Our teachers

Elena

CEO & Head teacher

Elena Graduated in 2012 with a degree in Chinese Language and Literature. During her time at university she did private tutoring to get extra money and found that she had a passion for people and teaching.

After graduating she decided to pursue teaching and worked for 3 years as a teacher before forming Global Mandarin in 2015. Elena decided to found Global Mandarin as she saw her students frustration at the inflexibility of the formal Mandarin School's attitudes. Wanting to have a space where she could share her love of Mandarin and help others nuture their love of languages she decided to break out on her own.

She prides herself on being there for her students not only in the classroom but also in life. Elena has a dog and a groundhog and will happily spend all lesson showing you photos and videos if you let her!

Catalina

Mandarin teacher

Catalina graduated with a degree in Spanish in 2011 and has been teaching for eight years. She is fluent in English, Spanish and Mandarin and spent a year in Spain teaching Mandarin from June 2018 to July 2019.

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Catalina's passion for teaching derives from her desite not only to show people the wonders of her own country and culture but also from a wish to learn more about the world and other cultures. In her own words, "languages are the gateway to the world."

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Santa's students love her for her caring and bubbly personality and she adores it when her students invite her out to eat with them. Her favourite food is... "meat" and her favourite Spanish dish is Seafood Paella.

Samantha

Mandarin teacher

Another native of Beijing, Samantha, graduated with English and literature degree in 2007 and has been teaching since 2009. Her passion for teaching derives from her love of Chinese culture and a wish to share it with the world. She is particularly fond of Chinese Characters and the way that they have changed over time. 
In her own words, “China has a long history and rich culture, each Chinese character contains a broad and profound culture and rhyme. As a ‘Beijinger’, I also likes the humor that can be found in the Beijing dialect and the subtlety of the words.”
Outside of teaching Samantha enjoys cooking and reading and she has a young daughter who she hopes will get to grow up and experience all China has to offer and also as much of the world as possible.