About the Instructor 

I am David BK Tan from Singapore, the Chinese language instructor at Le Mandarin School. I am also a China specialist.

I started out as a Chinese language trainer with IOR Global Services in 2008. IOR Global Services is a leading provider of global mobility and talent management solutions designed to advance employee effectiveness across cultures. My role, as a Chinese Language Trainer on assignment basis, is to teach Standard Mandarin i.e. Putonghua 普通话 to senior executives and/or their dependents of US Fortune 500 MNCs in Singapore that engage IOR Global Services for their language needs. My students were from the US, England, France, Australia, Russia, Philippines, Indonesia etc. My school-going students were from international schools such as Singapore American School, United World College, Singapore Australian School and Singapore French School, My foreign students ranged from children, adolescents, senior executives to retirees. 

I was also conferred the title of "Preferred Language Trainer (Mandarin)" by IOR in 2017 (see below and the name displayed is my dialect name).

If you are interested in China, Mandarin content, you can refer my social media channels to gain an understanding:

Tiktok https://www.tiktok.com/@china_boleh

Youtube https://www.youtube.com/@chinaboleh

Substack https://tiangong.substack.com/

LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/mandarinedupreneur/

Note that some handles have the word boleh in it. Boleh (pronounced as Bo-lay) is a Malay word which means can or able, and it sounds like Bo-le 伯乐 in Mandarin. 伯乐 was a legendary figure in ancient China famous for recognising exceptional horses, and it   became a metaphor for someone who can spot and nurture talented people who are not yet recognised. Thus this channel is like a Bo-le to extract gems of knowledge on Mandarin/China to benefit the viewers, and with the can-do spirit epitomised by the word Boleh, you will find that understanding Mandarin/China is not difficult at all. 

I also have a Diploma in Teaching Chinese Language that was awarded by China's Confucius Institute, which collaborates with Nanyang Technological University of Singapore (NTU) in this programme. Due to my interest in Chinese language, I took up the module "The Chinese Language And Its Global Significance" when enrolled in the MA (Contemporary China) programme at NTU. 

Below on the left is my Advanced level of Chinese Proficiency Test  i.e. Hanyu Shuiping Kaoshi, the universally recognised standard for Chinese language proficiency for those non-PRC citizens, as administered by the National Chinese Proficiency Test Committee, an agency of China's Ministry of Education..

On the right is the Advanced level certificate on Conversational Mandarin in workplace awarded by KLC, a leading training institute in SIngapore.