WHO AM I ?
Founder of Chinese Class:
Lee YH
Born in Beijing in mainland China, but in the 1980s, as a teenager, Lee moved to Hong Kong, then still a British Colony. An ‘outsider’ who spoke Mandarin only. She studied hard to master fluency in both Cantonese and English which were the languages spoken there. Her motive was to fit in with her peers, but her efforts were further rewarded by her teachers.
Later, she earned a BA in Language and Translation (Chinese and English) at one of the Universities in Hong Kong. Meanwhile, she also achieved a Grade 1 in the Putonghua Proficiency Test – The State Language and Writing Commission of China. Her first teaching job was at Pasona Education teaching corporate adult students Chinese Mandarin/Putonghua to both non-natives and Cantonese-speaking locals.
Relocating to the UK in late 2012. Lee became a school governor of a London state primary school which gave her many insights into UK schools. She began to teach Mandarin and Cantonese with simplified and traditional Chinese writing characters to students taking GCSE and A-Level exams at Gladesmore Community School. At the same time, she was also working with an award-winning second language learning programme developed at Goldsmiths, University of London. She then began to teach GCSE Mandarin at Queen Elizabeth Boys School, one of England’s most prestigious grammar schools founded in the 16th Century.
In 2014, she earned a Certificate in the Teaching of Community Languages (Chinese) at Goldsmiths, University of London. In addition, she joined the faculty of Dwight School London, an IB World School, where she commenced to teach both IB Middle Years and IB Diploma students in both Language A and Language Acquisition (Language B). Furthermore, she has been working as an IB examiner for the Chinese Literature (Language A), Diploma programme since 2017.
Concurrently with these undertakings in IB World School as well as being teacher-examiner for GCSE and A-level in a north London college, Lee steadily strengthened her position in the teaching of Mandarin and Cantonese with simplified and traditional Chinese writing characters.