Program Overview

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Cantonese Elementary

Overview

Our Cantonese Elementary course is designed for post-beginner learners who want to extend their range of basic skills. The course is made up of three parts, each building on the previous one.

Who is this class for?

This course is suitable for those who have studied Cantonese for around a year or 60 hours. If you have prior experience, you may be able to join Part Two or Part Three directly.

Course Structure

The course follows a communicative approach to language teaching, focusing on the language you need to communicate in authentic situations with an emphasis on speaking and listening. Our evening classes are taught by experienced language teachers who are native speakers of the language or equivalent.

Learning Resources

We will use Cantonese for Everyone throughout the course. However, please wait until the first session before buying your course book. We will also use the tutor's own materials.

Part One

In Part One of the Cantonese Elementary course, you'll cover the following topics and grammar:

Topics: Weather, Transport, Fashion, and Education

• Items of clothing in different seasons
• Conversation in a fashion boutique
• Giving reasons for preferences and choices
• Finding your way in Hong Kong
• Education
• Weather conditions

Grammar

• To coordinate or indicate a sequence of events with ‘jin4 hau6’
• To ask how long it takes to do something using ‘gei2 noi6’
• To differentiate the usage of ‘the same’ (‘tung4/hou2 ci5…jat1 jeong6’)
• To tell proximity and distance using ‘lei4/jau5’
• To use a verb ending ‘hei2 lai4’ to indicate different meaning
• To differentiate the use of ‘gan2’ and ‘zyu5’ in present tense
• To talk about school life in past tense
• Use various sentences to describe weather

Part Two

Part Two builds on what you learnt in Part One, covering the following topics and grammar:

Topics: Cooking, Employment, and Festivals

• Names of vegetables, meat, and Chinese cooking sauce
• Kitchen and cooking utensils
• Process of recruitment
• Benefits offered by companies
• Occupation and job descriptions
• Festivals in Hong Kong

Grammar

• To use some connectives to indicate next steps (‘gan1 zyu6’ ‘zik6 zi3’ ‘zi1 hau6’) to give instructions
• Using a short phrase for something that has been prepared (‘verb+hou2+ge3 +object’)
• To give an account of an experience using simple sentences and word order
• To give explanation using various adversative and causative relation complex sentences

Part Three

Part Three is the final level of the Cantonese Elementary course, and covers the following topics and grammar:

Topics: Property, Health, and Emotions

• Fittings and furniture
• Property viewing
• Body parts
• Seeing a doctor

Grammar

• To use sentence structures of comparison ‘di/gwo3/bei2’
• To persuade someone using various adjective and phrases
• To use ‘jau5 di1’ and ‘tung3’ to talk about common sickness symptoms
• To use conditional relation sentences and suppositive sentences to express feelings
• To use some colloquial expressions to express concerns

Discounts and Booking Deadlines

We offer a 10% discount to our undergraduate and postgraduate students and alumni. To receive your discount code, please contact us before booking your course.

Online Courses – September Start

• Standard Fee per Part: £300
• Booking deadline: 10 days prior to the start date of each Part

On-campus Courses – October Start

• Standard Fee per Part: £365
• Booking deadline: 10 days prior to the start date of each Part

Language Courses Term Dates

Online Courses – September Start

• Part 1: 16 September 2024 – 05 December 2024 (12 weeks)
• Part 2: 20 January 2025 – 10 April 2025 (12 weeks)
• Part 3: 28 April 2025 – 28 July 2025 (Monday courses) 12 weeks*
• Part 3: 22 April 2025 – 10 July 2025 (Tuesday - Thursday) 12 weeks

On-campus Courses – October Start

• Part 1: 30 September 2024 – 05 December 2024 (10 weeks)
• Part 2: 20 January 2025 – 27 March 2025 (10 weeks)
• Part 3: 28 April 2025 – 14 July 2025 (Monday courses) 10 weeks*
• Part 3: 22 April 2025 – 26 June 2025 (Tuesday -Thursday courses) 10 weeks

How We're Delivering Courses

Online Courses

Our interactive online courses provide real-time lessons with an expert tutor to practise speaking and listening. You will benefit from live, face-to-face engagement with experienced language teachers in an online, virtual classroom.

On-campus Courses

Our on-campus courses are held at our historic headquarters building at 309 Regent Street. This is a dedicated teaching building with purpose-designed facilities. Our location near Oxford Circus means we're right in the heart of central London, with excellent transport links.