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About Us
Finding Inspiration in Every Turn
At Mandarin Linguist Lab, we are dedicated to providing an immersive Mandarin language learning experience for the West Los Angeles community. Through small class sizes and the integration of technology, we foster an engaging and supportive environment. Our mission is to inspire a lifelong love of language learning and become the premier Mandarin immersion program in the region, empowering our students with the skills to succeed in a global world.
Our Story
In West Los Angeles, many parents and educators recognized a growing need for a quality after-school Mandarin immersion program. Families wanted their children to have access to Mandarin language education, but there weren't enough local options to meet the demand.
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To help the community, we came together with a shared vision, and launched Mandarin Linguist Lab, an after-school program that offers a fun, immersive learning environment where children can not only learn the language but also build confidence and cultural awareness.
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What began as an idea has blossomed into a vibrant community resource, and we're thrilled to continue growing, bringing more families together to share in the joy of learning Mandarin.
Meet The Team
Wenchi Yang Selzer
Co-Founder and Head Teacher
Yang Laoshi has over 15 years of experience teaching ESL and Mandarin Chinese.
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It has always been her dream to start a program that brings a community together. Over the past decade, Yang Laoshi has contributed to the local Mandarin immersion community through her play-based learning approach and has founded many Mandarin immersive activities and Chinese cultural celebrations on and off her daughter’s campus. She enthusiastically initiated the first ever Lunar New Year celebration that united all four LAUSD West Mandarin immersion programs for a grand event after the pandemic. Now that her child has entered middle school, Yang Laoshi is excited to return to teaching with her extensive hands-on experience in Chinese language education.
In her free time, Yang Laoshi enjoys watching movies. During the pandemic, her child saw this so often that she told everyone her mom's real job was "binge-watching Netflix."
Jing Xu
Mandarin Teacher
Xu Laoshi is an experienced educator with 15 years in the teaching profession and hold an advanced international Chinese language teaching certification.
She has been teaching Chinese in schools, where her enthusiasm and patience create a vibrant classroom environment. Her dedication and responsibility have led to significant student progress and recognition from parents.
Alysia Ma
Assistant Teacher
Ma Laoshi is a certified Montessori teacher who teaches at a local Mandarin immersion preschool. She is also in the process of obtaining her Master’s degree in Education.
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Ma Laoshi holds a Bachelor’s degree in Arts with a major in Guzheng performance from the Sichuan Conservatory of Music and is a member of the China Musicians Association. She began studying the traditional Chinese instrument—the Guzheng—at the age of six and has accumulated eight years of teaching experience for Guzheng. During her high school and university studies at the Sichuan Conservatory of Music, she performed across several Southeast Asian countries. The enthusiastic reception of the Guzheng from international audiences during her performances inspired her to start offering online Guzheng lessons, where she has taught many children for years, including providing lessons to Mandarin immersion students in Chinese.
Fun fact: Ma Laoshi is originally from Chengdu, China, the hometown of pandas!
Our Schedule
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