“That will be £1500, please.”

 

I felt sick as I read the number on the screen. 

 

It was more than I’d ever spent on Chinese lessons before, and a LOT of money to spend in one go. 

 

So, naturally, I started using the same old excuses to try and talk myself out of it. 

 

Do I really need a teacher? 

Should I just find a good YouTuber?

Can I just MAKE myself study? 

 

But seeing as I've barely glanced at a character since I moved home, I knew that if I didn’t commit to something, I wasn't going to do anything. 

 

So, I took a deep breath and waved goodbye to almost double my rent, reassuring myself that the school had a good reputation.

 

The first few lessons were… okay.

 

I mean, we were just repeating words and reading stories from the World’s Most Boring textbook.

 

But SO WHAT.

 

I was studying again, and my teacher was nice. Things were good.

 

 

… And it would all fall apart.

 

I’d ask:

 

‘I don’t understand how this structure works. Can you please explain it?’

 

And my teacher would go:

Before stuttering something along the lines of: 

 

“Uh… it’s… uh… it’s… it's in Chinese it’s… just… like that.”

 

Or my personal favourite:

 

“Your Chinese is good. Maybe you could look it up yourself.”

Really, I should have read the warning signs then.

 

But it was another eight weeks before I discovered that she’s not actually a teacher.

 

SHE’S A FREAKING FINANCIAL CONTROLLER.

 

No wonder she was force-feeding me 40 new words per lesson and consulting Google every time I asked a question. 

 

Her qualifications started and ended at being a native speaker. 

 

*sigh*

 

As soon as I left that class, I headed STRAIGHT to the school’s website to check that I hadn’t somehow signed myself up for lessons at an accountancy firm. 

 

And there it was in black and white: Accredited Language Teachers. 

The sad thing is this school does have a great reputation. It’s just MASSIVELY letting itself down with shoddy marketing promises its Chinese classes can’t live up to. 

 

 

 

I think it’s fair to say I haven’t seen a single one of these in action. But then again… what do they actually mean?

 

As the student, I shouldn't have to ask that question. 

 

 

Because the more specific they are before people drop four figures on their courses…

 

… the less likely they are to receive refund requests. 

 

Seeing as I’m still waiting for a response, I’m probably not gonna share free copy advice with them. So, I’ll share it with you, instead. 

 

Here’s what we can learn from their vague marketing promises:

 

 

Your qualifications are an important trust signal that reassure the reader you know what you’re doing.

 

But without context, words like ‘qualified’ or ‘accredited’ can have the opposite effect. 

 

Qualified in what exactly? Tell us!

 

Because you don’t want to leave the reader guessing if your idea of accredited is the same as theirs. 

 

Or if your birth certificate is your accreditation. 

 

Or if you're actually — surprise! — an accredited financial controller.

 

 

A lot of schools offer a ‘dedicated learning program tailor-made just for you’.

 

But I’m yet to see one that explains what that means. 

 

As the student, I want to know: 

 

How is your program tailored to me?

What topics will we cover?

What topics WON’T we cover?

 

Everyone says their courses are tailored to their students' interests. No one tells them how. And that's your opportunity to stand out. 

 

You could try speaking to their interests:

→ We’ll talk about everything from Gen Z’s spending habits to Nike’s Chinese New Year ad campaign. 

 

Or allaying their fears:

→ I promise we’re staying firmly in the 21st century. No random history lessons here. Snore.

 

 

Now, it’s absolutely okay to say this if you’re actually backing it up with proof. Like, say, in the module breakdown on a sales page. 

 

But if you’re not?

 

You’re leaving the reader to decide what that roadmap might look like, and since they’re not the expert, they probably don’t know. 

 

So, tell them what will happen at each stage of their journey. Define those success milestones. Use your meticulous planning as a way to build trust, show your authority and get them EXCITED to learn. 

 

In summary?

 

Be clear.

Be specific. 

 

And don’t let your accountant teach your students. 

 

Fingers crossed for a refund. 

 

Lauren x 

 

P.S. If you are (or know) a Chinese teacher who doesn’t live and die by the HSK syllabus and actually understands the grammar, PLEASE get in touch or pass on their details. 

 

P.P.S. Writing specific copy is HARD. If you need a hand in making sure your messaging is clear, convincing and fun to read, I have space for one website copy project starting in May, and two power hours. Click for more info or reply if you have any Qs.