In our one-on-one lessons tutors will tailor the topics to the interests and language level of your child. Let your child's tutor know about favorite areas to explore by filling out your child's profile. With our immersion approach, your child will child learn about the world as they learn a language. Topics include daily living, science and nature, culture and travel and more. 

It will depend on your child's age, language level and whether there have been requests to focus on certain areas. To keep things interesting, you can expect our tutors to vary the format. Together they might:

• Work on a learning module
• Play a game
• Learn a tongue-twister or a poem
• Watch a short cultural video
• Take a quiz
• Have a debate
• Do a role play
• Write a story together
• And more...

To start the lesson, you can log into your Parent Hub, or your child can log in to their Kid Hub.

Kid Hub: You or your child can log into their Kid Hub directly using the username and password you created for them. You’ll see a "Start Lesson" button which gets activated 5 minutes before the lesson starts.

Parent Hub: You can log into your Parent Hub, and then click on the button "Go to Child Hub to Start Lesson". From there, click on the “Start Lesson” button which gets activated 5 minutes before the lesson starts.

We hire tutors who have a mastery of their language, a love of helping kids and a friendly and engaging personality. While we hire from a variety of educational backgrounds, most of our tutors are have advanced degrees in education and are experienced foreign language teachers. They're also people you'd want to hang out with and talk to.

Our tutors are based in the United States.

For privacy and security purposes, all communication between the tutor and parent or child happens through the PandaTree platform. If you have a message you would like to pass on to your tutor, please click the envelope icon in your child's next lesson box.

Yes, all our tutors speak English well, and some are even multilingual. They personally understand the challenges language learners face.

If your child asks a question in English your tutor can help accelerate their learning by reframing it in the target language.

Often with a new learner our tutors will speak English briefly at the start of the first lesson since establish a personal connection is very helpful.

Per ACTFL guidelines, our tutors keep 90%+ of the lesson in the target language to provide a language-rich learning environment.

Sure. We have many students who use PandaTree along with language lessons at school. If there are materials a student needs practice, the parent can upload them 24 hours in advance of the lesson. We’ve helped students practice for tests and presentations. That said, we're not an "answer service"; we care about your child’s long-term language growth.

To share materials with a tutor log into your Parent Hub and click on the envelope icon in the box for your next scheduled lesson. 

It’s important to introduce new vocabulary in context, and connected to the real-life object, action, emotion or idea. Your child's tutor will tailor the rate of introducing new vocabulary to your child's progress and grasp of the previous lesson(s). For these reasons we don’t give out the curriculum in advance.

For PandaTree lessons you'll need:

One of the following devices, with a built-in or external camera and microphone, and a high-speed Internet connection. Please be sure, on whichever device you use, your operating system and browser are fully updated.

There's nothing to download. Our proprietary PandaTree Live video platform lesson will launch directly in your Internet browser when you start your lesson.

Use a computer, laptop or Chromebook (no phone or tablet) with a microphone and camera, and a high-speed Internet connection.

For PCs, use the Google Chrome or Mozilla Firefox browser (not Safari, IE, or Edge.)

For Mac computers, use the Safari browser.

Ensure that your computer’s sound is turned on and that the volume is at an appropriate level.

Rebooting your computer regularly can help improve its speed and performance.

Rebooting your WiFi router once a week (unplug it, then plug it back in) will generally help improve its speed and performance.

Click here to run a compatibility test for your browser, video, and audio. Follow the instructions on the screen, and if you have any problems, click the “Troubleshoot the issues” link at the bottom.

It's easy to alter the settings on your computer to reflect either the Chinese or Spanish keyboard. Click the links below for instructions.

Spanish

Chinese

We know Internet connections aren't perfect. If the video call drops or freezes, usually it will start up again by itself and the lesson continues. If it doesn’t, close your browser and reopen it and rejoin the lesson. Don’t hesitate to give us a call if you’re having issues and we can help troubleshoot. If a lesson is severely impacted by technology issues and you can’t resolve them, let us know. 

You can certainly try! :) Depending on where you are and how strong the internet connection is, your child may be able to have a productive lesson. However, there are some circumstances when it doesn't often work well:

1. In a moving car, you are constantly moving in and out of cell tower range, and your internet signal is being moved from tower to tower. This will likely cause interruptions and reconnects, as well as poor audio and/or video  during a lesson. In addition, there are usually conversations going on while in the car that may make it challenging for your child to concentrate on the lesson.

2. If you are using a WiFi Hotspot in a public environment, it may not be strong enough to support the interactive nature of a PandaTree lesson. Also, the background noise may make it difficult for your child and their tutor to hear each other.

3. Some hotels or other vacation properties don't have the fastest, strongest internet. While your child is certainly welcome to try to do his/her lesson on vacation, please be aware that the lesson's audio/video and game activity may lag or not run at all if the internet is slow or unstable.

