Testimonials

Janice Lai is an incredible language teacher. My pre-K daughters and I have been working with Janice for 1 year and we have learned (and continue to learn) a tremendous amount. My daughters regularly break-out in Mandarin song, and talk to each other and to me using a mix of English and Mandarin words. Janice is professional, prepared, and organized. Additionally, she is firm about lesson time - there is room for fun, but lessons are to be taken seriously and she, rightfully, expects her students to participate and work hard. Janice's passion for teaching Mandarin and exposing us to the Chinese culture is evident in the care she puts into lesson plans, her reviews of materials learned, and the energy she brings to each lesson.

We are extremely fortunate to have Janice as our teacher and to know her as a person.

I am so happy to have the opportunity to share my wonderful experience with Janice. Before our lessons, I really struggled with the feeling of being between levels of proficiency. I studied Mandarin in college and spent four months in China studying Mandarin and teaching English. When I returned to the United States, I tried to find ways to keep up my level of proficiency. I felt that the level at which I began taking courses was not challenging enough for me, but that the next level was definitely over my head. Janice provided the one-on-one attention and personally tailored lesson plans that I had been looking for and desperately needed to advance. Janice made the immersion-style lesson fun rather than intimidating and always kept it at a pace which I could follow, but still be challenged. I know that this method really improved my listening comprehension. Furthermore, having the opportunity to conduct detailed discussions about a variety of topics allowed me to increase my vocabulary and become more confident of my speaking ability. Lessons with Janice were always a pleasure and always productive. Beyond being a fantastic teacher, Janice was extremely flexible with scheduling our lessons around my law school commitments. I only wish that I had found Janice sooner and that I could take her with me when I move to Pennsylvania! If you need a Mandarin tutor, look no further than Janice.

I was struggling to keep up my grades in Chinese at GWU and consequently wasn't enjoying the study of the language at all. I love Chinese culture and planned to study abroad in Beijing my junior year. When I found Lai Laoshi I not only understood my lessons and kept up with my class but I learned more of what I would need to know while living in China for a year. She was dedicated to understanding how I learn and she is up to date with several textbooks and curriculums. I am excited and I know that I am prepared. Lots of love to the best Chinese tutor around, she is truly invaluable.

I am privileged to write in support of a terrific teacher, Janice Lai. In the short 8 months I've had her as my Cantonese teacher, I became deeply impressed with her earnestness and devotion to help me learn Cantonese. As a beginner, Janice has taught me a wide range of Cantonese which include, but are not limited to: pronunciations and tones, grammar and structure, and colloquial conversations. She is extremely patient and has worked with me to overcome common problems and deficiencies I had learning a new language. I plan to continue my Cantonese lessons with Janice once I have a break from school.

Before relocating to China, I needed to learn spoken Cantonese quickly. Janice was the perfect teacher for it; her ability to explain even abstract concepts without having to speak English made for the ultimate immersion-style course. She is patient, thorough, and sharp as a tack. Highly recommended!

My girlfriend and I were looking for a tutor to teach us Cantonese while at the same time being flexible with our busy schedules, and Janice fit the bill perfectly. She is one of the best teachers I have ever had the pleasure of learning from. Janice always pushed us to learn as much as we could but never rushed through material. If we struggled with a concept or section, she would find a new way to approach it until we comprehended the material. I am actually now going to take Mandarin classes with her. If you are looking for a tutor - Janice is the best.

