About Chinese Made Easy

Author Profiles

三、作者简介

 Ma Yamin (马亚敏)​​

Ms. Ma Yamin holds a Bachelor's degree in English Language and Literature from Shanghai Normal University and a Master of Education from Queen’s University (Canada), specializing in curriculum design and second language pedagogy. With over three decades of educational experience, she has:

• Taught English at junior and senior high schools in Shanghai

• Lectured in English at St. Lawrence College (Canada), City University of Hong Kong, and the Open University of Hong Kong

• Served as Chinese Department Head at Peak School and Island School under the English Schools Foundation (ESF) in Hong Kong

​​Author of Landmark Textbook Series:​​

• ​​Chinese Made Easy​​(Joint Publishing HK, 2001):

• Designed for heritage learners with basic Chinese exposure

• Aligned with IGCSE (UK), AP (US), HSK (China), and IB Language B Higher Level

• ​​Easy Steps to Chinese​​(BLCUP Press, 2006):

• Tailored for non-Chinese K-12 learners

• Meets IGCSE, AP, HSK, and IB Language B Standard Level requirements

​​Global Impact:​​

• Both series feature multilingual editions (French, German, Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, Dutch, Russian, Arabic, Korean)

• Adopted as core curricula in public and international schools worldwide

• Rank among the highest-circulation non-native Chinese textbooks globally

​​Professional Leadership:​​

• Keynote speaker at World Chinese Conferences and international academic forums

• Founded The ACT Conference(Hong Kong, 2013-2018) and pioneered The ICT Conference(2019 Hong Kong; 2020/2021 Shenzhen)

• Spearheaded the Philippines Innovative Chinese Language Teaching Conference(2019/2023/2024 Manila)

• Served as Curriculum Consultant for Caracan University (Philippines)

• Developer of TCIC (Teaching Chinese in International Context)certification program (endorsed by BLCUP)

​​Current Focus:​​

• Early childhood bilingual education research

• Preschool edition of Easy Steps to Chinese(2024 publication)

​​Methodological Innovation:​​

Develops evidence-based Chinese pedagogy integrating:

• Cross-linguistic analysis (Chinese-English)

• Neuroscience-informed instructional design

• Multicultural curriculum frameworks

Li Xinying (李欣颖)​​

Ms. Li Xinying earned her BA in English Language and Literature from Hebei Normal University and completed postgraduate studies in Applied Linguistics at Tsinghua University. Her distinguished career includes:

• English instruction at Renmin University of China

• Chinese lecturing at University of Edinburgh and Eton College (UK)

• 25+ years teaching international curricula at Hong Kong Island School:

• IGCSE Chinese

• Cambridge AS/A-Level Chinese

• IB Language B

​​Core Expertise:​​

• Proficient in both Chinese and English instruction

• Deep insight into Eastern and Western educational paradigms

• Specialized in:

• Classroom pedagogy for multilingual learners

• Teacher training program development

• Authentic assessment design