Prime Highlights:

• Rob Neal turned a brief trip to Beijing into a lifelong passion for Mandarin, shaping his career as a teacher and lecturer.
• He works to make Mandarin learning fun and accessible for students from all backgrounds, both in schools and at home.

Key Facts:

• Rob taught Mandarin for nearly 20 years in UK secondary schools, including challenging urban areas.
• He is now a lecturer and Course Director for the PG Dip Mandarin and PGCE Mandarin programmes at Oxford University.

Background:

When Rob Neal first went to Beijing in the early 2000s, he didn’t speak any Mandarin. He got around the city on his own and never thought that this short trip would shape his whole career.

Over two decades later, China continues to play a central role in Rob’s professional and personal life. He is now a lecturer in Modern Language Education (Mandarin) and the Course Director for the PG Dip Mandarin and PGCE Mandarin programmes at Oxford University’s Department of Education.

Rob’s journey into Mandarin began unexpectedly. With a background in French and German, he initially worked across Europe and Asia as an English language teacher, from Hungary to Japan. It was during a short visit to Beijing that the seeds of a lifelong passion for Mandarin were planted. “I remember getting lost and not speaking a word of Mandarin,” Rob recalls. “It was fascinating, and I knew I would return.”

Returning to China in 2004, Rob taught English at Peking University. The experience offered him a close view of a nation in transition. While living in Beijing, he studied Mandarin closely and learned with his students through discussions, travel, and daily life.

After returning to the UK, Rob taught Mandarin for almost twenty years in secondary schools, often in busy city areas. He pursued research on how beginners develop pronunciation and tone, focusing on intelligibility and confidence rather than perfection. “Mandarin should feel achievable,” he says.

Before joining Oxford, Rob coordinated the Manchester Swire Chinese Language Centre, promoting Mandarin across schools in Manchester, Birmingham, Leeds, and Oxford. He goes to schools, talks with students, and encourages them to enjoy learning Chinese. At home, his children speak both Chinese and English.

From getting lost in Beijing to leading in Mandarin teaching, his story shows how languages can change lives.

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