As part of our July 2011 newsletter, we'll tell you how to get unlimited practicing speaking Chinese in a bit. But first an update from Kaiser Kuo about the Sinica show, which has spent the last few weeks escaping the summer heat at the beach:

*** A Sinica Update from Kaiser ***

After a bit of a summer hiatus (Jeremy and Gady have been out of town, and I've been swamped at Baidu), Sinica is ready to come roaring back next week. And we're pleased to announce we'll be getting help from a terrific new intern.

Ami Li grew up in Ann Arbor and is one of those blessedly bilingual people who happens to be a China news junkie, so we're lucky to have her helping out with the show. In addition to being the operations coordinator for music production company Split Works (spli-t.com), Ami is a freelance translator who has contributed to pieces published in the New York Times and Global Post. She graduated from Wellesley College.

*** Unlimited Speaking Practice - $100 USD ***

We're trying something new next month: unlimited speaking practice. Starting August 15th, we'll have at least one teacher available fulltime in our Beijing office from 9:00am to 6:00pm to handle one-on-one Skype lessons. You can book a 30 minute session anytime and study whenever you want.

If you're a university subscriber you'll get these unlimited classes *in addition* to your regular lessons. But we're also keeping EIGHT slots open for non-university subscribers, so if you're interested in being part of our shortlist, send us an email ASAP. We'll reply with the details, and will expect you to make a commitment by August 1st if you want to participate. The program will run from August 15th to September 15th, and may continue after that depending on how things work.

We're trying this out because we think it will be far, far superior to traditional classes, and are keeping the program small so we can work out scheduling problems and make sure everyone gets enough one-on-one time. And it should be fun. So if you're interested send us an email at service@popupchinese.com and we'll send you the details.

*** Popup Chinese is Hiring ***

Finally, we wanted to mention that we're looking to hire a native Chinese speaker in Beijing to help us develop some new and more advanced shows starting this September. We want to find someone who is fun, smart and creative. If you know of anyone in Beijing you think would do a good job. Please pass word - we'd love to hear from them.

And that's it.... As always, we've pushed out a lot of great new lessons over the last two months and would be remiss not to thank all of you who have supported our work with a paid subscription, or by telling your friends or reviewing us online. We're coming up to our third anniversary now, and we wouldn't be here if it wasn't for you. So thanks!