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Jack Takahashi Mao
Professional TeacherProfessional Teacher![]()
Teaches
Chinese (Mandarin)
Native
English
Japanese
Speaks
Swedish
Finnish
Specialties
MedicalU.S -Based Linguist, Medical Interpreter, TESOL Chinese/Japanese/English Professional Teacher
Teaches
Chinese (Mandarin)
Native
English
Japanese
Speaks
Swedish
Finnish
Specialties
MedicalU.S -Based Linguist, Medical Interpreter, TESOL Chinese/Japanese/English Professional Teacher
About Me
Me as a Teacher
My lessons & teaching style
Resume & Certificates
From ChinaLiving in Denver, United States (21:25 UTC-06:00)
About Me
italki teacher since Apr 10, 2018InterestsAnimation & ComicsTravelArtMedical & HealthcarePets & Animals
Hi, everyone! Wanna use RedNote? Learn with me! I am Jack, a trained linguist, and U.S. nationally certified medical interpreter. I also created a YouTube channel for my students: Panda Knows Linguistics. Please check it out!
I am a Chinese native with a Japanese heritage living in Colorado, USA since 2009. I speak Chinese, Japanese, and English fluently. I am a passionate linguist and have learned many languages including Latin, Ancient Greek, Swahili, Finnish, and Swedish. I have been teaching Chinese and Japanese since 2010.
*Notice* I am not accepting students younger than college level (18 years old) due to lack of such training. Sorry for the inconvenience.Me as a Teacher
I hold two Masters degrees from the University of Colorado - Japanese Language and Civilization, and Linguistics. The former provided me with extensive training in translation, interpretation, and literary analysis from both historical and modern perspectives. Linguistics offered me the theoretical and practical basis for teaching a foreign language. I am especially interested in applying phonetic and phonological strategies to classroom teaching in order to prepare students for a native-like pronunciation and intuition. I am a native Chinese Mandarin speaker with Japanese heritage. With the educational training mentioned above, I am capable of teaching both languages.My lessons & teaching style
I believe language learning should be fun for both students and teachers. No matter you want to perfect Chinese or Japanese skills after a few years of learning, or want to start from zero without any previous background, I can help! I will be a language learning facilitator to encourage you to be the center of your own learning. I will guide you through the complexity of grammars and diverse aspects of conversational situations, and make you take the initiative to digest the knowledge. Visual, audible, and multimedia materials will be incorporated into my lessons and linguistically informed methods will be used to ensure your understanding and skills are sound, solid, and crystal clear.My teaching material
- PDF file
- Text Documents
- Presentation slides/PPT
- Audio files
- Image files
- Video files
- Flashcards
- Articles and news
- Quizzes
- Test templates and examples
- Graphs and charts
- Homework Assignments
Certificates
Certified Medical Interpreter - Mandarin - NBCMI - 2024https://www.certifiedmedicalinterpreters.org/
Certificate verified
Masters Degree in Linguistics - University of Colorado Boulder - 2016
Certificate verified
Masters Degree in Asian Languages and Civilizations-Japanese - University of Colorado Boulder - 2015
Certificate verified
The Center for the Integration of Research, Teaching, and Learning Associate - University of Colorado Boulder - 2015The Center for the Integration of Research, Teaching, and Learning (CIRTL) is an NSF Center for Learning and Teaching in higher education. CIRTL uses graduate and post-doc education as the leverage point to develop a national STEM faculty committed to implementing and advancing effective teaching practices for diverse student audiences as part of successful professional careers.
Certificate verified
Membership of Phi Sigma Iota International Foreign Language Honor Society - Phi Sigma Iota International Foreign Language Honor Society - 2011Phi Sigma Iota recognizes outstanding accomplishment in the study or teaching of any of the academic fields related to foreign language, literature, or culture. Phi Sigma Iota is the highest academic honor in the field of foreign languages.
Certificate verified
Education
2014 - 2016
Master's - LinguisticsAdmitted to the PhD program in Linguistics. Took linguistics courses covering all domains from phonetics/phonology to pragmatics and historical linguistics.