Our best advice is if you know ahead of time that you'll be in a car or public place for your child's lesson, you can cancel or reschedule it at least 24 hours in advance. If you don't know in advance, let your child try to do the lesson. Unfortunately, we can't credit or reschedule lessons cancelled less than 24 hours in advance, nor for connectivity issues caused by doing a lesson in a car or public place.

When parents sign up for PandaTree, they’ll create a parent account using their email and a password.  Parents can also use a verified mobile phone number or a passkey to log in.

To select how you log in, go to www.PandaTree.com/signin. The page will be defaulted to the log-in type (password, mobile phone or passkey) last used. Click on the link to change the log-in type.

Parents also set up an account for their child using a username and password. This way, children can log in for their lessons or to use their Kid Hub without accessing parental functions such as lesson scheduling. 

Sign into your parent hub and click on your profile in the upper menu.

Select "Change Password" or "Manage Passkeys" from the drop down menu. 

After every lesson, you'll receive an email from PandaTree with a note from your tutor about the lesson and the new words your child has learned.

If you miss the email, you can also find this information in your child's PandaTree Student Profile. Just click on the "Notes" tab.

In addition, you're welcome to watch the video recording of your child's lesson which is available for 7 days in your Parent Hub. 

At the time of scheduling your child’s first lesson please complete your child’s profile to help your tutor learn more about your child.

Log into your Parent Hub then click on "Student Info" in the top menu and click on your child's name. Fill in the requested information about your child’s language level, interests, and anything else you want your tutor to know.

When you sign your child up for his or her first lesson, tell us what you know about his or her language level to help your tutor prepare for the lesson:

• Cannot understand or speak
• Knows a few words
• Basic conversation
• Fluent

During your first lesson your tutor will assess your child’s language level and help design a curriculum pathway that is right for your child.

Yes! We have a number of kids learning both Spanish and Chinese with PandaTree. In many parts of the world it isn’t unusual for kids to speak three languages – which means there are more people in the world they can be friends with.

Lessons are tailored to the student’s level for each language, and in their Kid Hub they can see their word lists and play games in both languages.

Yes, your children can do lessons together and we have some students who do that. It works best if your children are at the same language level, and they enjoy being together.

If you want to have your children do lessons together, please schedule lessons for one of your children. After the lessons are scheduled, return to your Parent Hub, scroll down to the 'Scheduled Lessons' section, and click on 'Add a Sibling to Lessons'

You can add up to 2 siblings to just 1 lesson or all upcoming ones. The cost is $5 per sibling for each 25-minute lesson ($10 for each 50-minute lesson).

Yes! There are a large number of students who use PandaTree for homeschooling, and we are happy to work with your homeschooling organization. Check with your organization to see if we are already on their approved list of vendors, and if so:

• Create a PandaTree account for your child
• Have your school send a purchase order to customercare@pandatree.com
• We’ll get the requested number of lesson credits added to your account so you can book lessons for your child.

If PandaTree isn’t yet an approved vendor for your organization you are welcome to email us at customercare@pandatree.com and request that we become a vendor.

PandaTree is great for shy children. It gives them a chance to practice speaking in a private, comfortable setting with a supportive and encouraging tutor. Our tutors are great at connecting with kids and making them feel comfortable. Many parents tell us that after a few lessons with PandaTree their child is often more confident speaking their second language at school or with relatives.

For some children it can take a few lessons for them to warm up, and at first, they may do more listening than speaking. This is natural, and there is still a lot of learning going on as your child absorbs what the tutor is saying.

We think the PandaTree experience will feel pretty different to your child than most other foreign language learning experiences. Our tutors are experts at engaging children's interests with topics they care about. Whether your child has a passion for cats or the best World Cup soccer moments, we've found most kids become motivated to express their point of view when it’s something they care about.

Our tutors can cover several shorter topics and use a range of games, pictures, and short videos to keep your child engaged. Let your tutor know ahead of time if your child would prefer more frequent topic changes. Your child will be surprised how quickly 25 minutes can fly by.

PandaTree’s personalized approach is designed to treat each child for the unique individual they are. A number of our students have learning challenges, including ADHD, autism, Asperger’s, dyslexia and speech and visual impediments. A number of our tutors have experience and training working with differently abled leaners. Reach out to customercare@pandatree.com and we’re happy to discuss your child's needs and suggest some appropriate tutors.

If you've found PandaTree, you probably already understand all the amazing benefits to children from learning a foreign language. Studies show learning a foreign language while young can grow brain power, improve career prospects and even increase compassion. Learn more here.

As early as possible! There are some great play-based programs out there for kids under five. We find that five or older is a good age to start with PandaTree because by then, kids usually have some computer skills and slightly longer attention spans.

