There are a lot of web services promising to help you learn Chinese these days (recently we took a look at another cool one called FluentFlix). But sometimes all the web gadgetry in the world is no replacement for a good teacher, and thanks to the magic of Skype, there’s no longer any need to find a teacher who is actually in your area.
QLearnChinese is a startup (sort of) that hopes to take advantage of this by offering affordable 1 on 1 classes with Chinese teachers via Skype. Unlike some similar offerings, it’s not just straight tutoring, though; QLearnChinese has a number of classes with set curriculums to choose from (everything from “Survival Chinese” to “Chinese for Job Interviews”), although if needed, custom classes are also available. To learn more about QLearnChinese, I sat down with founder Anton Doos to talk about how he got started and what his service is all about.
How did you get the idea and the inspiration for QLearnChinese?
I desire a completely portable income and am always looking for opportunities to do this. Years ago I thought Skype teaching was portable, would be fun, and cross-referenced many of my skills (as a tech-savvy teacher). Recently I moved to Chengdu to meet a friend coming from Singapore to work on Ivy Admissions (tryivy.com) together. At the same time I was teaching a few hours a week. I told my boss at the school I would like to make websites, we talked, and partnered up to make QLearnChinese a few weeks later.
What does your team look like right now?
The parent company has many parts. There are 4 English schools, a city map, au pair programs, a charity program, and the list goes on. But there are about ten people working on qlearnchinese.com.
Why is studying with your teachers any better than just finding a language partner on Skype?
A language partner on Skype is a friend or acquaintance. The student-teacher relationship has many differences. While friends have equal rights, a teacher in many ways is solely there to cater to the student’s needs. Our teachers are all qualified with diplomas, which means 4 years rigorously studying scientific ways to teach Chinese effectively. Recruiting is standard through websites and job advertisements while testing is administered by both experienced Chinese and Western teachers.
What comes with the courses? Are there also class materials or is it purely a skype tutoring session?
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