When I began studying Chinese in January 2007, I thought I would learn enough of the language to visit China in the fall and navigate it reasonably comfortably. However, the five months I spent in-country was a continuous string of humbling experiences. I learned first-hand why Chinese is considered one of the most demanding languages to learn for Westerners. Chinese is an incredibly rich, subtle, context-laden, culturally-tied language requiring competence in multiple modes: writing, reading, and speaking. When I returned home to complete my application for business school, I knew I had to find and work one-on-one with a Chinese person if I was to succeed in achieving significant comfort with the language. Janice has exceeded my expectations in more ways than I can enumerate! First of all, she is an incredibly skilled and patient teacher. I asked her to be strict in correcting my pronunciation and she complied, but knew how to push me past my insecurities while ensuring I didn't develop any new ones. She integrated historical and popular culture, current events, literature, and poetry into my lessons. Plus, she introduced me to the secret of speaking like a native: idioms. I have several more years of studying before I will be happy with my fluency, but as I continue I will feel incredibly lucky for the four months I worked with Janice. She put me on a solid path to feeling comfortable speaking Chinese. My only regret is that I can't take her with me to business school! I can easily and happily recommend her and say that if you get the privilege to work with her, you won't be disappointed.

I needed a temporary Chinese tutor in March 2008 while in D.C. for an operation. Although I only had 10 hours of lessons with Janice, I came away deeply impressed. As a rank beginner, I was struggling on all fronts. Janice helped me enormously with the tones. She did not gloss over my mistakes but she helped me figure out where I was going wrong. I was particularly impressed with her ability to work with the material I brought with me. Although she had never seen it before, she picked up where my Beijing teachers had left off without missing a beat. She is keenly intuitive, very quick and a gifted teacher. If I were in D.C. and in need of Chinese lessons, she would be my first pick.

Having studied Chinese at an U.S. University, a Chinese University and with other private tutors, I can confidently say that Janice Lai is the best Chinese teacher I have ever had. She is a superb teacher who understands instructional methodology and applies it with great success. She consistently provides a variety of activities to reinforce the language, including reading, grammar, vocabulary, movies and listening exercises. She ensured that the material actually sunk in, instead of just working through a book or set of lessons. On a personal basis, she is the most patient and thoughtful teacher I have ever encountered. Even on the days when I felt as though I couldn't remember any Chinese, she gently reminded me and helped me refocus my efforts. Janice is a great teacher for any level of Chinese student, from beginners to advanced students. As for the results -- I was extremely impressed by the improvement in my Chinese over the course of one summer. I had previously tested with the U.S. State Department and after summer with Janice, I tested a full level higher, an accomplishment which usually takes a year of study! Now as a U.S. Foreign Service Officer posted in Beijing, I have the daily opportunity to use Chinese and feel entirely comfortable doing so, thanks to Janice!

I have studied eight foreign languages at several prestigious universities as well as with several private tutors, but my most enjoyable language learning experience has been with Janice. She was the most professional private tutor I have ever worked with - she came to every class prepared with worksheets, exercises, and activities so that there was never a single minute of downtime. She made every class interesting and fun by encouraging me to discuss my life and my interests in Chinese, and also by being interesting and fun herself. Most of all, though, I am pleased with the progress I made: at least one year's worth of college-level Chinese in just 10 weeks of private study. I am so glad that I chose to study with Janice rather than taking a course at a university!

The best birthday party our daughter had was a Chinese Cultural Party that was organized by Janice! This was such a success. The children loved cooking, eating what they had cooked and learning about China. Janice planned the menu, the supplies and the activities. In addition to the cooking, the children learned brushstroke calligraphy with supplies from China, and about China's national treasures such as the Chinese Opera and the panda. The children still talk about how this was the best birthday they had ever attended and frequently work on their calligraphy during playdates together! Thank you so much, Janice! We appreciate your organization, knowledge and willingness to share your heritage with our children.

I want you to know that you have been an excellent teacher and you have far exceeded the expectations that I had. You have set a very high standard. I really appreciate how much you've challenged me and helped me learn at an accelerated pace. I would highly recommend you as an instructor for anyone who wants to learn Chinese. I've very much enjoyed learning from you and I am quite sad that you will no longer be my teacher. It will now be very difficult for me to be happy with my next instructor. The next time I am on a project in DC, I will definitely schedule more lessons with you.

