Conversational Taishanese 101 CEXTN50-202680

Conversational Taishanese 101

with instructor Crystal Chan

Sessions: 6

Thursdays, 6:30pm-8:30pm, 10/20-11/24/2026

Location: Chinatown/North Beach Center, TBD

Conversational Taishanese (Toisanese) is a beginner-friendly, interactive language course designed to help students develop a practical foundation in Taishanese (Toisanese) , a heritage dialect widely spoken in San Francisco’s Chinese community. Each class meeting combines pronunciation and tone practice, vocabulary building, and guided conversation focused on real-life topics such as introductions, family, food, and daily routines. Students can expect a supportive, small-group environment emphasizing listening and speaking exercises, short cultural insights, and community interaction. The goal is to help learners gain the confidence to hold simple conversations, recognize common phrases, and understand the cultural context of the language. By the end of the workshop, students will have the skills to introduce themselves, share about their background, and engage in basic everyday dialogue in Taishanese (Toisanese).

Materials: Learn to Speak Taishanese 1: A Beginner's Guide to Mastering Conversational Taishanese Chinese [$24.99]

Instructor Bio: Crystal is a born and raised San Franciscan who grew up in the heart of Chinatown. In addition to Taishanese, she also speaks Cantonese and Mandarin, and is passionate about preserving and revitalizing Cantonese and Taishanese language and culture for future generations. Crystal graduated with a B.A. from Yale University.