East Meets West Language School

I took Japanese lessons here a while ago but I always wished that I had known about this place earlier, so I didn’t have to constantly hunt for Japanese tutors/​classes around my area. Gyorei (the owner) was very nice and Kumiko sensei was great! Kumiko sensei brought interesting material (for ex, a recipe for a Japanese dish) to supplement the textbook. The kimono experience was fun as well! Although life puts me on a different track right now and I had to stop going there, I will definitely resume my Japanese lessons there when my schedule opens up again.

Learning Mandarin has been on my list of things to do; since, my days back in college when I was working on my undergrad degree. Since then, I’ve listened and completed the audio CDs with Pimsler and felt I had a light graps on conversational Mandarin. I’ve taken multiple trips back to China and the audio CDs helped; but, I was still having trouble when native speakers spoke too fast or used words outside of what I’ve hear on the CDs. It was even harder to converse when there may be an idea or thought that I wanted to communicate; but, I didn’t know how to say all the words to complete it. I also purchase a translating electronic dictionary that helped; but, I felt I needed a formal setting where I can learn and practice how to speak and write Mandarin.
This is when I research and found EMW and got a chance to talk to Gyorei that provided me a background of the school and curriculum along with an offer to sit in on one of the classes.
After the first session, I got my confirmation that this will definitely help me improve my speaking and writing of Mandarin.
The format of the classes was setup to have 1 instructor to 3 students; but, I’ve been getting one on one sessions so far. The sessions are guided with a book with reading, writing and using the new words in sentences and everyday conversations. The instructor (s) continues to ask for feedback and checked to see if I had any questions and understood the new chapters while elaborating on my area of interests.
I feel more confident to converse in Mandarin now. I also have a higher understanding when listening to Mandarin conversations.
All in all I felt this was a great investment of my time and money with my Mandarin improving weekly.
Thanks EMW!

Learning a new language is tough, especially if you’re interested in Mandarin such as myself. There are no shortcuts, no easy mnemonics, and being a native English speaker gives you exactly zero edge when it comes to Mandarin. This is when a place like East Meets West can jump-​start your language learning. East Meets West makes learning Mandarin both personalized and enjoyable. My two instructors Gyorei and Matt are great teachers, always open to answering questions, and every session is one-​on-​one. Scheduling is also super easy and flexible. The textbooks are very helpful as well, and you learn how to read, write, and speak in unison. I wouldn’t have made half the progress I have without EMW.
If you’re anywhere near Walnut and looking to learn Mandarin or perhaps the other languages offered here (Korean, Japanese, ESL), do yourself a favor and check out EMW.

Excellent Place for learning Advanced Mandarin. I’ve been there since 8 months ago and still looking forward to my next class. I liked it so much that I brought 4 relatives to enroll their intensive English classes.
If learning a language is a Hobby and something you really enjoy, this is the right place to be. Highly recommended.
谢谢！
卡洛斯

I have wanted to learn Mandarin for the past couple of years but was not sure where to start. Having tried Rosetta Stone and a couple other online/​self-​taught methods, i lacked traction and accountability. Fortunately, I came across East Meets West! Gyorei has been a great teacher thus far. Before I enrolled, she was more than patient answering all of my questions and laid out the curriculum for me so I could have an idea of what to expect.
The school itself is very nice and I am essentially getting one on one tutoring. The best part of my experience is that I look forward to class each week. If you have been thinking about learning a new language, this would be a great place to start.