Adults · evenings

Adult Mandarin Lessons in Columbus

Practical, conversation-first Mandarin for busy adults — evening lessons in person or online, built around what you actually need to say.

Who learns with Penny

Built around your reason for learning

Professionals

Columbus’s economy is more connected to China than most people realize — manufacturing supply chains, research at OSU, and the region’s growing tech corridor. Lessons focus on your industry’s vocabulary, relationship-building phrases, and business etiquette.

Travelers

Heading to China, Taiwan, or Singapore? A focused course on the situations you’ll actually face: ordering, directions, shopping, small talk — plus the cultural context that makes trips richer.

Heritage learners & adoptive families

Reconnecting with a family language, or raising a child born in China? Penny works with heritage learners and adoptive parents with warmth and zero judgment about where you’re starting from.

Cross-cultural couples & families

Learning to talk with in-laws, or building a bilingual household? Practical family vocabulary and the confidence to use it at the dinner table.

Format

Conversation-first, from lesson one

  • Evening 1:1 lessons, in person around Columbus or online
  • Speaking from day one — grammar serves conversation, not the other way around
  • Your goals drive the syllabus — business, travel, family, or general fluency
  • Flexible pacing for adult schedules, with online make-ups when life happens

广东话 Cantonese, too. Teacher Penny is a native Cantonese speaker as well — one of very few teachers in Columbus offering Cantonese lessons. Especially valuable for heritage families with roots in Guangdong or Hong Kong.

Teacher Penny in China

It’s not too late to learn Chinese

Book a free trial — thirty minutes from now you’ll have said your first Mandarin sentences.

Book a Free Trial Lesson