2013 - 2015
Master's - Asian Languages and Civilizations-JapaneseAncient and modern literature, poetries, and philosophical texts. Training in literary critics, translation, and pedagogical strategies.
Work Experience
2011 - 2013
Math TutorTutoring students at the university math center on various undergraduate math topics.
2011 - 2013
Chinese, Japanese, Latin TutorMultilingual tutor at the Center for World Languages and Cultures at the University of Denver. Helping students who were learning Chinese, Japanese or Latin with their homework and course materials.
2013 - 2016
Teaching AssistantTeaching recitations and labs for both Japanese and Linguistics department. Courses included: Intermediate Japanese, Language and Gender, and Language Sound Structures
2016 - 2017
Graduate InstructorTeaching full-size undergraduate linguistics classes (80-100 people). Courses included: Languages of the World, and Language Sound Structure
2018 - Current
Japanese InstructorTeaching 1-1 private lessons or 3-4 people small groups. Mainly towards adults who want to learn Japanese basics in a short period of time.
2018 - Current
IELTS Administrator Assistant
2018 - 2020
Chinese Linguistic Consultanthttps://www.fromzero.com/
Chinese Linguistic Consulting Service for Chinese Textbook Series
2022 - 2022
Mandarin-English InterpreterProfessional Medical Interpreter: Mandarin-English
5.0
Rating
266
Students
2,768
Lessons
100%
Attendance rate
100%
Response rate
Chinese (Mandarin) Lessons
Chinese (Mandarin)
English
Japanese
Trial Lesson
145 lessons completed
USD 13.50+
Chinese for Everyone * New HSK I - IX* 大家学汉语 (discount for package)
A1 - C2Language Essentials1,067 lessons completed
USD 27.50+
Package with 10% off
Availability
Based on your timezone (UTC+00:00)
Jacek Wielemborek
40 Chinese (Mandarin) lessons
Teacher’s pick
I don't normally write reviews after having done a couple lessons with a teacher, but what I had with Jack today was MINDBLOWINGLY good. He definitely deserves at least twice what he gets here for today's lesson!
We had speaking practice and thanks to Jack's expertise in phonology, he looked up what sounds are available in my language and compared them to Chinese. Then he helped me practice and explained how is it that even if I hear the difference between his and mine version, both are correct. The explanation had pretty much an academic aspect to it, so I'm super glad I got a linguistics graduate as a teacher.
Huge thanks, Jack!
Jul 31, 2018
Eric S
98 Chinese (Mandarin) lessons
Teacher’s pick
Jack is EXCELLENT. His genuine enthusiasm about language learning is infectious! Re: Chinese pronunciation (which was the most intimidating part of learning Chinese for me), Jack gave detailed explanations about tongue placement which helped me a lot. Looking forward to the next one. :)
May 6, 2018
Aaron Crenshaw 松年
1 Chinese (Mandarin) lesson
Enjoyed my first lesson.
May 24, 2025
Tanya
11 Chinese (Mandarin) lessons
Teacher’s pick
Can't say enough great things about Jack as a teacher. He is enthusiastic and knowledgeable. I am sure that his unique skills as a linguist further contribute to helping me understand not just the "what" of Chinese, but more importantly the "why" and "how". Thanks for another great lesson!
May 21, 2018
Darri Már Valsson
13 Chinese (Mandarin) lessons
Jack is a wonderful teacher, it was really easy to follow what he is teaching and just a great vibe overall during class 10/10 would recommend
Aug 16, 2025
Zuri
7 Chinese (Mandarin) lessons
Jack is such an incredible teacher for students of all levels. His teaching style encourages you to generate sentences and ideas on your own, which eventually builds your confidence. In addition, he makes a concerted effort to engage students about the content that is most applicable to their daily life. Through storytelling, he is able to give context to the words and sentence structures in the lesson which makes his class such an enjoyable experience. I have seen such a massive improvement in my vocabulary skillset and confidence in such a short amount of time! Could not recommend enough!
Mar 9, 2025
Trial Lesson
USD 13.50
Your final payment will be made in USD