But with that said, kids younger than five can still easily learn a foreign language. At that age, children are still learning to speak their native language, so they will find the concepts in a new language even easier! We have a Preschooler program for kids younger than five, taught by dedicated tutors who specialize in working with the littlest ones. The program is composed of playful elements that appeal to younger kids, such as songs, games, puppets, and other props. We invite you to learn more about the Preschooler program for Spanish and for Chinese.

We believe being able to have a real conversation with real people is the reason most of us learn a foreign language. Achieving fluency requires building new neural pathways, and that requires practice thinking and speaking. 

It doesn't hurt that we make the conversations fun and interesting for kids, which increases their engagement and motivation to learn. Through conversations your child can learn new things about topics they're interested in, and even hone their conversation skills.

By connecting our tutors and students face-to-face, we make the PandaTree experience as close to in-person as possible. However, with our easy-to-use site you get several advantages:

• PandaTree offers you access to some of the best tutors in the world, regardless of your location.
• PandaTree lessons are easy to schedule or reschedule to fit into your busy schedule. You can even keep up your child’s lessons if your family is travelling.
• PandaTree eliminates the travel time to and from a tutor's location.
• PandaTree makes it easy for you to see your child's progress.
• PandaTree tutors have access to a rich library of proprietary content to engage your child.
• Your child can come back to the PandaTree site anytime to review the words they've learned and play games to reinforce their learning.

Chinese has a reputation for being a tougher language for English speakers to learn but with more than 1 billion Chinese speakers in the world it is worth the effort. Our tutors make learning Chinese fun. Read here for a detailed analysis.

PandaTree teaches Mandarin Chinese, which is the largest Chinese dialect with more than 900 million native speakers. It is the official language of Mainland China and Taiwan.

Yes. Our curriculum uses Simplified characters, which is the standard in mainland China. Pinyin, the official Romanization system for Chinese, is also used to help students sound out a word if they don’t recognize the character.

While PandaTree’s biggest focus during lessons is on speaking, students can also get extra practice reading and writing between lessons with printouts and games in their Kid Hub.

Intermediate and Advanced students can also work on writing assignments together with their tutor using our PandaTree Shared Document Editor.

Mandarin Chinese uses 4 different tones to pronounce vowel sounds and the tones can change the meaning of the word. For example, the word “ma” in Chinese can mean “mother” or “horse” depending on the tone or pitch used for the “ah” sound. PandaTree tutors help their students practice tones, so no one’s mother ever gets accidentally offended.

Spanish is considered one of the easier languages for English-speaking students to learn, and because English and Spanish both share a Latin heritage there are thousands of words that are similar. Learn more about learning Spanish here.

Our tutors are based in the US and come from different parts of the Spanish-speaking world, including Spain, Mexico, Colombia, Venezuela, Puerto Rico and more. This allows your child to explore the rich diversity of Spanish and Latino culture with experts.

If your child is 2 and older, and can sit with you for 25 minutes, he or she is likely ready. Research shows starting kids as young as possible is best for language learning. We know young children have short attention spans and need to wiggle, and we’ve designed our program with that in mind.

Not at all! You can learn along with your child, and have fun exploring the new language together. It’s great for kids to see their parents learning something new, too.

No. We’ve designed the Preschool Program for kids who don’t know how to use a mouse or a computer. And preschoolers are joined by a parent or adult caregiver for the full lesson who can provide help if needed.

Most 6-year olds participate in the Preschooler program. For 6-year olds who can sit for 25 minutes, are starting to read, and are comfortable using a mouse, they are welcome to do the Beginner Program. If you are unsure, start your child in the Preschoolers program as an introduction. They can build on what they’ve learned later in the Beginner program.

Lessons cover greetings, counting, colors, animals and more. We use songs, short animated videos, puppets, props, and games to make every lesson engaging. Each lesson builds on prior ones and is tailored to your child and his or her pace of learning. After completing the introductory series of ten lessons, your child earns an adorable Certificate of Completion that you can frame and/or add to their scrapbook. Woohoo! And then they can continue in the next series of lessons.

We invite you to be a full participant in the lesson, whether you know the language or not. It’s helpful for your child to hear you join into the conversation, and you’re setting an example. If singing along isn’t your thing, we get it, but rest assured this isn’t America’s Got Talent and no one is judging. Most of us don’t have great voices but our children still love to hear us sing!

We’ve hand selected certain tutors to teach the PandaTree for Preschoolers program. They’ve had experience working with preschoolers, have received special training on the curriculum, and are equipped with the puppets and props to make the lessons super fun.

Well, for starters, we don’t usually use puppets with teenagers. We developed our Preschoolers program taking into account the unique ways in which youngsters learn. Toddlers love structure, so there is an opening and closing sequence that is the same for each lesson. Multiple topics are covered in short and engaging segments, and vocabulary builds from lesson to lesson. Oh, and we’ve built in a few fun surprises too!

