She's great. Passionate, cares about her students, and really pushes you even if you are a steel block. The only *slight* negative about her is that she does most of the talking in an 1 on 1 when you are supposed to talk more. For native speakers out there, the A track is NOT EASY. You might think it's a cakewalk if you have a Chinese background but it's not. However, if you are willing to work hard and put your effort into what you are doing, you should get no less than a B+.

She is definitely one of the rare jems in UCLA! not only does she care about her students' learning, she is willing to talk to you for over 1 hour! not even kidding. She loves teaching and her students. even though she is a reallly hard grader, i actually end up with an A in the class. i barely passed my midterm, but studied like crazy for final. As long as you love chinese, she is able to give you the most engaging lectures. Take her, if you are up for the challenge and fun!

Yao LaoShi is amazing, if you want to learn Chinese and really have it stick, take her class--don't just dismiss it as a waste of time because you already speak Chinese at home, because she will iron out all the mistakes that abc's make that you never even knew were mistakes. And she is very dedicated to her students--she will stay in her office past 5pm if that's when you need to meet with her, and she knows each individual's personal issues with Chinese and works to help you improve. Take her class. The end.

Professor Yao's is one of the best professors here at UCLA. She demands excellence from her students but also at the same time motivate her students to master and learn the material well. She always engages the students in her discussions and lectures with her wonderful sense of humor. She is a very caring mentor, an energetic teacher, and a wonderful friend. I give her my highest recommendation.