I have been studying Chinese for 1 1/2 years, and of that time, the last two months has been with Luke Wang.

The growth I have experienced since working with Luke has exceeded my greatest expectations (and I dream big). Luke's teaching goes beyond the scoop of traditional learning, he helps you to understand how the brain functions and how to best apply those concepts to the learning of this beautiful and complex language. Now for the first time, since studying Chinese, I speak with the speed and accuracy of a Chinese native.....and I am still amazed by that!

Luke is truly in a league of his own! And I am privileged to be working with such a talented Laoshi.

I highly recommend Mr. Wang as a Mandarin Chinese tutor. He is an excellent teacher, being very patient in explaining, and as necessary repeating, the difficult nuances of speaking and reading Mandarin. He is a master in integrating technology into his teaching method. Building vocabulary lists that students can easily review when they are on the internet, allowing them to review at their own convenience. He makes learning enjoyable by integrating Chinese language videos, stories, and news items, as appropriate, to allow the student to listen and try to comprehend different speeds of speaking and slightly different accents of a variety of Mandarin speakers.

Mr. Wang has excellent English communication skills which assists in conducting his lessons. Any questions that arise he is able to address and he understands English idioms which, in my experience, is not the norm for someone who was not born in an English speaking country. Overall his communication and interpersonal skills are excellent.

Mr. Wang is flexible in arranging time to tutor his students. He will strive to accommodate his students' requested times to the best of his ability. This assists in allowing his students to take his classes when the students' have time.

If you are looking for a hard-working, patient and all around excellent Mandarin teacher, I highly recommend Mr. Wang without any reservations.

When I started working with Luke, I had one specific goal: to pass the MTLE subtest 2 for Chinese Mandarin. This test is one of the licensing tests required for teachers of Chinese as a Foreign Language in Minnesota. For a native speaker of Chinese, the licensing tests do not pose a serious challenge, but I am not a native speaker. Prior to meeting with Luke, I had already taken several years of Chinese at the university level. I had also been accepted to the licensing program at the University of Minnesota for teaching Chinese, and I had passed the first subtest. Nonetheless, subtest 2 was a daunting challenge for me because it required me to speak and write spontaneously, so I decided to hire a tutor to help me.

I am glad I chose Luke to help me with this task. He understood what I needed, and he was flexible enough to let me go at my own pace and adapt to what I wanted to work on. In particular, I was happy that he was willing to let me practice speaking on topics, both related to the test and my own personal interests. I appreciated being able to discuss cultural matters with a native speaker.

Like most students of Chinese, I learned about Chinese New Year in my Chinese classes, but I feel that working with Luke really helped me deepen my knowledge of such cross-cultural situations. The short-term benefit of such knowledge, of course, is that it helped me pass my test. But the long-term benefit is that I feel I can build on that knowledge to expand my understanding of China and Chinese culture, and to inform my teaching practices in the future. Thank you, Luke, for sharing your language and cultural insights with me. I shall be forever grateful.