Top-notch instruction for someone with no experience with the Chinese language. Janice Lai introduced me to the language with surprising ease. Her teaching modules and work assignments catered directly to my personal goals of reading, writing, listening and comprehending Mandarin Chinese from the beginning. Janice's instruction has produced tangible results in my abilities away from the classroom. Through continued instruction, I have confidence in my current and future proficiency with the language, and look forward to opportunities to exchange with other Chinese speakers.

Janice has been tutoring my two sons (ages 6 and 10) for the last 18 months. I have been impressed with her ability to make the learning process fun by working with them at their level and incorporating their interests into the lessons each week. She has high expectations for them, but is always kind and patient. They have worked on basic vocabulary and conversation, as well as writing characters. She has suggested cirriculum materials and online learning sites that have been helpful. She is very knowledgable and competent as a teacher, and is always prepared for the lessons.

Janice is a wonderful teacher. I took approximately 30 private lessons with her before I moved and could no longer continue. Two great qualities stand out: First, she makes and provides excellent supplementary materials. We worked from a standard textbook, but Janice also provided her own written materials that made our lessons much better than they would have been with the textbook alone. Second, she is extremely accommodating. When I was able to dedicate a lot of time to studying, she gave me challenging assignments and went over them in great detail during our lessons. When I was busier, she slowed down the pace and challenged me up to the point that I could still learn the material well. (And, yes, she could tell by my performance during our lessons how much work I had done since our previous lesson!) If I were still living in the DC area, I would still be studying with Janice.

Learning a foreign language is hard, and Chinese doubly so for Westerners. Janice is endlessly patient and can really help you learn the language. Not only does she know how to teach, she is amiable, has a good sense of humor and can make the process fun.

I am a Foreign Service Officer and I have been assigned to Shanghai, China. Because the US Government required me to achive a certain proficiency in Mandarin before being deployed to China I looked for a tutor to help me practice and perfect my Mandarin skills before testing at the Foreign Service Institute. During my 8 month training at the Foreign Service Intitute I encountered numerous language instructors and Janice ranks among the top. She is very patient, dedicated and knowledgeable. In addition, that she is a native Chinese speaker, her English is excellent which also facilitates the process of learning an extremely difficult language when she must explain grammar. She also knows many American and Chinese colloquialisms which she also applies to her classes. So with great pleasure I recommend and thank Janice for her great work.

I have taken Cantonese lessons from Janice Lai over the past two years. She has very effective and organized teaching style and couples that with excellent study materials and lesson plans. After starting without any knowledge of the language, I now am able to speak and understand Cantonese at a far greater level than I could have ever imagined. I highly recommend her to any prospective student.

Janice is a quality teacher who takes her students very seriously. Her extensive knowledge of Cantonese and her patient teaching style is very good for both beginners and advanced students. But most of all, her cheery disposition and relaxed attitude -- so crucial for a language teacher -- is something that Janice excels in. I have never had a bad lesson with her.

Working with Janice has been the antidote to years of failed attempts to study Chinese in classroom settings that inevitably left me disengaged and discouraged. Her willingness to structure our sessions based on my goals and proficiency level have kept me making gradual, but rewarding, improvements. With a busy schedule, I know I would fall behind a strict syllabus. Instead, over the past year, Janice has managed to keep our meetings challenging and encouraging regardless of my week-to-week progress.

I have been taking lessons a little over a year, and I have made so much progress. Janice is very patient, works with the pace of her students, and reviews any section of the teaching material that is the most difficult to retain. I am now able to understand more of what my future in-laws are saying at the dinner table, and even contribute to their conversations!

Janice is a wonderful tutor. When we began our Mandarin lessons she tailored a curriculum to accommodate my goals, knowledge base (none!), and learning style. Within two months I felt like I had the basic knowledge to begin a year in China as an English teacher. Janice even prepared "survival Chinese" worksheets as my departure date drew near to make sure we covered important skills that were not in the textbook, such as bargaining at a market and finding lost luggage. Janice is a patient, encouraging teacher and a warm, intelligent person. I highly recommend her.