Learn Chinese with Cultural Insight
Experience personalized language learning that bridges East and West.
Customize lessons tailored to your needs and goals.
Cultural insights enhance your language journey.
Expert guidance from a seasoned educator.
All ages. All levels welcome. Individual or small groups.
In-person lessons at Guilford, CT. Lessons on Zoom also available.
About Me
Greetings! My name is Jeannette Rivers (Pei-San Ng 黄珮珊), and I have been working with languages all my life. I first left my hometown of Singapore for the University of Oxford, where I earned a BA in English Literature. I went on to receive two Masters degrees, in English and Chinese Literatures respectively, from the National University of Singapore and San Francisco State University,
My academic journey culminated in a PhD in East Asian Languages and Cultures from the University of California Berkeley, specializing in modern Chinese language and cultural history.
In between, I taught and tutored Chinese -- from beginners to undergraduates and senior adults -- and spent years living in Beijing and Taipei as a translator and academic researcher.
Language has been at the heart of all this traveling. I navigate both Mainland Putonghua Chinese and Taiwanese Guoyu Chinese with ease. I can understand Cantonese, Teochew, and Hokkien (Taiwanese Minnan) dialects. I also have a wealth of firsthand experience with exploring new languages and cultures, having studied Japanese in graduate school and lived for years in several foreign countries.
It has been a delight to traverse cultural worlds. I am glad to share my language experience, and to welcome you to this stop on your cultural journey!
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