Mandarin Chinese Lessons in Sydney

Sydney is the best place in Australia to get immersed in Chinese culture, as it has the largest Chinese community in the country. According to the 2016 census, there are 487,972 people in the Greater Sydney area that have Chinese ancestry, so it’s hardly a surprise that Mandarin and Cantonese are the first and third most commonly used languages in the city after English. This makes the city a unique place for learners who want to get to know the fascinating Chinese language and culture since it has many suburbs like Carlingford, Ultimo, Burwood and Hurstville with high concentrations of Chinese residents. In fact, if you visit Haymarket, a local suburb that’s home to the city’s Chinatown, you find many shops, restaurants, bars and institutions owned by Chinese people where you can learn about Chinese traditions and customs as well as enjoy their delicious food. In short, if you choose to learn Mandarin or Cantonese in the city, you’ll find many opportunities to socialize with natives, as well as explore this ancient culture and expand your horizons.

Learn Mandarin Chinese for Work and Travel

If you want to advance your career in Sydney, learning Chinese is a great idea, as being able to communicate with the largest group of foreign-born residents will allow you to build professional relationships that can make the difference no matter what it is you do. If you have a business, speaking Chinese can help you connect with potential employees and business partners or expand your local clientele. On the other hand, if you want to work in one of Sydney’s top industries like financial services or some of the big information media and telecommunications companies, having Chinese in your CV will make you stand out in the city’s highly competitive job market. What’s more, it will grant you access to great positions that require you to be bilingual like Mandarin-speaking Administration Assistant for Oriental Merchant Group, Project Manager for Deluxe Australia and Bilingual Social Media Marketing Coordinator for EB Recruitment.

Learn Mandarin Chinese for Social

The best way to start the year in Sydney is to attend the Chinese Lunar New Year celebration. This is one of the largest celebrations of this kind outside China, and it offers local residents the opportunity to take part in many different events that celebrate the Chinese culture. If you visit the local Chinatown during February, you’ll be able to enjoy a stunning installation of lanterns, as well as encounter the 12 animal signs of the Chinese zodiac that are placed in different parts of the Haymarket neighbourhood. If you have kids, you can’t miss the yearly event in Lane Cove Plaza located at Burns Bay Road where there will be creative workshops, kids activities and spectacular live performances for the whole family. Lastly, every year there’s an art installation at Chatswood Concourse, located at 409 Victoria Ave, as well as many food stalls with delicious traditional Chinese food that you can try and even a comedy show with great comedians that belong to the local Chinese community.

Another way to deepen your knowledge of the Chinese culture in the city is to visit the MOCA or Museum of Chinese in Australia. Located at 744 George Street, this museum is dedicated to researching, preserving, and sharing the history, cultural legacy and continued contributions of Chinese Australians. At this museum, you’ll find beautiful old photographs and get to read the captivating stories of Chinese immigrants in the city that will make you feel closer to the community and help you understand some of the struggles they went through.

Learn Mandarin Chinese for Culture

In addition to visiting the local Chinese restaurants and stores, the best way to meet natives in the city is to attend a language exchange event. If you want to meet Chinese speakers who enjoy reading, then you can’t miss the events organized by Sydney Chinese Bookworms. These events are perfect for those who can already communicate in Mandarin and want to have conversations about the book they’re reading with other like-minded individuals. These meetings take place monthly at Darling Square Library, located at 1 Little Pier Street, near the local Chinatown, and if you want to attend you have to register. After you do that, you only have to show up and bring a book you’re currently reading to discuss it with other members of the group.

Where to learn Mandarin Chinese in and around Sydney?

At the same library where the Sydney Chinese Bookworms meetings take place, you’ll find a great collection of music in Cantonese and Mandarin that can really help expand your vocabulary and get to know a bit more about the Chinese culture. If you like pop music, you should check out Happiness by Eason Chan, one of the most well-known male singers in Hong Kong and Song of Transcience by Cheer Chen, a famous guitarist and pianist from Taiwan that has a beautiful voice and is known for her lovely acoustic songs. Additionally, you’ll find useful resources that can be really helpful if you’re just beginning to study the language, such as Essential Mandarin Chinese phrasebook by Catherine Dai and Elementary Mandarin Chinese: the complete language course for beginning learners by Cornelius Kubler. However, using these course books alone won’t get you too far. If you truly want to become a fluent Mandarin or Cantonese speaker, your best option is to start a Chinese course at Listen & Learn. If you send us a quick enquiry today, one of our team members will pair you up with an excellent native tutor who will create a completely personalised course just for you. Best of all, you won’t have to endure boring classes, as all of your lessons will be based on your interests and tailored to meet every single requirement you might have.