Professor Yao is a really nice teacher. She keeps lectures intersting with her sense of humor and energetic presence. She is more than willing to help you through her office hours and is very helpful. The only thing i have to say is a word of caution about the A series. I believe that the description of the 1A class does not fit the students that take the class and the grueling rate at which it is taught. I personally struggled a great great deal and felt that i was nowhere near the level. Many students i was in the clas with had even lived in China for years or had been in Chinese school for 8 years...be careful when selecting the advanced versus regular course.