Meet Your Teacher: Jiang Zhu 老师 lǎo shī

Hi, I’m Jiang. I was born and raised in the coastal city of Shenzhen (深圳), an international hub right next to Hong Kong. Growing up, I was immersed in a bilingual environment of Mandarin and English throughout my education.

From the age of three, I had native English-speaking teachers every week, from nursery through primary school. Outside the classroom, I was surrounded by English as well — I played Western video games and even role-played speaking to in-game characters in English. Without realising it, I was constantly absorbing the language.

This early exposure gave me something I now call a “sense of language” (语感, yǔ gǎn). It’s the intuitive feeling for how a language sounds, flows, and feels — beyond just grammar and vocabulary. For example, most people can recognise French when they hear it, even if they don’t speak it. In the same way, I developed a natural instinct for English.

As a result, I progressed much faster than many of my peers. Even when I made grammatical mistakes, what I said still sounded right. I could sometimes guess the meaning of unfamiliar words just from context, and I developed a strong, natural accent early on. This wasn’t because I learned grammar earlier — it was because I had internalised the rhythm and logic of the language through real interaction.

I have my native-speaking teachers to thank for this. They didn’t focus on complex rules, but simply communicated with me as if I could already speak the language. That immersive experience completely transformed my learning.

This is the approach I bring to my own teaching. I believe every child can develop this “sense of language” when they are exposed to a native speaker in a natural, engaging way. As a native Mandarin speaker with a strong English background, I can bridge both languages effectively.

Speaking both Mandarin and English — the two most widely spoken languages in the world — has really opened doors for me. It’s allowed me to connect with people from all kinds of backgrounds, and those experiences have inspired me to help others discover the same opportunities through language.

For me, teaching Mandarin is more than just teaching words — it’s about helping students build confidence, curiosity, and a genuine connection to the language. In many ways, it feels like coming full circle, as I now hope to inspire my students just as my teachers once inspired me.