Hi there, I’m Angela
I was born in Taiwan and moved to London to study for my Masters degree. I met my husband, stayed and started a family, working part-time as a Chinese teacher in London Primary Schools.
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When our children were young we split our time between Taipei and London, but as they grew up I worried they would lose their appreciation of the language and culture of my birth country. I didn't want them to see it as somewhere they only went on holidays! So, when I was asked to take over running Thames Chinese Club - started by a group of Taiwanese mums in Wandsworth - I jumped at the chance!
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From early beginnings running a single class in Southfields, we have steadily expanded and now teach across West and South-West London from Kingston to Kensington!
Although we have a fabulous team of teachers (see below) I remain active as a teacher for TCC and am an accredited Teacher of Chinese as a Second Language (TCSOL).
Our Vision
At TCC our goal is to help children learn Mandarin Chinese in a supportive and inspiring environment so they can communicate with accuracy, flair and confidence.
We believe that everyone should have the opportunity to learn this globally important language, now more than ever.
Our Values
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We believe in Serious Fun
Children learn best when inspired and having fun. We all learn best through play. But this is not the same as ‘messing about’. If we all just did whatever we liked we wouldn’t progress towards our goals.
So, while we try to make our lessons as fun and engaging as possible, we also expect our students to take their studies seriously and to be inspired to make progress through our curriculum.
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We believe in Regular Lessons and Structure
We understand parents and carers lead busy lives and it can be tempting to opt for maximum flexibility when choosing extra-curriculur activities. However, we believe our students benefit from a structured, regular learning environment.
Of course, students may need to miss the occasional lesson, but we believe a 'drop-in' model is detrimental to acquiring new skills. Hence, we follow a term-by-term model of regular weekly lessons.
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We believe in Growth (not Fixed) mindset
Someone with a growth mindset views intelligence, abilities, and talents as learnable and capable of improvement through effort.
Learning another language can be challenging, but we strongly believe anyone (and everyone!) can become proficient in Mandarin Chinese through regular, repeated effort in a supportive and encouraging environment.
Meet the Team
We're super lucky to work with some of the brightest (and nicest!) teachers in London. All of our teachers are native Mandarin speakers, and are experienced in working with children.