That’s no problem. There is still a lot of listening and learning going on. We know some children need a while to warm up to new situations and others like to think a lot before they speak. We respect that! The lessons will also help you be your child’s language coach -- you’ll be able to sing songs and practice what you’re learning together between lessons.

Don’t worry. All PandaTree for Preschoolers tutors are experienced in working with preschool children. They will adapt the lesson and activities on the fly to work with your child, making every effort to keep them engaged. We do recommend scheduling lessons at times when your child is well-rested and fed. The end goal is for your child to have fun and enjoy the experience!

No. We’ve designed the PandaTree for Preschoolers program so that children don’t need to know how to read. For young language learners, the primary focus is always on listening and speaking. For children who are learning to read and write, there are coloring pages you can download after each lesson to practice new words.

Yes, we highly encourage it! You’ll be able to download the songs and lyrics you learn in your lessons from your child’s Kid Hub. Save them on your smartphone and sing along at home or in the car. Download the coloring pages after each class for a fun way to reinforce new words. Incorporate the words you’re learning into your child’s daily life, every day. Greet each other in the morning. Count toys together. Talk about colors. Say hello to dogs at the park. Don’t worry about your pronunciation being perfect… that will come with time. Keep the practice fun, encouraging and joyful. That’s the best way to help your child develop a love of language learning.

No – language learning takes years. By the end of the program your preschooler will have learned to say dozens of key words and understand even more. Research shows starting foreign language learning as young as possible helps. The goal of the PandaTree for Preschoolers program is to make your young child’s first exposure to foreign languages a joyful experience and be a solid foundation for their future learning.

For children 5 and under a parent or adult caregiver is required to participate in the Preschooler Program lessons. It can be any adult over 18 that the child is comfortable with and ideally can practice with on a regular basis between lessons. A parent, grandparent, close relative, nanny or babysitter can all be great choices.

Students earn badges as they achieve new “I can…” skills. Students are encouraged to visit their Kid Hub on a near daily basis to practice their personalized word list and play vocabulary games.

PandaTree’s Beginner Program is designed for students ages 6-12 who don’t speak the language, through to students who are speaking in simple sentences about everyday topics. It is aligned to ACTFL’s Novice level. During your child’s lessons your tutor will assess his or her language level to develop a curriculum pathway appropriate for their language level.

PandaTree’s Intermediate program is designed for students who are already speaking in simple sentences and working towards speaking in paragraphs about a variety of topics. Our curriculum aligns to ACTFL’s Intermediate Level.

For example Intermediate students may work on skills such as:

• Telling a story about a childhood memory
• Explaining an opinion about rules or policies such as phone use, dress code or driving.
• Exchanging opinions about a movie and whether the book or movie is better.
• Explaining the series of steps in an experiment and describe the results.

During your child’s lesson, your tutor will help asses his or her level and design an appropriate personalized curriculum pathway.

At the Intermediate level students are learning about the world while they learn the language. For that reason, PandaTree’s content covers a rich variety of topics including science, sports, music, history, culture, food and more.

While our primary focus in lessons is on speaking and listening, students also practice reading content in our learning modules and work on writing assignments with their tutor using the PandaTree Shared Document Editor.

The assessment is designed to help you and your child understand his/her progress, and what to focus on to get to the next level.

The assessment is designed for students ages 6 to 17. It assesses students using the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL) standards for proficiency. The assessment covers the Novice Low to Intermediate High levels (e.g., pre-college levels). Read: A Parent’s Guide to ACTFL Levels

The assessments happens during a live, one-on-one online session that lasts 20-35 minutes. The student and assessor can see each other, and the assessor shares their screen. Questions will become more difficult as the assessment goes on, and the assessor will aim to have your child perform at their highest level. The tutor will assess whether the student can answer questions or complete tasks with sufficient fluency for the level.

Only certain tutors are trained in using our proprietary assessment module and writing up the formal assessment report. All of our tutors are experienced with the ACTFL levels and can help your child get to the next level.

No, this is an assessment of oral proficiency – that is, listening and speaking.

We recommend studying a language for at least a year before doing a formal assessment. You'll be able to monitor your beginning student's progress with the "I can do" badges they earn.

ACTFL recommends waiting at least 6 months between assessments.

The online session with the assessor and your child takes 20-35 minutes. The written report will be available within 3 days.

You'll get an email, within 3 days of the assessment, letting you know that the assessment is ready and how to view it in your Parent Hub.

You can read our prices here.

We accept all major credit cards.

