I’m John Holmes working for Ultraseal international as the international sales manager responsible for our business in Asia. Recent trade into China has increased so dramatically that the ability to speak Chinese has allowed Ultraseal International to enjoy the benefit of this expanding market.

I have been learning Chinese with Sabrina now for one year and am very happy to communicate and travel in China un-assisted. I have found that Sabrina is able to tailor the lessons to allow for both the flexibility required for my job and to suit the technical vocabulary I require working in China.

I would certainly recommend Sabrina and Citrella for those of you who are either interested in learn a small amount of Chinese for use on a holiday or weather you are looking at developing and expanding your business to break into the large China market.

John Holmes, International Sales Manager, Ultraseal, Coventry

I've spent about 6 months learning Chinese with Sabrina. At first I had a hard time with learning the characters - but it definitely gets easier and Sabrina is very supportive. She has the patience of a saint! With her grasp of English she's able to articulate the meanings behind the Chinese words - this makes the language far easier to understand, not to mention enjoyable. Since learning Chinese with Sabrina, I've been inspired to change my University course to include Chinese and I'll be spending a year in China. I'm also on the lookout for career opportunities in China! I'd definitely recommend Sabrina for a whole range of people. The casual learner with an interest in the language, people who'd like to travel to China or those who wish to learn it for business purposes. Sabrina is more than equipped to suit your needs as she moves at your pace and tailors your learning to your specific needs.

Caine, Student, Birmingham

Ni hao! Hello. I've been learning Chinese with Sabrina for 8 months now. Before I found Citrella online, I had tried for many months to learn Chinese on my own. I bought so many books and cds. I tried. But I just couldn't make any progress. I realised within moments of beginning my first lesson that to make any real progress in a second language, you must have a good teacher. To make progress, it is absolutely necessary to have the support, guidance, and expert knowledge of an experienced and highly qualified native teacher.

I wanted to speak to my Chinese friends in their own language. I wanted to get to know them better. I wanted to learn more about the Chinese people, Chinese culture, Chinese history. Learning the Chinese language is the gateway to the real, living China! It's wonderful! My language learning, my cultural learning, my fascination with all things Chinese (including Chinese food!) has become an important part of my life. My Chinese lesson is one of the most enjoyable parts of the week! And it has opened up so many possibilities; a growing understanding of my Chinese friends, holidays in a country with a fascinating past, an intriguing present, and an exciting future, maybe, sometime soon, even a new job and a new life in China!

I am making real progess in all aspects of the language; my pronunciation, my vocabulary and grammar, my knowledge of Chinese characters. In English, I am a middle-aged English teacher from the Midlands, in Chinese, I am an excited child with a whole world of new learning ahead!

I enjoy my preparation, I love the classes, and I always leave full of excitement, skipping back to my car, buzzing with new words, new sounds, and new shapes!

Pete, Teacher, Nuneaton

I studied with Citrella for just over a year and never thought I'd learn so much in that time. I was pretty much a beginner to start with but before long I was constructing sentences, understanding phrases and writing characters. The one on one tutoring really suited me as I could ask as many questions as I wanted and learn words and phrases specific to me. I would definately recommend Citrella and now I'm going to China for a month to continue my learning.

Scott, Student, Coventry

Sabrina is an excellent teacher! I decided to learn Chinese for both personal (I have a Chinese godson) and academic (interest in Chinese law and especially Confucius) reasons. Sabrina’s one on one teaching worked wonders.

I learnt to communicate by email with my godson using google pinyin. This encouraged me to learn both the pinyin and characters as google pinyin only works if you can identify the characters!

I learnt to write characters from the beginning, a very important aspect of holistic learning.

Our lessons were geared to this communication with exercises set which involved writing to a young person.

In oral communication, she carefully observed my lips and ensured that I pronounce words correctly. This was useful when I was in Taiwan because they told me that my pronunciation was better than that of other people from the West (I know of course that the Chinese are very polite, but…!)

Much more importantly, in every lesson, I learnt something about the context and culture of China from a very intelligent teacher. This has sustained me in my academic interest.

Professor Abdul Paliwala, University of Warwick