Learn Mandarin on my site ahead of Olympics

7:10pm Thursday 24th July 2008

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WITH the Beijing Olympics just weeks away, a Chinese woman who lives in Worcester has been working hard to help visitors to her country learn the official language of Mandarin.

Irene Leung, of Friar Street, has for the past year been working on a website which teaches Mandarin online, and instructs the users in Chinese culture.

Launched at the beginning of June this year, her vision has finally come to fruition with the website www.link-global.com – and she couldn’t be more proud of it.

“My idea to attain globalisation through language is both commercial and altruistic.

“The website allows people in the UK to learn Mandarin and people in China to learn or improve their English in an inexpensive way,” she said.

The teaching method is unique with one screen having video and sound clips to present both words and phrases, as well as animation clips that demonstrate how to write Chinese characters.

“I wanted to put something together that people could log on to at any time and see how to speak and write the language,” she added.

Ms Leung is Hong Kong Chinese but has lived in Worcester for some years. She has produced the website with the support of her business partner Ian Morris, a retired judge, who could see the potential of her idea and also contributed by writing the English version of the lessons.

Mr Morris, chairman of the company, said: “A lot of people still see China as the big unknown. These lessons try to include aspects of their culture, not only for tourists but for businesses too.

“Chinese have a few things that are very different to the western way and it’s important to learn about this, and this is such a simple way to do it. It’s all available on the same website.”

The project was an incredibly complex one. It meant Ms Leung had to write her own computer programs so that everything the student needed could be incorporated on to a single lesson screen.

“The computer experts told me that what I wanted to achieve on screen could not be done. With my computer background I taught myself several advanced techniques in order to get round problems they said were insurmountable,” she said.

The site uses more than 8,000 video clips and 3,000 character animation clips which she painstakingly produced herself one-by-one.

“We want to help people link with China. The next generation is very interested in learning about and visiting China, especially as it is now a fast-growing economy, but they do find the language a little bit daunting. This method of learning is different and simpler than how people have been taught before. You can see the video and watch the reader’s lips to see how the words are pronounced, which I think is very important when you are learning a new language,” she added.

The first lesson is free so people can get a taste of how the site works.

Other lessons cost £2.99 each for 30 days access and discounts are available for group users.

Each lesson takes on subjects from hotel and rooms service, to eating out, shopping and numbers, money and banking.

“Being able to learn at your own pace does help, and you will be able to go online whenever you are able to, even if you only have 10-15 minutes free to learn,” she said.

Already they have had a good response from the business sector in the UK and Ms Leung hopes that making link-global more widely known will encourage others to visit the site to learn Mandarin.

“So far the reaction has been great and we have plans in the pipeline to develop the site further, including helping French and German people learn Mandarin too,” she said.

For more information visit www.link-global.com or e-mail reception@link-global.com