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Learn Cantonese
with Hills Learning Online

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Private Classes for Adults

Hills Learning’s curriculum for Cantonese comprises both language and cultural instruction. For each class, we follow our SWIRL method, developing at least three of the five language skills per class. Our main goal for Cantonese private lessons is to develop conversational skills, but we also specialize in teaching Chinese characters, cultural etiquette, or just general language acquisition. And of course, we can meet student’s individual goals and requirements.

With this basic framework, each teacher creates and develops her own teaching materials based on student needs and goals. All teachers undergo a thorough review and testing process, and also must follow guidelines and best practices from Hills Learning when creating teaching materials for Cantonese class.

Private Classes for Kids

Are you (or your young teen) interested in learning about the Cantonese language and culture? How about you have children that would like to learn Cantonese either to develop skills to communicate with family or learn Cantonese to get credit at school?

Hills Learning offers a unique opportunity for teens and kids learning Cantonese in private lessons. We can not only teach them the basics of the Chinese characters, reading, writing, and conversation, but it’s also possible that the classes your teen is taking with us can be transferred to their respective high school or college for credit. Please see for credit for further information.

For more general information on our Cantonese classes for kids, please CONTACT US

-Our usual schedule is 1.5 hours per week for 8 weeks (12 hours total)
-Interested in more than one semester? Please look at our class bundles
-Get a discount on your next semester if you refer a friend / family member
-Check course details for more information on the textbook

Cantonese Classes

What Cantonese Students Say

My teacher is a great Cantonese teacher! She clearly knows the language very well and is happy to answer very technical questions about Cantonese grammar. She is warm, welcoming, and patient. She goes at a good pace, and her lessons are a good mix of new vocabulary and new grammar structures. When we divide into breakout groups, she listens in on our conversations so that she can give us individualized feedback. Unlike other Cantonese classes I've been in, her class centers her students' voices. For the most part, the students are talking more than the teacher, and we're not just reciting material from a textbook.

Shannon D Cantonese Group

Pre-pandemic, my daughter was attending Cantonese classes at a local school in Manhattan Chinatown, and was doing fairly well in terms of learning characters and reading. When the school shut down due to the pandemic, a bunch of us parents scrambled to locate Cantonese instruction, as none of us wanted to have them lose their linguistic gains. Hills Learning provides a fun and easy virtual learning environment for kids, and uses Jyutping as a pronunciation reference for heritage learners, making the learning of new words less daunting. Dare I say that my child actually understands everyday language more so than when she was actually in the Chinatown school? With equal time in both a traditional classroom setting vs online classroom setting, I believe the experience at Hills Learning is a better value.

Lisa F Cantonese Kids Group

I like the small class size, which makes it feel very personalized and comfortable to participate. I think it is challenging to teach students who likely have a native Cantonese language background, but with varying levels of proficiency with grammar and breadth of vocabulary. My teacher is very knowledgeable in teaching these types of students as well as the non-native Cantonese student. The lessons are useful and interesting and she's is an engaging teacher. She always makes time to answer our questions and teach us more about things that the students find interesting. The handouts are helpful as well.

Sydney L Cantonese Group

Cantonese Class Levels

There are multiple levels for beginner through advanced Cantonese students. We have developed our own curriculum based off of standards and best teaching practices.

Cantonese Classes

for every level

Check My Level
  • Beginner
  • Pre-Intermediate
  • Intermediate
  • Upper Intermediate
  • Advanced

Beginner Cantonese students learn the basics of Cantonese such as greetings, classroom phrases and conversational skills. They also learn how to shop, order food and discuss in detail their schedules and activities. They can form basic sentences and also be able to read and write jyutping.

Adv Beginner Cantonese students go more in depth with everyday life skills in Cantonese. They start out by discussing one's home and giving commands, then traveling and giving directions, and finally they can discuss their experiences and hobbies. Students start to learn how to do more advanced discourse. 


1-6
 ACTFL Standards

   NOVICE HIGH

Pre-Intermediate students start out with phrases and vocabulary to discuss their travels in depth. Included in this is discussing experiences abroad, but also descriptors on recommendations and making appointments. Pre-Intermediate 2 enables students in depth to go shopping and go to restaurants, moving beyond basic vocabulary that was covered in Beginner 2. Pre-Intermediate 3 teaches students how to address needs in the doctor's office, and describing in general your body and feelings. Pre-Intermediate 4 is movies, Pre-Intermediate 5 is technology and change and how it affects daily life and Pre-Intermediate 6 is festivals.  

1-6
 ACTFL Standards

   INTERMEDIATE LOW

Intermediate students will work to expand their speaking, reading, listening and writing skills. Intermediate students can communicate about themselves fluently, have mastered all basic grammar and vocabulary from the beginner and pre-intermediate levels. Intermediate students learn how to navigate situations outside themselves, where they need to communicate and get around in all difficult situations. In the higher intermediate levels, students will challenge themselves to communicate outside of everyday situations. 


1-16
 ACTFL Standards

   INTERMEDIATE MID TO HIGH

Upper Intermediate students are trying to prepare to work and function like an advanced student. Students start to move beyond just speaking in concrete terms and instead get used to speaking in abstract terms about language. Topics such as community, current events, history, and other subjects are brought up and discussed. Students also start focusing much more on real world resources and materials, dramas, tv shows, music, and other materials created for Cantonese native speakers.  


1-16
 ACTFL Standards

   INTERMEDIATE HIGH to ADVANCED LOW

Advanced students are feeling accustomed to discussing difficult subjects in language. From current events to economics, students will be discussing abstractly on a variety of levels. It is assumed that all students can both discuss themselves thoroughly and also navigate all intermediate needs in language. Advanced students start out by really trying to get used to speaking abstractly, and then they move forward into discussing specialty areas using language. Most students at times will sound like native speakers and should be able to be understood by speakers of the language not accustomed to speaking to non-native speakers.  


MULTIPLE
 ACTFL Standards

   ADVANCED MID to SUPERIOR

Cantonese Lesson Types

GROUP

Maximum 7 students with over 40 levels of Cantonese curriculum. Please don't forget to see our class schedules on this page.

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PRIVATE

Lessons at your own pace and schedule. There is also flexibility in curriculum. We have multiple instructors available.

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ONLINE

The ability to take lessons anywhere without a commute. Lessons are taught through zoom and recorded. We also have an online assignment system.

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BUSINESS

Group or private lessons at your office or at our center near Grand Central. We can teach multiple employees and coordinate with HR Departments.

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FOR CREDIT

Lessons that transfer to your high school, college or university with their permission. We are a fully accredited institution and can issue transcripts.

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KIDS

We can teach all ages but usually we have most classes for elementary, pre-teen and teen aged students. Private lessons are possible along with group.

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Find out more

Fill in the form below and we will contact you to discuss more about Cantonese.

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Phone: 212-784-0694

Our mission is to inspire the confidence to communicate in a foreign language, stimulate motivation to achieve each individual’s goals, and encourage a lifetime of language learning.

Fully Accredited

Hills Learning has been fully accredited since May of 2016 by the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools.

Native-Speaking Teachers

We spend lots of time and energy recruiting the best native speaking teachers for the languages we offer.