Chinese Online Learning [Lantern Institute, INC]

Colorado-Based Chinese Learning Website Seeks Users for Free Beta

After a rigorous, self-taught course from a travel book, an upstanding Colorado man traveled to China. The trip to Beijing went smoothly, and he was able to make simple requests with the flight attendant. He got to the airport, found his client’s representative, and introduced himself with confidence. To his surprise, the representative was horrified and his business dealing had turned sour at its very inception.

Now, what went wrong? Later on, the man found that the greeting and speech he used was unfortunately suggestive and colloquial. This was a huge affront to the representative, and later, his client. When the man returned to Colorado, he took one look back at his travel book of phrases and words and promptly trashed it.

Language learning shouldn’t have to stop with general-purpose vocabulary and phrases. A member of our community, Dr. Amber Navarre--former Coordinator and Senior Instructor of Chinese at the University of Colorado at Boulder--has launched her “purpose-driven” Chinese learning website, Lantern Institute, Inc, at www.lanterninstitute.com. Lantern offers customized Mandarin Chinese curriculum and consultation for any learners who have access to the Internet. The site has recently been launched for public testing, and the lessons will remain free through its January-March beta.

What’s so special about a “purpose-driven” curriculum?

Through her 15 years of language teaching experience, Dr. Navarre has concluded: current Chinese language learning tools and generic curricula do not serve individual purposes. For instance, there is an array of linguistic and cultural resources that are necessary for talking to a business client that are different from those for a conversation at a bar. Depending on the purpose, a professional cyclist’s language need is clearly different from that of a medical device representative.

Such individual needs drove the creation of Lantern, which aims to cover the ground from simple greetings to complex business conversations; from hospital visits to environmental sustainability; for learners’ educational, social, and professional pursuits.

Now let’s come back to our Coloradan fellow. What can Lantern offer to help with his specific needs for communication? He can find what he is looking for in Unit One, in which the instructor teaches greetings. Alternatives are taught through contextualized videos, and their distinctions are clearly emphasized: from business meetings with a client to private conversations to introductions in a public speech. Such depth and cultural insight are the strengths of Lantern lessons.

Some embrace the abundant opportunities the cyber world has to offer, and some believe you can never learn in a remote setting. But it never hurts to try, especially when it is free. Sign up for the free beta at www.lanterninstitute.com and try it for yourself.