1 Introduction

Since 2020, international Chinese online teaching has developed rapidly, with some online courses transitioning to offline after the pandemic, while one-on-one online Chinese teaching continues to exist to meet market demand. This teaching model provides personalized courses and dedicated teachers based on the needs of learners. Despite the trend of returning to offline, online one-on-one teaching is still active in international Chinese education. At present, there is a lack of relevant research, and the theories and methods are not mature, requiring in-depth exploration. The STP theory, proposed by Wendell Smith and developed by Philip Kotler, includes market segmentation, target market selection, and market positioning to accurately identify market demand and position product services. This article will apply STP theory to analyze the Chinese online one-on-one teaching market, explore market positioning and policy planning.

Market segmentation of one-on-one online Chinese teaching in China

The Chinese online one-on-one teaching market is not yet mature. This article uses cluster sampling and integrated research methods to investigate the implementation status of online one-on-one teaching among international Chinese education master's professional internship teachers. 924 relevant papers were selected through research, and 70 online one-on-one teaching cases were extracted to form a structured database. The results show that the number of online teaching research has been increasing year by year from 2020 to 2023, reaching its peak in 2022. The online one-on-one teaching market is mainly divided into two major markets: adult (57%) and underage (43%) learners, with similar numbers and a growing trend, reflecting the global trend of younger Chinese language learners. In terms of teaching institution types, full-time on campus courses account for only 8.34%, while off campus continuing education accounts for 91.66%, indicating a preference for online one-on-one teaching in off campus continuing education. In terms of learner background, teaching Chinese as an inheritance language mainly targets Chinese American teenagers, accounting for 77.78%, while teaching as a second language accounts for 22.23%. The current international Chinese online one-on-one teaching has formed a stable demand market in the field of off campus continuing education, especially in the inheritance language teaching for Chinese young people; It also holds a certain share in full-time teaching in some universities, but has not yet been subdivided according to the background of learners; Other teaching sub sectors still belong to an unstable demand market, mainly serving as an emergency alternative to offline teaching.

Characteristics of the target market for one-on-one international Chinese online teaching

By collecting and analyzing teaching videos and interview materials from seven intern teachers at Beijing Foreign Studies University, the main characteristics of the international Chinese online one-on-one teaching program were revealed. Research has found that these programs generally require teachers to be native Chinese speakers to meet the needs of learners, especially overseas Chinese adolescents, for a Chinese speaking environment. The teaching targets are mostly Chinese and other Asian students with high Chinese proficiency and high learning goal setting. Online one-on-one teaching can meet their differentiated learning needs. The teaching content usually includes institutional prescribed content and teacher written content, the latter of which enhances learning interest through rich media forms. Parents play an important role in teaching and are deeply involved in all aspects of teaching. In addition, online one-on-one teaching mode can save a lot of budget compared to offline projects, providing more economical choices for schools and learners.

Market positioning of one-on-one online Chinese language teaching in China

The characteristics of the international Chinese online one-on-one teaching market show that it is suitable for elite and personalized Chinese teaching projects, requiring high matching conditions and personalized design. Market positioning should highlight elite and personalized characteristics, and obtain market advantages at relatively low prices. The target market includes overseas Chinese teenagers, executives of Chinese funded enterprises and joint ventures, and people with strong demand for studying abroad in China. The product form can be independent or as a personalized part of online or offline regular full-time courses. Teaching institutions can improve efficiency and add highlights to regular courses through online one-on-one teaching. Product planning should highlight the advantages of online one-on-one courses with high specifications and low prices, and promote teaching concepts, content, and environmental advantages based on the characteristics of different target users.

5 Policy planning suggestions for one-on-one teaching of international Chinese online

Chinese online one-on-one teaching has unique value in enhancing personalized learning experience and overseas extracurricular education, and places high demands on teachers' digital literacy, content creation, and teaching design flexibility. Policy planning needs to change mindset, comprehensively understand market characteristics, explore application scenarios, and cultivate independent business models. We need to improve the admission system and platform services, optimize user ports and functional design, establish a data-driven curriculum evaluation index system, cultivate elite teachers and opinion leaders, and create a safe and reliable data resource trading platform. Innovate talent training models in response to market demand, deeply integrate online one-on-one Chinese teaching with internships and employment opportunities at the undergraduate, master's, and doctoral stages of international Chinese education, and cultivate talents with online one-on-one teaching competence. Breaking through system barriers, building cross-border cooperation mechanisms, opening up cooperation channels for different types of markets, exploring cooperation mechanisms for teaching institutions of different natures, and accelerating the construction of certification systems and credit banks. Strengthening language governance in the field of online teaching in the era of digital intelligence, formulating regulations and norms at different levels, enhancing industry language governance awareness, and promoting the healthy development of the digital education ecosystem.