ABOUT CLA
The Chinese Language Academy of Los Angeles (CLA) is the highest-rated Chinese language school in Los Angeles and has been a proud language education service provider for thousands of clients since its establishment in 2013.
With a brilliant faculty and a revolutionary teaching methodology, CLA offers highly-effective Chinese language and Chinese culture classes to companies, government agencies and individual professionals in the Los Angeles area. CLA has multiple locations in the LA region and also offers customized classes on client sites. CLA's prestigious corporate clients in Los Angeles include Snapchat, Getty museum, and Los Angeles Tourism and Convention Board.
CLA teachers represent the highest standards in the industry. All CLA teachers hold at least a Master’s degree from prestigious US universities, with the majority having over 5 years of experience in teaching Chinese. CLA emphasizes "Illustrating, Interacting and Inspiring" in the teaching philosophy and pursues "Efficiency and Happiness" in the teaching practices. At Chinese Language Academy, you will learn the language in a brand new way for your success in today’s global economy.
Ysabella Chen
Director of Academic Affairs
Principal Instructor
Education
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MA in History from the University of Maryland
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BA in Chinese Linguistics from Huazhong Normal University
Experience
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Chinese Language Flagship Program Officer at American Councils for International Education
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Mandarin Teacher at the Upward Bound Program of the U.S. Department of Education
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Mandarin Instructor at Huazhong Normal University
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English-Chinese Interpreter for U.S. congressmen and members of the U.S. President's Cabinet
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Certified Assessor of National Mandarin Proficiency Test (PSC)
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Featured speaker at conferences of Getty Center and International Peace Research Association of United Nations
Education
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BA in Business Economics and Accounting from University of California Los Angeles
Experience
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Senior Accountant at Deloitte
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Senior Financial Analyst at The Walt Disney Company
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Certified Public Accountant (CPA)
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Board Member – UCLA Asian Pacific Alumni Association
Justin Saka
Director of Operations
Sarah Liu
Instruction Director
Senior Instructor
Education
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MA in Teaching from University of Southern California
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BA in English from Wuhan University, China
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BS in Psychology from Central China Normal University, China
Experience
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ESL (English as a second language) teacher at Cambridge Institute of International Education.
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Instructor at Wuhan Britain-China School
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Holds Level 1 Certificate of Chinese National Mandarin Test
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Language Teaching experiences in Thailand, China, and the United States
Lu Lu
Curriculum Designer
Senior Instructor
Education
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M. Ed in Learning and Teaching from Harvard University
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BA in Translation and Interpretation from Shanghai International Studies University
Experience
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Language specialist at the Shanghai New Oriental Education & Technology Group
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Corporate Mandarin class instructor at Getty Center, Snapchat and the Los Angeles Tourism & Convention Board
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Taught private classes to actors, doctors, and Fortune 500 CEOs
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Taught thousands of students in China, Indonesia, Singapore and the United States
Sarah Liu
Curriculum Designer
Senior Instructor
Wanqi Liu
Instructor
Education
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MS in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages from University of Pennsylvania
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BA in Teaching Chinese as a Second Language from Yantai University
Experience
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1-1 Chinese Mandarin class instructor at University of Pennsylvania
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ESL instructor at Temple University
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Chinese Mandarin Teacher at the Chinese School or South Jersey, Cherry Hill
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Private Mandarin class teacher for clients from Fortune 500 companies
Ning Kang
Instructor
Education
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Ed.D. in Educational Administration from University of the Pacific
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M.A. in Curriculum & Instruction from University of the Pacific
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B.A. in English from Shanghai Normal University
Experience
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Mandarin Lecturer at University of the Pacific
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Active Member of American Educational Research Association (AERA)
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Lifetime Member of ΔEI Academic Honor Society
Crystal Mone
Instructor
Richard C. LaMagna
Subject Matter Expert
Richard C. LaMagna
Subject Matter Expert
Education
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MA in International Affairs from Georgetown University
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BA in Philosophy from Gettysburg College
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A graduate of the U.S. Federal Executive Institute and the US Department of State Foreign Service Institute in Cantonese and Mandarin Study
Experience
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US Diplomat to Hong Kong, Thailand, Taiwan and France
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Deputy Chief of Intelligence at U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA)
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Principal Spokesperson of Microsoft and testified three times before Congress
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Keynote speaker at forums at the China Food and Drug Administration and Getty Center
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Featured speaker on CBS “Market Watch”, CBS’s “60 Minutes” and CNN Asia
STUDENT STORIES
Actor
Toshiji Takeshima
The teachers are awesome. They have great positive energy. You can learn from zero. You don’t need anything. You just need curiosity, and the teacher will guide you
I think the hardest part about learning a language is usually the beginning phase when all seems so overwhelming. But I think if my friends can make it through this course, then they will see that learning Mandarin isn’t really as hard as they think it would be.