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Below is a list of questions commonly asked by students/parents about this platform. Should you not find an answer to your question below, or simply wish to provide our team at St. Cloud State University with feedback, please email Education Director, Andrew Stanoch, Andrew.stanoch@st.cloudstate.edu

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Who can make use of this free platform?

 

The platform is designed to serve K-12 students of Mandarin throughout Minnesota. The tutors are trained to serve students of ages from kindergarten through high school, to support students of all Mandarin proficiencies, and to accommodate the needs of students who are learning in either traditional foreign language or immersion programs.

 

 

Who are the tutors exactly?

 

The tutors in this system are full-time college students at Capital Normal University in Beijing, China. Their college major is foreign language instruction, which means that their education is preparing them to be language educators. Many are interested in teaching Mandarin abroad as a foreign language, hence their interest in volunteering to teach diverse Minnesota-based students.

 

 

How do I sign up for a session?

 

Simply go to the “Tutoring” tab and follow the clearly demarcated steps to select a time for a session, a tutor that is available at said time, as well as a type of tutoring lesson you would like to sign up for.

 

 

What does it mean to sign up for a “type” of tutoring session?

 

We offer three distinct sorts of tutoring lessons, each of which allows students to practice different Mandarin language skills. The “reading comprehension” lessons allow students to practice their reading skills, the “conversational” lessons allow students to practice their conversational (listening, speaking) skills and the “grammar/homework” lessons allow students to review formal aspects of Chinese language they’re learning in class (grammar, vocabulary).

 

 

What must be shared/prepared ahead of lessons?

 

When you sign up for a type of lesson you are provided with the email address of your tutor. You then use this email address to send the appropriate sort of materials to the tutor ahead of the lesson (see below for an overview of what materials are to be shared for the three lesson types).

 

Reading comprehension lessons require that students email their tutor some form of written material (of their own choosing) ahead of time and review that material prior to the lesson. The materials can be reading from their in-class textbook, or alternatively a newspaper article or a few pages from a Chinese novel. These materials will vary based on the age and ability level of the student. Students/parents should simply take photos with a phone and email them to the tutor.

 

The “conversational” lessons require that students share a prompt that they’d like to share stories on with the tutor, as well as key vocabulary that they plan on sharing as part of their lessons. They should email both prompt and the related key vocabulary to the tutor ahead of the lesson, and should in turn receive the key vocabulary for the tutor’s story back from them via email.

 

The “homework/grammar” lessons require that you share a recent homework or worksheet from your class with the tutor. Again, this should be done by taking a photo/photos and sending them to the tutor via email (as an attachment). Importantly, the student should circle the vocabulary/grammar in that material that they find particularly difficult or challenging.

 

 

What do I do if I need to cancel a pre-scheduled lesson?

 

You can directly email your tutor to cancel/reschedule lessons. All such rescheduling/cancellations must occur at least 48 hours prior to the scheduled lesson. Tutors will likewise email you if they need to reschedule a lesson.