Cantonese Language Program Objective

The Boston Language Institute, New England’s leading language school, offers Cantonese language courses to individuals and companies. The quality of instruction provided in our Cantonese language classes are on a par with the best native Cantonese language school.

We consider it to be the major goal of our program to have you use Cantonese in as large a variety of real-life situations as possible. To that end, our Cantonese courses have been designed to build fluency in both the spoken and the written language. Communication in a warm and relaxed environment is an important feature of our programs, as is homework, which includes exercises for review and practice of the material taught in class. Moreover, by keeping the class size limited to twelve students, we ensure that each student will be able to actively participate.

Cantonese Level 1
Introduces spoken Cantonese and aims to provide beginning students with a practical command of the language. Students learn to read some characters, but the emphases of this course are proper pronunciation and the development of conversational proficiency. Among the topics introduced are tonal recognition and pronunciation, simple sentence structure, interrogatives, counting and telling time. Upon completion of this course students should be able to introduce themselves, exchange greetings and converse simply on a number of everyday topics.
(Teacher-selected resources)

Cantonese Level 2
Upon completion of this course, students can expect to be able to discuss a broader range of topics with greater precision and confidence. Building upon the basic foundation provided in Level One, more advanced topics are introduced including the use of comparatives and the future tense. Students can expect to improve dramatically their vocabulary through participation in structured oral activities.
(Teacher-selected resources)

Private Programs

Immersion Program

Text and Supplementary Materials

Since communication in a foreign language requires an understanding of the cultural context, our aim is to teach you the living language through carefully selected textbooks, newspaper and magazine articles and other relevant materials, rather than have you repeat and memorize tourist phrases.

Our teachers usually provide suggestions for texts and supplementary materials before the beginning of a program, both group and private.  Also, our on-line bookstore specializing in foreign language textbooks, study guides and audiocassettes, is a good source for browsing and choosing study materials.

Tuition and Course Organization

Tuition for the Cantonese group program at both levels is $599. There is a non-refundable $35 registration fee for first-time students only.

In addition to our core program, we offer a Daytime Intensive program which covers three to four semesters in eight weeks - offering the greater likelihood of actually speaking, as well as reading and writing, the language than a traditional university course. Tuition for the Daytime Intensive Program is $2,396. And the cost for the Group Immersion Program is $2,995.

The Boston Language Institute Guarantee

Because of the individualized nature of our programs and the high quality of our instruction, we guarantee your satisfaction. If you are not satisfied with the quality of instruction within the first two weeks of a main session, we will refund your tuition in full.
Refund requests must be made no later than the business day after the second meeting of a once-a-week or the fourth meeting of a twice-a-week class of an eight-week ession.

Class Schedules

We encourage students to register before the deadline above, especially since classes are limited to 12 students. A Program Coordinator will be happy to take registration information by phone (617-262-3500 x241), fax or e-mail.