ChinesePod launched in October 2005, and was Praxis Language’s first product. It now features more than 1000 free lesson and extra downloads, and has hundreds of thousands of users, and publishes a new lesson seven days per week.
The ChinesePod Team
Ken Carroll
Lead Teacher
Ken Carroll has worked as a language teacher/teacher trainer for 20 years. His areas of expertise are in language acquisition, and communicative teaching methodologies. Ken is also an entrepreneur. In 1996 he co-founded the Kai En English Language Training Center in Shanghai. He is also a co-founder of ChinesePod, 2005, and Praxis Language, 2007.
Ken hosts Newbie and Elementary lessons, and blogs at Here Comes Everybody.
Jenny Zhu
Lead Host
Jenny Zhu has been with ChinesePod from the beginning in 2005. After gaining her masters’ degree in International Relations and Public Policy in Australia, she returned to Shanghai and started an unconventional but fully rewarding career of teaching the world Chinese through podcasts. She also has experience in radio and media content development.
Jenny blogs at JennyZhu.com.
John Pasden
Lead Teacher
John Pasden graduated with highest honors from University of Florida with a degree in Japanese Language and Literature. He immediately moved to China, where he applied his interest in linguistics to teaching university spoken English classes. As his creative teaching methods won awards in Hangzhou, John also gained fluency in Mandarin Chinese. In 2008, he completed his Masters in Applied Linguistics at Shanghai’s East China Normal University in an all-Chinese program meant for natives.
John hosts Intermediate and Upper Intermediate lessons, and blogs at Sinosplice
Connie Cheng
Host & Academic Developer
Connie Cheng graduated from Zhejiang Normal University with a degree in International Chinese Studies. Before ChinesePod, she was a Mandarin teacher at a language school. She currently hosts the Advanced shows with Jenny Zhu, the QingWen show with Amber.
Lu Jiaojie
Academic Developer
Lu Jiaojie graduated from Shanghai’s East China Normal University in 2007 with a Master’s degree in Applied Linguistics. She has extensive Chinese teaching experience, and works at Praxis Language as an academic developer where she writes lesson dialogs, edits lessons, and sometimes acts as a voice actor or host.
Venus Jin
Production Assistant
Venus Jin graduated from the Shangrao Teacher Training College in Jiangxi Province. She is responsible for supplemental lesson recordings, lesson content upload, preliminary quality checks, and data maintenance.
Vera Zhang
Head Counselor
Vera Zhang graduated from East China Normal University with a degree in International Chinese Studies. Before Chinesepod, Vera was a mandarin teacher for several years, including one year in the Philippines. She is now the head Exectuive & Guided counselor, and teaches clients from all over the world.
中文 Chinese