Monthly Subscriptions offer our best prices for weekly lessons with a pay-by-the-month plan. You choose the number of weekly lessons and you can book lessons up to 12 weeks in advance. Subscriptions are less flexible than lesson Credits because unused lessons don't roll over to the next week. Monthly Subscriptions auto-renew every 4 weeks unless you change them.

Learn more about Monthly Subscriptions here. 

Both Monthly Subscriptions and Lesson Credits are great ways to save on lessons. Monthly Subscriptions offer greater savings (especially if your child is doing multiple lessons each week) but less flexibility about when you do the lessons. You can book lessons up to 12 weeks in advance but pay month-to-month rather than upfront. However, with a Monthly Subscription, you commit to weekly lessons for the month. Unused weekly lessons don't roll over to future weeks (although you can prearrange a vacation pause) and cancellations or downgrades will affect future months, not the current month. Learn more here.

With Lesson Credits you can use the credits whenever you'd like, and credits don't expire. You can share credit packages between siblings and unused credits are refundable. However, you pay upfront for the credit package (the larger the package, the greater the savings) and you can only book as many lessons as you have credits for. Learn more here.

With Monthly Subscriptions, the more lessons you commit to do each week the lower the price per lesson.

You can see Monthly Subscription prices here.

Yes, your Monthly Subscription will auto-renew every 4 weeks using the credit card you have on file. You'll get an email reminder 3 days before your Subscription renews and you can cancel your Subscription or change your lesson frequency prior to midnight Pacific Time on your Saturday renewal date. Changes will affect your next month, not the current month.

You can easily see your renewal date and manage your Monthly Subscription:

1. Log into your Parent Hub

2. At the top of the page, click on your name

3. Click on 'Subscriptions'

4. Click on 'Details' to manage your Subscription.

To book lessons, click on the orange 'See Tutors or Book Lessons' button near the top of your Parent Hub. In the booking flow, you'll be defaulted into '25 Minute Subscription Lesson' as the Lesson Type. You can book Subscription lessons up to 3 months in advance. If you want to book recurring weekly lessons, select "Book weekly or recurring lessons" in the booking flow and select the number of weeks you want the lesson to recur. Remember, Subscription weeks run from Monday through Sunday. Unused lessons don’t roll over to the next week, so we recommend booking in advance.

With a Monthly Subscription you book lessons by the week and pay by the month (every 4 weeks). When you sign up for the Subscription, you'll choose the number of weekly lessons you want your child to do. Weeks run from Monday to Sunday and unfortunately, unscheduled or missed lessons in a particular Subscription week won't carry over to the following week, nor can they be credited. Therefore, be sure to book all your child's lessons for each week of the Subscription period.

To make it easier, you can book Subscription lessons up to 12 weeks in advance and your Subscription lessons will show up in your Scheduled Lessons list on your Parent Hub, with a circular arrow icon beside them.

Yes. As long as it is more than 24 hours before the start time of the lesson you can move a Subscription lesson to another day or time of the same week (Monday through Sunday) or to a different tutor, subject to availability. (We recommend rescheduling as far in advance as possible.) To reschedule:

1. Log into your Parent Hub

2. Scroll down to the 'Scheduled Lessons' area

3. Find the lesson you'd like to reschedule

4. Click the 'Reschedule' link. You can choose from the available tutors and days/times for the same week.

We understand that things come up. If you need to cancel a Subscription lesson, be sure to do that at least 24 hours before the lesson begins. Then, when you're ready to reschedule that lesson for another day during the same week (Monday through Sunday), click the orange 'See Tutors or Book Lessons' button near the top of your Parent Hub. Unfortunately, unused Subscription lessons do not roll over to future weeks and cannot be credited.

Yes, you can pause your Monthly Subscription for up to 2 weeks at a time for any reason. Pausing will affect future weeks, not the current week, so pause by midnight Pacific Time on Saturday before the week starts on Monday. You can set up a pause up to 4 weeks in advance. Pausing will push out your Monthly Subscription renewal date. To pause your Monthly Subscription:

1. Log into your Parent Hub

2. Click on your name at the top of the page

3. Click on 'Subscriptions and Groups'

4. Click on the 'Show Details' link to the right of your Subscription

5. Your Subscription months will appear in a list, with the current month first

6. Click on 'Pause for Week' and choose the week you'd like to pause

7. If there's a second week you'd like to pause, repeat the process above.

Yes. You can book additional lessons using Lesson Credits or a credit card. When you are booking the additional lesson select "25 Minute Lesson" as the lesson type instead of "25 Minute Subscription" which is what Subscription accounts default to. You can purchase credits from your Parent Hub by clicking on the orange box in the upper right corner. If you want your child to regularly do more lessons, you can upgrade your Monthly Subscription package. The change will take affect for the next month.

