"She has excellent command of the English language (which may be a rarity compared to many language tutors I have learned from in the past) and was able to easily explain to me the differences in grammatical usage of the language that might be rather hard to understand reading from a textbook. As a true test of what I had been taught, I went a Chinese restaurant near my home where the workers there barely understand English, and I was able to communicate with them easily when it came to basic conversation and ordering my meal, they were truly impressed with my ability to speak, which only inspires me to continue to learn more. Thank you, Lily, for taking the time to teach me how to speak "quality" (for lack of better term, that I can think of) Chinese." ~ P.O.
“Once, maybe twice, in a lifetime do you find a crown jewel of a treasure - a dedicated, caring, brilliant teacher who knows how to bring the best out of "her" kids. She cares about each child as if they were her own, and kids, who cannot be fooled like adults, respond in kind - they just love to learn from Ms. Lily because she makes it fun and challenging - she adjusts the speed so it's not too easy so that it's boring, and not too hard so that her kids become frustrated and quit. You should know and realize, however, that she is not a pass everyone, feel good, no competition and everyone gets a trophy teacher. She really wants your child to be able to read, write and speak Mandarin. She takes her kids as young as 3, and has devoted her life to her kids and their pursuit of Mandarin excellence and learning about China, its language, and its culture.” ~ "A Grandpa who was so grateful and happy the day his 3-year-old was accepted into Ms. Lily’s program"
"You have motivated me to study Chinese more seriously!" ~ S.Y.
“Most afterschool Chinese teachers teach students the way they learned the language back in China. Unfortunately, those methods are not as effective for students of Chinese as a foreign language as they are for native learners. Generally, people in the US do not know how to learn another language, and especially not an East Asian language. I think the children learn efficiently at HCIS because it provides an environment focused on learning Mandarin where English is understood very well but avoided except when absolutely necessary.” ~ E.W.
"Ms. Lily definitely has her own special style... because she is very special!"~ A.L.
“She is an extaordinary teacher/mentor who gives everything she has into her kids and preparing them for life - personally and professionally. Sensing that the world is becoming smaller and that China will be important to her kids she and her Chinese Immmersion School are preparing them so they will be able to speak, write and communicate in the 2 languages of for the 21st century - English and Mandarin. Without any children of her own, yet, she has given her life to her kids so that they will be able to live, succeed and be happy in this ever changing world of today and tomorrow.” ~ G.P.
"Ms. Lily's teaching style provides a challenging and disciplined environment for her students. She sets high expectations for them and builds their self-esteem when they reach their individualized goals. My 5-year old daughter has taken classes from Ms. Lily for a little over one year and she can now read and write more Chinese than English. I believe my daughter is learning not only Chinese, but also how to be successful in life."~ S.C.
"If your child could only have one teacher in his lifetime, Ms. Lily would be the one. If you visit her classroom or look at the pictures of the Around the World Class, Mandarin Class, China 2011 and 2012 Exchange trips, they are always happy, having fun, and hugging their teacher. She is no pushover; however, she demands and receives the best from her "kids." Everyone receives a trophy type teaching is not her philosophy, and undeserved participation awards are definitely not a part of her school." ~ H.K.
"All of my lessons were well structured, we were always using the previously learned material while constantly building on to it with the goal of developing fluency, rather than just learning set phases. Aside from having well structured lessons, Lily was always more than willing to deviate from the plan and teach vocabulary and grammar of particular interest to me. My only regret was that I didn't meet her sooner so that I could have had more private lessons from her." B.L.O.
"Life, unfortunately, is competition, and she wants her kids to not only survive, but to thrive and become happy, successful and contributing members of society. A large part of being successful is to be able to communicate, orally and in writing, in two of the international languages of the future - Mandarin and English. If you could watch her younger "kids", four or five, be able to converse in Mandarin and write answers in Mandarin to her questions you would be absolutely amazed and in awe of her ability to get so much from so young so quickly - and they love it and love her. When our grandchild's class first learned to speak Mandarin she had his class call her nightly to converse with her on the phone so that they would become comfortable with the language and accent." ~ V.F.
"I really enjoy the lessons and your teaching style." ~ S.F.
"Ms. Lily is a magnificent teacher who makes hard mandarin easy and fun! All my summers and years with her as my teacher has really inspired and encouraged me to make learning fun. She is really the bomb!!!!!!" ~ C.L.
"My son and I think you are a great teacher!" ~ J.K.
"She has fun with us but she's also strict. I like how she teaches the cultural thingies too. " ~ K.S.
"I learn more (so much more!) in one week from Ms. Lily than one year in a different school. No kidding!" ~ M.T.
"She's a terrific teacher! Very patient, very understanding, very knowledgeable. She's very piao liang too. I appreciate greatly how she doesn't just teach me how to say it properly. She likes to make me think about how I should go about forming sentences." ~ W.L.
"In a surprisingly short time, my son has learned more Chinese than I could have imagined. I've even heard him speaking Chinese in his sleep! This program is not only outstanding in terms of its curriculum and proven formula to teach Chinese fluency, Ms. Lily brings a unique teaching style that inspires learning and makes it fun. She is also very accessible and communicative with parents, which is extremely helpful given the many demands and schedules we juggle." ~ L.D.
"Hawaii Chinese Immersion School (HCIS) is one of the great things going for my children. Yep, my children; two of them and ethnically we are not even chinese The youngest one thinks he is. Ms. Lily is a great Mandarin teacher; we are very blessed. She not only is our teacher but has become part of our lives, like family. The children work hard at mastering a difficult language. You can see the changes in all the kids. They are confident with themselves. They learn to work hard and be great; always praises. Ms. Lily challenges them and they respond. It's a great school! If i had a teacher like Ms. Lily, i would be ruler of the world :)" ~ Dragon Dad.
"Ms. Lily is not only an extremely gifted educator, she is brilliant, generous, and truly one of the greatest people that I have been lucky enough to know in my life. My daughter has been with Lily since she was 3. At that time, Lily never held her back because of her age, rather, she challenged her and gave her opportunities to push forward and learn things that I never thought were possible. Four years later, that has not changed. My seven year old daughter still learns reading, writing, and speaking, and continues to be challenged, but has also become more of a global traveler. Having been to two trips to China with Ms. Lily and the school, she has a greater appreciation of the land, people, and culture. Through regular classes, and under the guidance of Ms. Lily, not only has her Mandarin progressed, she has become a more independent and responsible young lady. I am so proud of what she is learning, and who she is becoming, and I know that so much of that is because she has such a strong and wonderful teacher, mentor, and role model in Lily." ~ K.N.