2-year old and 5-year old students
Meggie is wonderful! She does Chinese language immersion classes and is very good. She works with kids and adults and many home-schooled kids. We have a three-year-old boy who is very picky and is a homebody. He doesn’t like leaving the house, but LOVES going to see Miss Meggie!! She is so enthusiastic and fun-loving and gets right on the kids level. They naturally love her. My boy always says how much she “plays with me”. He doesn’t even realize how much he is learning but can count in Chinese now and converse a little. Miss Meggie is great!
— Nicole S., mother of 3-year old student
ELEMENTARY TESTIMONIALS:
I cannot rave enough about Chinese With Meggie. My 7 year old daughter has been in the elementary program for more than a year. She loves to go to class and has learned tremendously. Ms. Meggie’s method of teaching really works well with kids. Through flashcards game, songs, books, and other activities, she makes the class a fun learning environment. My daughter even loves doing her Chinese homework! I can honestly say that Chinese with Meggie offers an excellent language program that I would highly recommend to other parents.
— Fungni, mother of Miaofang, 7.5-year old student
Meggie is a brilliant teacher. When my 7-year-old daughter asked to take Chinese lessons I was skeptical. She (like me) is not particularly adept at learning languages and I know that the minute she senses a struggle she stops learning. But from the first lesson with Miss Meggie, Aurielle has had so much fun. Miss Meggie works patiently with my daughter to develop unique and fun lessons that capture her interest and keep her wanting more. It’s amazing to see, but she can’t wait to attend her weekly lesson with Miss Meggie and is always sorry to see them end.
— Brooke N., mother of 7-year old home-school student
Chinese with Meggie classes are always full of learning, laughter and fun. Both of my children have been attending Chinese with Meggie for two years. The teachers are friendly professionals who are adept at discovering what learning techniques work for each child. Additionally, small class size insures that the teachers are able to accommodate each child’s preferred method of learning. The results are my children are learning Mandarin (my oldest is now reading modified characters, had to brag a little) and are happy to attend classes. It is wonderful and reassuring to know that my children are learning a valuable skill in a manner that is fun and effective.
— Teresa, mother of Aili and Julia, 4.5-year old and 9-year old students
Meggie Chou is a great person and excellent Chinese teacher. I am happy to have found her and appreciate her patient approach to teaching my children.
— Norma A., mother of two middle school students
ADULT TESTIMONIALS:
As a student of Chinese with Meggie for past two years, I would heartily recommend the school to adult professionals interested in learning Mandarin Chinese. I began taking lessons with Meggie with absolutely no knowledge of Chinese and being unable to speak any other language besides English. Meggie’s approach to teaching adults is relaxed yet professional with a focus on teaching adult students basic conversational skills fairly quickly. In my periodic visits to Asia, I find myself being able to converse effectively with more and more individuals, which is a very rewarding benefit of the class. Moreover, I now find myself taking lessons as much because I enjoy learning the language as any business reason. Both of my children take lessons as well and they both enjoy and benefit from them.
— David H., adult professional student
I’m very happy with my progress since I joined Chinese with Maggie. My teacher, Jialu, is very conscientious and dedicated. I especially enjoy the follow up recordings she provides to review each lesson.
— Walter S., adult professional student
Before learning Mandarin with Meggie, I had tried listening to audio and reading books. I had built some vocabulary but had not been able to clearly hear the proper tones used in Chinese that are so critical to learning the language. The personalized program and lessons prepared by Meggie for me helped me to hear what I had been missing. She is patient and focused on the results of me clearly speaking and hearing Chinese words with tones that could actually be understood by native Chinese speakers.
— Frank H., adult professional and one-on-one student
The thoroughness and patience Meggie shows with an ‘older’ student has made my learning experience with her a pleasure and one of depth. I am able to converse in simple phrases with Chinese people in my local area using greetings, ordering food, buying groceries at the local Asian Market, and in asking easy questions. While I am not able to have a lengthy conversation after seven months of lessons, I feel confident and assured that in the not too distant future I will be able to get along well when traveling in Taiwan – my goal with Meggie. She’s a terrific teacher using contemporary methods of hands-on involvement and individual attention to each student’s needs as her lessons evolve.
— John H., Ph.D., retired UT professor of Science Education and one-on-one student
Meggie is a wonderful teacher. She is kind, funny and intelligent. She creates a comfortable learning environment, which contributes to successful learning.
— Kara M., adult professional and company student
Meggie is adept at addressing several skill levels at once in group settings. Our class ranges from a very inexperienced beginner, myself, to my boss who has several years experience with Chinese. We all agree that Meggie is very good at handling our individual abilities, from new challenges for the experienced, to endless patience with me. :-) Not to mention, class with Meggie is just plain fun!
— Katie L., adult professional and company class student
I have really enjoyed studying Chinese with Meggie. She is an enthusiastic and effective teacher. Her lessons focus on building practical skills in speaking and listening, and she does good job of tailoring course material to my skill level. I recently returned from a business trip to China, and I was able to use the vocabulary from our lessons in everyday speech. I always leave class wishing I had a little more time to keep going with the day’s lesson.
— Keith V., adult professional and one-on-one student
Meggie is a fantastic teacher. She explains everything thoroughly and makes sure you understand each concept before moving on to the next. I have been studying Chinese for almost 3 years now, but learned more in the past 6 months since starting with Meggie than the entire 2 1/2 years before. I highly recommend this teacher.
— Kristen M., adult professional and company class student
Meggie is an excellent teacher who really caters to her student’s interests to keep them engaged. She is always prepared for class and willing to put in extra time to ensure you improve at a fast pace. During my time as Meggie’s student my Chinese has improved exponentially. She has helped me with learning characters and inspired me to study abroad in China. I wouldn’t have the confidence to venture off to China without the foundation that Meggie gave me in the classroom. She kept me engaged by introducing pertinent vocabulary and holding ‘debates’ in the beginning of class that caused me to eventually think in Mandarin, and practice my oral skills beyond the everyday vocabulary of weather, the market etc. I highly recommend Meggie as a teacher, and thank her for preparing me for my trip to China.
— Renato R., adult professional and one-on-one student
Meggie is the most terrific language teacher I have seen. Ever. Each class is dynamic and engaging. Like performance art. I have studied Chinese on and off for the past three years with three teachers. The first two were excellent, but Meggie is in a class by herself. My classmates and I are learning and enjoying it.
— Ron L., adult professional and company class student
I found out in February that I would be moving to China that August, and with Meggie’s help, I managed in the five months we worked together to develop basic proficiency in Chinese. She was able to tailor my course of study to my profession and my circumstances, and she really made classes enjoyable and productive. Since arriving here in Shenzhen, I’ve been able to talk to taxi drivers, order meals, communicate needs, and greet coworkers. Meggie responded positively anytime I asked for a lesson on a specific topic, even creating new lessons to meet my needs. I would recommend her to anyone who is serious about learning Chinese.
— Tracy R., adult professional and one-on-one student