Yes! If one of your children has a Subscription, you can add up to 2 siblings to any 25-minute lesson for only $5 more per sibling ($10 for 50-minute lessons). Here's how:

1. Log into your Parent Hub

2. Scroll down to the "Scheduled Lessons" section

3. At the top of that section, click "Add Sibling"

4. You can add a sibling to one lesson, or to all of them.

5. Once you have the sibling(s) added, you can pay the additional fee by credit card.

6. Each time you schedule more Subscription lessons for your child, be sure to repeat this process if you'd like their sibling(s) to attend all their lessons.

Unfortunately, it is not allowed for a parent to purchase one Subscription and alternate lessons between their children. Only the child for whom the Subscription is purchased can attend the Subscription lessons unless a sibling is added.

You can add more lessons to your Subscription or even reduce your weekly lessons. To make changes:

1. Log into your Parent Hub

2. Click on your name at the top of the page

3. Click on 'Subscriptions and Groups'

4. Click on the 'Show Details' link to the right of your Subscription

5. Your Subscription months will appear in a list, with the current month first

6. Click on 'Change Subscription'

7. Select the number of lessons per week you'd like to switch to, and then click 'Update Plan'

Please remember that any changes will take effect when your Subscription renews, not for the current month, so be sure to make any changes before your next bill date.

We're so sorry you want to cancel your Subscription. Don't forget, as alternatives, you can pause your Subscription for up to 2 weeks or upgrade or downgrade your lesson frequency. But if you still want to cancel your Subscription:

1. Log into your Parent Hub

2. Click on your name at the top of the page

3. Click on 'Subscriptions and Groups'

4. Click on the 'Show Details' link to the right of the Subscription you wish to cancel

5. Your Subscription months will appear in a list, with the current month first

6. Click on 'Cancel Subscription'

When you cancel your Subscription, it will not renew for the next month or any future months, and any lessons booked in future months will be cancelled. The cancellation will not affect the current month and you can continue to do lessons until the end of your current month.

We're sorry that your tutor had to cancel your child's lesson. To rebook, just click on the orange 'See Tutors or Book Lessons' button near the top of your Parent Hub. You'll be able to rebook the cancelled lesson for another tutor or day/time in the same Monday to Sunday week.

If you've been given a lesson credit, please select "25 Minute Lesson" as the Lesson Type instead of "25 Minute Subscription". If you have any trouble with that, please email us at customercare@pandatree.com We are always here to help!

Unfortunately, in most cases, no. Once a Monthly Subscription is purchased and the first week has passed or lessons are taken, we can't offer a refund. You are welcome to cancel your Subscription before your next billing date, so it does not renew for the next month. (See cancellation instructions above.)

There is one exception - if you're in the first week of your Subscription and your child has done one lesson and you weren't satisfied, please email us at customercare@pandatree.com within 7 days of the lesson or before your next lesson and we'll process your refund request.

That's easy! Just go through the following steps:

1. Log into your Parent Hub.

2. Click on your name at the top of the page.

3. Click on "Subscriptions and Groups"

4. When your Subscription page loads, click on the "More Details" link over to the right of each Subscription on which you'd like to update your credit card.

5. Click on "Update credit card" over to the right.

6. Enter your new credit card information.

7. If you have multiple Subscriptions, be sure to repeat this process for each child's active Subscription.

Because Subscriptions offer significantly lower prices than lessons purchased with credits do, there are certain conditions to be aware of. Please read through our Terms and Conditions for Subscription purchases and lessons. Subscription Terms and Conditions can be found here.

We're so sorry, but Subscriptions aren't refundable due to lack of use.

Parents receive a reminder email every 4 weeks, alerting them that their Subscription will be renewing soon, and again when they have been billed for the renewal. We encourage parents to cancel their Subscription if they won't be using it in the upcoming month.

To cancel a Subscription:

1. Log into your Parent Hub.

2. Click on your name at the top of the page.

3. Click on "Subscriptions."

4. When the Subscription Management page opens, click "Show Details" next to the active Subscription you'd like to cancel.

5. Click "Cancel Subscription."

If your child is taking individual 25-minute lessons with PandaTree, up to two of their siblings can join them for only $5 each (or $10 each for 50-minute lessons)! This is a great way for families to learn together.

If your kids are similar in age and proficiency and enjoy learning together, this is a great way to save money on lessons! Additional benefits include:

1. Each child will have their own student profile and Kid's Hub. They can learn together, yet earn individual badges, certificates, and practice in their Kid's Hub individually.

2. Although your children may take their lessons together now, at some point in the future you may want them to take separate lessons (for example, if one child is more interested in continuing their lessons than the other one, or if one child prefers to learn a different language, or if one child wants a break from lessons for awhile, or if one child interacts better with a different tutor). With individual student profiles, it's easy to separate their lessons.

3. As your children grow, they may want to practice and play games in their Kid's Hubs individually, rather than together. This is very common as kids get into the middle school age range.

