Do the 5 tones in Mandarin trip you up? Do you face difficulties pronouncing certain vowels and consonants in Mandarin? Is Mandarin grammar confusing to you? Are you often lost trying to recognize Chinese characters? Mandarin can be hard and complicated. However, just like many other things, it can only be hard without proper guidance. Seb is here to help you conquer difficulties you face while learning Mandarin. -Diction- Seb is a diction coach residing in New York. He works for an education and creative services agency in Manhattan. Seb has a master's degree in Vocal Performance from the prestigious Manhattan School of Music. Years of classical voice training has granted Seb solid diction skills in English, French, Italian, German, and Mandarin. He is familiar with intonation of several different languages and will be able to help non native speakers to get rid of accent through the use of IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet), anatomy and his unique pedagogy! -Grammar- Lots of people are actually not bad at Mandarin but just get troubled by speaking. Even with correct pronunciation they still can't form a complete or correct sentence while speaking. Don't you worry. Let Seb help you build up your oral skills and get used to English grammar! -Confidence- Once you have solid oral skills you will be understood by native speakers easily. It helps to communicate freely with others and that's where confidence lies. Other aspects of your Mandarin ability will be improved as well. No matter it's preparation for a speech, briefing, studying abroad, travel or just learning to sing in Mandarin, just make a appointment and have a lesson with Seb! Seb's class is taught in English and/or Mandarin, based on the student's level. His class is a balanced combination of pronunciation, intonation, grammar and characters. Pronunciation: Seb will teach you Zhuyin (Bopomo), a brilliant Chinese phonetic alphabet system. It has a deep relation to the language Chinese itself. Learning Zhuyin will help you understand Pinyin much better. In addition, it is a lot more efficient to notate Mandarin pronunciations through Zhuyin. Seb will also use IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet), anatomy and his unique pedagogy to help students gain a thorough understanding of Mandarin vowels and consonants. Intonation: The 5 tones in Mandarin are what give lots of learners of the language troubles. With Seb's proficiency of diction in English, French, Italian, and German, he can help you find a way to secure the 5 tones. Even if you're not a native speaker of any of the four languages mentioned above, years of diction training has granted Seb the ability to spot the key characters of a language's intonation. He will be able to help you learn the intonation of Mandarin whatever your native language is! Grammar: Grammar is a combination of logic and practice of a language. One has to learn the logic behind a language's grammar but also what's being used in practice in order to use the language freely. A native Mandarin speaker with sensitivity to the language and solid training in Chinese literature, Seb will teach you how to properly navigate your way through Chinese grammar. Chinese characters: Lots of people start learning Mandarin with simplified Chinese characters. It is simple and convenient. However, it's also important to know that simplified Chinese derived from traditional Chinese. People who know traditional Chinese generally have no difficulties switching to simplified Chinese, but not the other way around. It is the traditional Chinese that carries the six categories of Chinese characters classification. Learning traditional Chinese can help you recognize, memorize, and even guess the pronunciation or meaning of a character. With the knowledge of traditional Chinese, one will be able to read ancient books directly. It is indeed a profound way to be exposed to the ancient culture. Through the process, Seb will also teach you how to write down Chinese characters in the correct stroke order. There's also been a trend to learn and use traditional Chinese in recent years. If you're going to spend time learning the language, why not get the wholesome experience? Group lesson is available! It's good to have private lesson, but group lesson has its own advantages, too. Beside saving money, group lesson can give you a different perspective to see your own challenge while observing your classmates being coached. You will have the opportunity to interact with and learn from other classmates. 24-hour notice needed for cancellation or rescheduling. Thank you!