Our institute offers free Chinese language taster workshops to UoE staff throughout the academic year. This two-hour workshop is a brief introductory session for learners with no prior knowledge of the Chinese language. The workshop is designed for colleagues at the University of Edinburgh. It guides learners through basic expressions commonly used in typical conversational situations. Pronunciation and communicative practise will be the focus of this session, including how to pronounce Chinese names and when to use first and last names. By the end of the workshop, colleagues will have started to tune in to the sounds and tones of the Chinese language and learn some basic phrases used for social interaction.

Scheduled workshops will resume in September, term 1: 2026/27.

Summer Chinese Language Programmes: July and August 2026 with Special Discount for UoE Staff Only!

This summer, we are offering a special discount to colleagues who have attended our staff taster workshops and would like to further their Mandarin learning: join our Beginners 1 course. Colleagues can choose the student rate for any of our summer courses and enter their staff number for reference in the registration form. Our diverse evening and daytime classes offer many opportunities to start learning Chinese in person or online! These 5-week programmes offer a good alternative for those who missed out on our regular 10-week programmes during the academic year.  For full details and to register online, please visit our website HERE.

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We have delivered the workshop across the University at different schools, such as Biomedical Science, Informatics, Business School, Geosciences, and more… What colleagues have been saying about our workshop?

“I had used a greeting I had learned in the workshop in class and that all the Chinese students clapped!”

“I am a programme administrator, so I regularly work with Chinese students and staff. This workshop was particularly helpful for when I need to present student cases and very quickly have to figure out how to pronounce their names correctly.”

“The interactive encouragement was wonderful! Cindy in particular was really enthusiastic and encouraging to everyone, which made for a great learning environment. I didn’t feel scared about giving it a go at any point.”

“It has made me want to learn more and be more confident pronouncing Chinese names”

“The teachers were so engaging, supportive and encouraging. They’re an absolute asset and have inspired me to want to continue learning Chinese. The practice elements were enjoyable and the feedback was constructive. My only very one small criticism is that the workshop didn’t last longer and we didn’t quite have time for everything.”

“I really liked how the teachers dived straight into how Chinese works. They then managed to lead us through some basics in just two hours, and left me feeling like yes I can do this! Chinese is a really daunting language to think about learning but the teachers took the fear away and made it all seem very achievable. They were very friendly and encouraging.”

 

For any further information about the workshop, please contact: xin.zhang@ed.ac.uk