Isabella Yi

"The success of Chinese teaching is not only about how well students learn but also about how we build their interest in the language."

Isabella Yi was born in China and lived there for more than 20 years before coming to Australia. She loved learning the Chinese language at school and developed a strong passion for teaching, which she pursued at university. She is postgraduate trained in Chinese Language Teaching with several qualification.

Isabella loves Mandarin Chinese and she loves to share her passion with others. She believes that learning Chinese is not just about learning the language but also about immersing yourself in the Chinese culture and way of life, which includes the history, values, beliefs, and customs of the Chinese people.

Being bilingual and having a bi-cultural perspective are Isabella’s ultimate goals for her students. In her classes she aims to create a relaxing and stimulating environment and she avoids repetitive reading and writing exercises.

Teacher information

Designation

Director | Principal Teacher

Education background

  • Certificate in Language Teaching
  • Master of Linguistics and Applied Linguistics, Majoring in TCSOL, Teaching Chinese to Speakers of Other Languages
  • Bachelor of Arts, Majoring in Chinese Language and Literature

Teaching experience

Before establishing MoTai Mandarin, Isabella taught Mandarin to all student levels, from children (and other ages at the Cherrybrook Chinese Community Association Chinese School), to secondary school students (in Bangkok, Thailand); to university students studying in China, and has tutored staff from SamSung to help them improve their Chinese. She has also worked as a tutor for the HSK Exam (Chinese Proficiency Test).

Isabella taught Mandarin Chinese to foreign students at several top Chinese universities: Nanjing University of Science & Technology, Nanjing University of Information Science & Technology, and Xi'an International Studies University; and was responsible for teaching Chinese to groups of exchange students from the American Education Council and German Government.

Isabella's students are now across various industries in Australia, from Healthcare, Financial Services, Real Estate, Media Arts, Fashion, IT to Entertainment who are the executives and employees of some of the large corporate and global companies. Isabella delivers well-structured Mandarin course as well as creating teaching plan for customised course for general, business or cultural awareness purpose.