Miao Zheng

SInce Chinese is a dramatically different from Roman system languages, I would start from PINYIN with entry level students. PINYIN is the Chinese version of the phonetic symbol, which is the easiest way to learn the pronunciation of each letter. Once PINYIN got fluent, we could read any words even without knowing the meaning behind it.
For more advanced students, vocabulary is the most important part to form a phrase. As in Chinese, there are not too much restrictions in grammar, no “s” for plurals or “ed” for past tense at all. Therefore, spending time in learning the letters is the most important part of the study. Imagine yourself read out the name and tell the meaning to your friends when you see something in Chinese. Are you prepared for the worship from them?
I will try to make the lesson as fun as possible, we could start with learn to sing a song, and the learn the meaning of the lyric. Moreover, we could discuss the popular made up words in the Chinese social media. So this stage would be more off the book, integrate to “street” level of Chinese.
I will try to help you leaning a new language, hopefully it can be intriguing and influential. With my own experience of how to learn English, pass it down to you.