We are dedicated to all children around the world learning Mandarin Chinese. To quote children’s language expert Myriam Met – “The next generation of children has to be the best global citizens they can be. You cannot be a global citizen and be mono-lingual.”

As an organization we emphasise:
- Operational efficiency AND customer service
- Innovation, reinvesting to date all profits into Mandarama
- The best Western classroom management and pedagogy AND first class knowledge of the Chinese language and culture
- Treating all employees with the uttermost respect for their talents whilst developing and nuturing their ability to teach Mandarin Chinese to children

Our Team

We generate and source leading edge practice on teaching Mandarin Chinese to young children. We are always striving to better what we do already very well. Our sole focus on children learning Mandarin Chinese allows us to be the best. Our expertise is available face to face in the UK (read more) and globally (read more)

Work for us – people like working for Bamboo and Mandarama

Our Directors

The Management Team behind Bamboo and Mandarama maintain the high standards our reputation means customers now rightly expect and pushes the organization to ever higher and broader levels of service.

Pete Goodman – Customer Experience Director

Pete is the 'make sure the experience is always great' person in Bamboo and Mandarama. Centrally placed and always available he is known for being responsive, efficient and personable. Nothing is ever too much effort.

Pete spent 13 years as an Officer in the Royal Navy, always working to high standards. More recently, he taught children to snowboard in Whistler, Canada, learning what it takes to provide North American standards of Customer Service. He has a M.Sc. degree in Organizational Behaviour from Birkbeck College, University of London.

Email: pete@bamboolearning.co.uk

Jill Shepherd - Strategy Director

Jill is the ideas and continual improvement person. She is always looking out for better ways of providing what we do and how to better serve children learning Mandarin Chinese with a broader service offering.

Mandarama is her idea. Having researched the market well and talked to the most important customers, children, the concept of making a subscription site for children learning Mandarin was born. It needed to be designed for the internet savvy children that are the type of children learning Chinese. Jills’ PhD in the role of meaning in communication is central to Mandarama’s pedagogy.

Jill also finds time to teach on a number of international MBA programmes, face to face and online having an MBA herself. She enjoys teaching what she practises and practising what she teaches. She remains up to date with the latest management and educational thinking. She also mentors students starting their own business.

Email: jill@bamboolearning.co.uk

Oliver Walker - ICT Director

Olly is responsible for the day to day running of the Bamboo and Mandarama websites. He advises the company on all technology related options and decisions.

Oliver has a background in ICT, graduating from the M.Sc. in Information Technology at Loughborough University, UK in 2001 with Distinction. By living in techno centric Vancouver, he keeps his ICT skills up to date. An active part of the community, he recently gave a talk to the Van based Drupal Group entitled - Remembering the User: Tricks for Making Drupal Easier. There can be no more demanding user than a child. Oliver also brings his magnetic personality, handsome face and excellent interpersonal skills to the table, and is a valued member of the team.

Email: olly@bamboolearning.co.uk

Educational Experts

Our independent Educational Experts are responsible for a consistently high standard of learning. They cover both educational psychology and how Chinese is naturally learnt by children in a way that will help their and our future.

Sue Gainsford - Education Consultant

Sue has a B.Ed. and a Masters Degree in Educational Psychology from Manchester University. These qualifications combined with 20 years experience teaching and advising in both nursery and primary education have allowed her to develop an in-depth understanding of how children best learn. Sue helps to support and monitor the development and delivery of motivating and exciting teaching and learning experiences grounded in sound pedagogy. She enables your children to make progress and gain a sense of achievement from acquiring a new skill.

James Trapp

James' passion and expertise lies in how an understanding of Chinese culture is an integral part of learning Mandarin Chinese. James was our inspiration for the cultural part of Mandarama where children learn about Chinese culture in an engaging and interactive way. The comparative simplicity of Mandarin's phonic and grammatical systems means it draws heavily on context for precision of meaning. A knowledge and understanding of Chinese culture, both past and present, form part of this context, and it is truly the case with Mandarin that being bi-cultural is an essential part of becoming bi-lingual.

James holds an Honours Degree in Chinese from the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London, with special papers in early Chinese art and archaeology. He is widely travelled in China itself and still continues to accompany tours as tour manager and acts as a specialist lecturer for several companies. He also works for the British Museum helping schools integrate Chinese culture and language into their teaching and learning.

Tutors

Our tutors are bi-lingual and bi-cultural. All understand what it takes to work with children educated outside of China. They understand inter-activity, classroom management, natural pedagogy, co-learning of culture and language. They share and create best practice. They are central to what we do and it shows. We treat them accordingly.