No, they will need to use the same device. A laptop works best, but in a pinch, a tablet will work as well. Cell phones aren't recommended as the screen is usually too small for more than one child to get the benefits of the lesson's content and activities.

No. Some of our students are already taking lessons with their siblings. In these cases, their names will be reflected on their student profile (i.e. "Maria and Jeremy"). If this is the case with your children, you won't be charged for the additional child.

However, if you'd like your children to continue taking lessons together but would rather they each have their own student profile and Kid's Hub, you can separate their profiles, sign them up with the 'Add Sibling' feature, and their individual progress will be recorded in their lessons. Plus they'll each get their own badges, certificates, and have access to their own Kid's Hubs!

No. Students who take Group lessons with their siblings or other children are already paid by the lesson for each child. No additional payment is needed.

We allow a maximum of 3 children in each individual lesson. Therefore, if your child usually does his/her lesson alone, you can add up to 2 more siblings.

It's easy!

1. Go to your Parent Hub.

2. Be sure each child has an individual student profile.

3. Click on the orange "Add a Sibling to Lesson" link near the top of the page.

4. A list of your child's scheduled lessons will appear. Click the box(es) next to the lesson(s) you want their sibling(s) to join.

5. You'll be asked to pay for the additional sibling(s) with a credit card.

Once the lesson is scheduled, simply click on the new orange "Add a Sibling to Lesson" link at the top of your Parent Hub. Once you add one or more siblings to your child's lesson(s), you can pay for them all at once with a credit card.

Unfortunately, no. Each student must have their own student profile, and the parents of each children must consent for their child to take lessons with PandaTree.

If your child has friends who want to take lessons together, you and their parents may want to consider Private Group lessons - up to 5 children can sign up and lessons are billed and scheduled by the month. For more information about Group lessons, please go here: https://www.pandatree.com/group_lesson 

Absolutely! We strongly encourage your child to practice between lessons.

Your child can sign in to their Kid Hub to find the words he or she has learned, games to play, and other activities.

Short periods of daily or near daily practice is better than longer less regular practice.

Absolutely! Videos are uploaded within 12 hours of your child’s lesson, and are available for 7 days. To view them, just sign in to PandaTree, scroll down your page to the "Recent Sessions". To the right of the lesson(s) you’ll see a grey "play" arrow.

Word Master Challenge is a learning game kids can play in their Kid’s Hub. All they have to do is click on the “Word List” bubble at the bottom of their Hub. This game will test them on words they’ve learned in their PandaTree lessons, and will retest them over a period of weeks or months to ensure they remember the word. Once multiple retests occur and the child shows that they remember and understand the word, they will “master” the word. It may keep showing up in the game (because practice is always good), but you can be pretty confident that they can now recognize the word and use it in conversation.

PandaTree students get new words added to their Word List during lessons. Now, when students practice their personalized Word List with PandaTree's Word Master Challenge game, a Spaced Repetition System (SRS) algorithm will boost their learning. 

When a student playing Word Master Challenge demonstrates the ability to recall a word over longer periods of time (days and weeks), stars indicating the word strength get filled in in their Word List, until 5 stars, or mastery, is reached. Because Spaced Repetition tests the ability to recall a word over increasingly longer periods of time, it takes several weeks for a word to get to 5 stars.

Even once a word has been mastered, it still gets retested over increasingly longer time periods. If the student forgets a mastered word, stars drop off, and the word gets tested more frequently until it is mastered again.

With PandaTree's Word Master Challenge game, five to ten minutes of practice a day on most days of the week is ideal for learning vocabulary efficiently. For the Spaced Repetition algorithm to work best, shorter daily practice is much better than longer less frequent practice sessions, so encourage your child to build a daily habit. Our game makes it fun!

Log into your child's Kid Hub and click on their Word List to see their Word Master Challenge progress. You'll see a count of the words your child has mastered and how long they've spent practicing. Expect it to take a few weeks for your child to master their first words. 

Word Master Challenge is based on the proven concept of “Spaced Repetition." This means that words are presented to the child multiple times over a period of weeks or months. The basis behind Spaced Repetition is that kids often remember words right after they've learned them, but they struggle to remember those words over time. In the Word Master Challenge game, the same words are presented over varying time intervals until the child has "mastered" (or remembers and can use the words) on a long-term, rather than a short-term basis. That's why your child sees the same words popping up periodically.

Spaced Repetition is a research-based system proven to make learning new vocabulary more efficient and more effective. As a student learns a new word, a Spaced Repetition System (SRS) retests the word at increasingly longer intervals. This gives the student a chance to begin to forget the word, so their brain will need to work harder to recall it, strengthening their memory. It's a bit like lifting heavier weights at the gym. The result is students learn faster - and remember what they learn for the long term.

