Dasha Cowley

Hello, I’m a graduate of Chinese Language and History from the University of Edinburgh, offering one-to-one Mandarin tutoring in the lead-up to exam season.

What makes my teaching different is that I learned Mandarin myself through the UK examination system, from GCSE to A-Level and Pre-U, all the way to achieving a First-Class Honours degree in Chinese and History. I am not a native speaker, which means I understand first-hand the exact challenges British students face when learning Chinese: the overwhelming vocabulary, the complex sentence structures, the jump in difficulty between GCSE and A-Level, and the pressure of translation and essay writing.

Having been through every stage myself, and having scored highly each time (A* at GCSE, A*AAA at A-Level including Chinese Pre-U, and a First-Class degree), I know precisely what examiners are looking for and which revision methods genuinely work. I’ve tested and refined the most effective ways to tackle the “mountains” of vocabulary and the trickiest grammar patterns, and I teach students clear, repeatable strategies that lead to high marks.

Because I learned Mandarin as an English speaker, I can explain grammar and structure in a way that makes logical sense to UK students. I know the common mistakes learners make, because I made them too, and I know exactly how to fix them.

Alongside my academic training, I spent a year studying in Taiwan, so I combine strong exam technique with authentic cultural and spoken experience.

My tutoring style is structured, interactive, and results-driven. Lessons begin with conversational warm-ups to build fluency and confidence, followed by targeted revision, exam practice, and mastery of key vocabulary and sentence frameworks. I focus heavily on translation skills, essay structure, and high-level constructions that consistently earn top marks.

By combining proven exam strategies with engaging, practical language use, I help students not only excel but also enjoy their Mandarin learning journey.