Passionate Gold Coaster Lisa Miller passes on her enthusiasm for Asian culture at her unique Chinese language school in Burleigh.
Lisa’s curiosity about regional cultures was piqued during a family trip to Indonesia as a teenager, and reinforced with an exchange program to Borneo in high school. Upon graduating she said farewell to the Gold Coast in order to pursue Asian Studies and Mandarin Chinese in Canberra, before returning home and taking up the mantles of Manager of International Programs at Bond Uni, and Head of Languages at TSS.
Now she’s running her very own Chinese language school, simply named iteachChinese, out of a modern facility on Christine Avenue, within a far-too-tempting arm’s length of the popular Paddock Bakery.
Unlike other language schools, at iteachChinese Lisa focuses on the specific interests of the students and designs each program individually, meaning that students leave being able to chat about the things that they want or need to.
It’s a simple idea but an important distinction. You don’t want to leave a class knowing how to request the price of a pencil case (exactly the limit of my Italian) but not how to order something off a menu, for example.
And when it comes to the massive Gold Coast tourism juggernaut and the Chinese visitors who prop it up during normal seasons, local hospitality staff really can’t be too prepared.
“Most students want to learn more about Chinese language and culture, as well as the history, to improve their relationships with Chinese speaking people, or to travel to China again in the future,” explains Lisa.
“When Australians do visit China, we see that people in hospitality environments speak English to make us feel welcome. It improves customer service.
When Chinese visitors return to the Gold Coast, in the future, it will be a point of difference for those businesses who have trained their staff in basic greetings. When tourists return, they will no longer be in tour buses, they will be going to our local cafes and shops and it will be more important than ever for us to understand where these visitors are coming from and what they need.
Hospitality business owners take note.
Whether you’re a beginner or intermediate learner, Lisa has an offering that will suit. Of particular interest for time-poor students looking to learn basic greetings will be the speedy, intensive one day course that is recognised as a vocational unit of competency for Tourism, Travel and Hospitality.
“I’ve made it as easy, and fun, as possible,” says Lisa. “We practise short conversations, often about food and beer, for people to use in their day to day lives, then we visit local restaurants.
“Adult learners need lessons to be relevant, brief, and engaging, so we build a program around modern culture and videos and songs. Our goal is not mastery, it’s simple courtesy and useful expressions, to improve connections.
“I also offer a one-week course for people who would like to progress. At the end of the week, we go to Miami Rice. It’s really fun.”
In 2022, this year of the Water Tiger, Lisa plans to team up with other awesome local teachers in order to expand her offerings in the worlds of Japanese, French and English language classes.
And that’s not all.
“In 2022 I’m also offering our space as hotdesking for high school homeschoolers who want to get out of the house,” Lisa tells us.
Given the number of harried parents trying to juggle work and school-aged children during a pandemic, we’re sure the supervised working space setup will be another in-demand offering.
With the first day of the Chinese Lunar New Year kicking off on 1 February, it’s the perfect time to look into expanding your knowledge of Chinese language and culture. As for celebration tips, intrepid entrepreneur Lisa has the inside scoop:
“If you visit a Chinese friend, take fruit or wine, and say, “Gōngxǐ fācái”, to wish them happiness and prosperity. We’ll also be having a Dumpling Social Club Chinese New Year Party here on Thursday 3 February at 6pm, everyone is welcome to come along and mingle.”
If you’d like to delve into your Chinese horoscopes for the year, visit our Insta stories at @blankstreetpress, where Lisa has given an overview of the Lunar year ahead as it relates to your year of birth, and the type of Chinese New Year celebration that will suit your sign. You’re welcome.
Lisa also offers free introductory lessons for locals. You can get in touch with her at info@iteachChinese.com.au, and visit iteachChinese.com.au for more info. If you'd like to meet Lisa over a dumpling feast and discuss the course offering that is right for you, head to 5/14 Christine Avenue Burleigh Heads on Thursday 3 February at 6pm.
IMAGE (C) Justin Smith