Of course! But it’s not really a good idea to do this. Word Master Challenge is based on the proven concept of Spaced Repetition (in a nutshell, kids often struggle to remember words they don’t use daily, so Word Master Challenge presents these words over a period of time so kids can practice). Still, if you’d like to hide words in your child’s game, here's how:

1. Go to your child's Kid’s Hub

2. Click on the orange "Word List" bubble at the bottom of the screen

3. Find the word(s) you want to hide

4. Click on the little eyeball icon to the right of that word

5. You will be asked if you want to hide that word. Click "Confirm"

We're parents too, and we take child safety really seriously. Here's what we do: 

• All communication between the tutor and you or your child goes through the PandaTree platform. Your tutor won't know you or your child's last name, email address, phone number or home address
• PandaTree lessons are recorded and available in your Parent Hub for 7 days. You'll be able to watch your child's lesson and let us know right away if you have any questions or concerns.
• Our tutor managers also occasionally review PandaTree lessons to provide coaching and feedback to our tutors.
• PandaTree has been KidSafe verified to ensure compliance with KidSafe’s best practices.
• PandaTree’s security protocols are regularly stress-tested by Horangi Security.

We know things come up. That's why you can cancel or reschedule a lesson up to 24 hours in advance with no charge. A credit for the cancelled lesson will be returned to your account, or if you are in a Monthly Subscription you'll be able to rebook for another day that week. 

Within 24 hours regular fees will apply since your tutor will have reserved that time for your child and prepared for the lesson.

At PandaTree we want our customers to be happy! If you are unsatisfied with your child's PandaTree session for any reason, let us know within 7 days of their session, or before their next session (whichever is sooner), and we'll give you a full refund. Email us at customercare@pandatree.com.

While rare, occasionally a tutor has to cancel a session. We'll let you know immediately and offer you the choice of:

• Rebooking with the same tutor at a different time
• Keeping the same time and having a lesson with a different tutor if one is available, or
• Skipping the lesson and getting a credit.

Yes, unused lesson credits are refundable and don’t expire. If you want to request a refund email us at customercare@pandatree.com with “Refund Request” in your email title.

If unused credits are refunded, the amount of the refund will reflect what the price would have been for the actual number of lessons used. For example, if a parent bought a bundle of 3 lessons but only used 2 lessons, the refund amount would be the amount the parent paid less what the price would have been for purchasing just 2 lessons. See the Terms of Service for more details.

To test your equipment and connection before a lesson click here.

At any time, you can also go to your Parent Hub, click on your name at the top of the page, and then click on "Test Your Browsers Compatibility"

There may be a problem with your Internet connection or your computer’s memory.

Try closing and reopening your Internet browser. You’ll need to log into PandaTree again and restart the lesson.

If that doesn’t help, please reboot your computer, and then log back into your lesson.

Give us a call or press the “Help” button on the bottom of the lesson screen if you need help.

There may be a problem with the volume on your computer.

Ensure that your computer’s sound is turned on and that the volume is at an appropriate level.

On most computers, the sound icon is in the bottom right corner of your browser window, and you can adjust it from there.

On many Windows-based computers, you can also use the F1 and F2 function keys to adjust your computer volume.

If you have a headset plugged in, try removing it.

Visit another site (like YouTube.com) to see if you can hear the audio on other websites.

Give us a call or press the “Help” button on the bottom of the lesson screen if you need help.

This can happen if another program is accessing your microphone and camera or there is a problem with your microphone and camera settings or browser settings.

The first thing to try is restarting your browser. This often releases both the microphone and camera from its previous state.

Once your browser has restarted, click the “Start Session” button on your PandaTree page again.

If this doesn’t help, rebooting your computer and then clicking the “Start Session” button will almost always solve the problem.

In the rare case that it doesn’t, simply press the “Help” button in the bottom right corner of the PandaTree screen, and that will send out an alert to Customer Support.

We will quickly call you to help you work through the problem.

Both!

Look, language learning can be challenging and kids stick with it longer when they are having fun.

It’s also important to be comfortable making mistakes when you’re learning a language – and when kids are feeling relaxed and having fun they are more likely to try saying new things.

We would love to hear from you. Just email us at customercare@pandatree.com or call us toll-free at 1-844-26PANDA (1-844-267-2632).

Currently, we offer Mandarin Chinese and Spanish. We expect to offer additional languages in the future.

No, we only offer language tutoring for children. Kids learn languages differently than adults do, and have different interests and motivations. Our program is designed exclusively for kids based on research about what works best for children’s language learning.

We are always seeking excellent Spanish and Mandarin Chinese-speaking tutors. We hire tutors who live in the United States and are legally able to work in the United States. If you are interested in working with PandaTree please visit our Hiring page to read more about our positions and apply online.