Teaching Was Never the Plan
Can you become a language teacher without a teaching degree? I did. And honestly, I never planned to teach Mandarin, or teach anything at all. But here I am, running The Mandarin Story, and this is probably the most fulfilling thing I have ever done.
Let me take you back to 2016. I was 22 years old. Someone asked me to teach a class. I said yes, mostly because I did not know how to say no. No formal training. No BA in education. No teaching methodology course. Nothing that would qualify me on paper.
How I Accidentally Became a Mandarin Teacher
That first class changed something. Someone actually stopped me mid-session and asked if I had done a BA or MA in teaching. "Why do you ask?" I said. "Because of the way you explain things" - was the response.
I laughed and said no. But that question stayed with me. Maybe I had something here. Maybe the explaining part came naturally.
I sometimes feel I did not choose teaching. Teaching chose me. This sounds dramatic, I know. But there is no other way to explain how I ended up here. I even quit teaching completely in 2018 - completely moved on. - thought that chapter was done.
And then 2020 happened. Some serendipity, some universe-level nudging, and I was back in a classroom (a virtual one, by then). Six years later, we have The Mandarin Story.
Why September 5 Feels Different
In India, Teachers' Day is celebrated on September 5 because it is the birth anniversary of Dr. Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan. For most people, it is a nice day to post about their favourite school teacher. For me, it has become something much more.
This year, Teachers' Day fell on a Saturday. My phone did not stop buzzing all day. Messages came in from students through the morning, afternoon, evening. Some of them have only just started learning Chinese with me. They are still figuring out tones and strokes. And some of them wrote to me in Mandarin.
I read those messages and just sat there for a moment. A student who barely knew 你好 (nΗ hΗŽo, hello) a few years ago was texting me full sentences in Chinese. On a Saturday. Without being asked.
That is the thing about this work. You do not always see it happening. Day after day, class after class, you explain the same stroke order, correct the same tone mistake, answer the same question about why Chinese has no alphabet. And then one random weekend, proof shows up in your inbox.
The Part Nobody Tells You About Teaching
Teaching is not glamorous. Especially language teaching. Especially teaching a language most people think is "too difficult" before they have even tried.
There are days when I wonder if anyone is really absorbing what I am saying. There are weeks when the workload at TMS feels endless. This particular Saturday was busy and tiring because of everything we are building right now. New courses, new batches, new systems.
But it was a happy busy. A happy tiring.
I read that sentence back and it sounds contradictory. It is not. When the work matters to you, exhaustion hits different. You sleep well after it.
What Teaching Mandarin Has Taught Me
Every batch, I learn something new about how Indian learners think. Where they get stuck. What analogies actually land. Why explaining tones with Hindi examples works better than any textbook method.
I have no formal teaching degree. I say this not to brag, but because I think it matters. The "right" qualifications did not make me a teacher. Students did. Their questions shaped how I explain. By learning mandarin online with me, their struggles shaped my curriculum. Their progress shaped my confidence that Mandarin is 不难 (bù nán, not hard) when taught the right way.
If you had told 22-year-old me that one day strangers would send her Teachers' Day wishes in Chinese, I would have laughed. That girl did not know she was a teacher yet.
Absolutely Blessed by What the Universe Chose for Me
I do not use the word "blessed" loosely. I mean it. This path found me. I tried to leave it once, and it pulled me back. Now I cannot imagine doing anything else.
加油 (jiā yóu, keep going) is what I tell my students when they struggle. But honestly, the universe has been saying that to me this whole time.
So yes, 5th September is not just another day. It is a celebration. Of students who trusted me. Of messages that arrive when I least expect them. Of a career I never planned but now cannot live without.
If teaching chose you too, you know exactly what I mean.
Want to Learn Mandarin Online with me?
I'm starting a new online batch of my Foundation Mandarin Course for absolute beginners next month. Small group, live, and taught by me on 12 October.
To know more, drop me a message on Whatsapp
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