Squirrel Chinese
Squirrel Chinese Language Club
Discover the beauty of languages and cultures
Classes we offer
Saturday Chinese club - St Mary's C of E Primary School Twickenham
£12.5 per child - 50 min session - Term time
Located at Twickenham, London, we offer weekly Saturday Chinese clubs for children aged 5 - 11. The class will be held at St Mary's C of E Primary School Twickenham (Middle Site). Each class holds up to 8 pupils. You could see the sample teaching materials and the rationales behind the designs here. Each session lasts 50 minutes. The price for each session is £12.5 per child.
Saturday 9.00am - 9.50am
Upper Beginners class
For beginners who have previous knowledge of Chinese
Saturday 10.00am - 10.50am
Upper Beginners class
For beginners who have previous knowledge of Chinese
One to one Chinese tutorials - Online/In person
£40 - 1 hour session
I also offer one to one tutorials for students at all ages at evenings and weekends. I will select the most appropriate textbooks or teaching materials for you according to your aim of learning Chinese. I also design customised Powerpoint presentations for each student. Classes will be held online or in person (Twickenham only). It will be flexible and proceed at your pace. The price for a one-hour lesson is £40. I offer a 15 minutes free video chat to understand your needs of learning Chinese.
About
Dr Sophie Guo, founder of Squirrel Chinese
I hold a PhD degree from University of Sheffield specialising in Teaching Chinese as a Foreign Language. I have more than 15 years teaching experience at different levels (from primary schools to university). I taught reading, speaking and comprehensive courses in the universities, and I also taught children aged from 4 to 11 as private tutors and in primary schools. Now I work in the publishing industry which is also related to Chinese language teaching. I am good at designing customised syllabus and materials for my students, making study plans and helping my students to achieve their goals. My students achieved high scores in their exams, such as YCT, GCSE Chinese, A Level Chinese and HSK.
Teaching Philosophy
Squirrel Chinese is a London-based Chinese language school for children aged 5–11. We specialise in beginner and early-stage learners, with a strong focus on confidence, clarity, and long-term language development.
Our teaching philosophy is built on one core belief:
Children learn Chinese best when progress is clear, input is understandable, and the learning environment feels emotionally safe.
We focus on four key principles:
Natural pronunciation development
Children are guided to develop accurate Mandarin pronunciation through listening, speaking, and gradual refinement, rather than pressure or constant correction. This helps build confidence and fluency from the start.
Meaning-based vocabulary learning
Vocabulary is always taught in context. We use images, actions, comparisons with English, and real-life situations so children understand how words are used, not just what they mean.
Structured sentence building
Grammar is introduced step by step through simple, repeatable sentence patterns. Children learn to combine words into meaningful sentences through guided tasks and games, not abstract explanation.
Emotionally supportive learning environment
We believe emotional safety is essential for language learning. Our small-group classes reduce anxiety, encourage participation, and help children enjoy using Chinese without fear of making mistakes.
At Squirrel Chinese, lessons are carefully designed to balance enjoyment and efficiency. Our goal is not only to help children learn Chinese, but to help them feel capable, motivated, and proud of their progress.