I use 《新实用汉语》 New Practical Chinese Reader series (2nd Ed) by Beijing Language and Culture University Press – the authoritative Mandarin textbook for foreigners. An all-round textbook that builds up the four essential skills – listening, speaking, reading and writing. For pre-intermediate and above, I also use 《汉语速成》 Short-Term Spoken Chinese series. If you have your preferred textbooks, feel free to let me know.
For complete beginners, explanation will be in English, but I make it a point to use Mandarin whenever possible, and especially terms and expressions students have learnt, so that they get used to the sounds of Mandarin as quickly as possible.
《新实用汉语》New Practical Chinese Reader (2nd Edition)/ Beijing Language and Culture University Press
《汉语口语速成提高篇》Short-Term Spoken Chinese Pre-Intermediate/ Beijing Language and Culture University Press
《汉语口语速成中级篇》Short-Term Spoken Chinese Intermediate/ Beijing Language and Culture University Press
