BACKGROUND

-Education and Work Experience

Born and raised in Taiwan, I majored in French language. Studying French opened many opportunities for me, as it allowed me to spend an entire year in France as an exchange student. Upon graduating from University, I immediately found work in a French company based in Taiwan. As a direct assistant to the CEO, I gained experience in the local and international business worlds of Taiwan.

​

In my next job, I was once again an assistant to the CEO of a Chinese fine arts company. I dealt, once more, with the international market, acting as a liaison between Chinese and Taiwanese art dealers, and international auction houses such as Sotheby’s Paris and Christie’s Paris.

 

My final job before the career switch was once again as an assistant to a CEO, this time, of a cosmetics company based in Taiwan, but with partners and factories in China. This job allowed me to gain tremendous experience in understanding the Taiwanese and Chinese business world. It was there that I learned the main differences in business lingo between Taiwan and China.

​​​

-PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE

Eventually, I felt the need to take advantage of my knowledge of Mandarin, French, and English. My career switch came as a stroke of luck (or perhaps fate?) when a friend approached me for help in learning Mandarin in 2013. I informally helped him learn the language and found tremendous joy in seeing his immense progress within 2 years. At that point, I decided to take the plunge, and enrolled in many Mandarin language teaching classes, where I completed many certifications (International Association TCSOL – Teaching Chinese for speakers of other langues / Teaching Chinese to young learners / Teaching Chinese for business; Pearson EDI Certificate – Teaching Chinese as a foreign language; Quality Assurance Commission – Teaching Chinese to young learners; Cambridge Academy of Management – Teaching Chinese for business).

​

I began to shift my career direction in 2016, entering the field of teaching Chinese as a second language. In 2017, I founded JL Mandarin School, and in 2019, I established the first YouTube channel teaching traditional Chinese in French. Since the end of 2023, I have been a writer for 'Inside Taiwan - Anecdotes and Vocabulary

 

Over the past nearly eight years in the field of Chinese language teaching, my previous work experience in various industries has enabled me to quickly understand the needs of business students. As a result, most of my students are company CEOs, public figures, and diplomats, and the course content is customized to their needs.

 

-TEACHING PHILOSOPHY 

I envision the relationship between myself and my students as a Jazz Jam Session, not a symphony orchestra. I am not a conductor; we are all musicians. I hope for an equal relationship where we all are players maintaining good communication and collaboration.

​

I am not just a teacher to the students, but a secretary, consultant, and study partner, helping them to seamlessly integrate Chinese into their roles in life and work.

When teaching, I want to take my students through the process of 'seeing the forest before the trees.' First, I aim to show them the joy of learning Chinese, and then delve into teaching based on their specific needs, rather than just following a textbook from the first to the last lesson.

​