Personal Statement

 

        About 25 years ago, during my daily routine of browsing through the newspaper, my eyes fell upon a photograph with a woman and a group of children in a shabby, dark room. I read the article and learned a story about a Taiwanese woman who had given up her high-status high-salary job in Taiwan to teach Chinese in Northern Thailand. That was when I became interested in teaching Chinese to foreigners. As a young and idealistic student, I secretly dreamed of myself in this job, hoping one day I could follow her lead.

 

        My first contact with teaching Chinese occurred when I was a college junior. Teaching Chinese to foreign nationals made me realize I enjoyed working as a Chinese teacher and it also introduced me to a field in which I could achieve satisfying personal development. My subsequent teacher-training courses, on-the-job training program and MA degree in Teaching Chinese as a Second Language served to fuel my enthusiasm and prepared me effectively to take responsibility for my own professional growth.

 

        My teaching philosophy is inspired by the great Chinese educator, Confucius. “Teaching students in accordance with their aptitude” and “Teaching without prejudice” are the major principles I have been following since I started teaching. I treat my students equally, but take care of them individually. I believe every student has a voice and grading is not the only way to evaluate learning. To me, teaching is learning. I am amazed how much I learn from students. My passion for teaching lies in my students’ love for Chinese. Students are the anti-aging secrets to keep me young. I think that teachers should make learning enjoyable. I try to create a friendly learning environment which my students and I enjoy. There is always something fun in class for us to laugh together. Learning is living. Integrating 5C language standards connects my students to the real life situations. I assign tasks such as buying tickets, asking directions or finding out the schedule of the trains, etc., to help my students solve problems they encounter in daily life. Those tasks are challenging and build on students’ interests rather than textbooks. Using authentic materials brings learners into direct contact with reality. My students have found the tasks to be fun, engaging and worthwhile learning experiences. I guide my students to discover their own interests independently, and I encourage them to be creative and curious.

 

        Teaching Chinese in a foreign country is not easy, especially when the class is the only place in town where Chinese is spoken and heard. One of the most difficult challenges to foreign language teachers is to create activities that maximize students’ target language use. To create an active language learning environment, I incorporate technology into the classroom. Technology not only provides an opportunity for students to learn at their own pace but also provides instant feedback and promotes higher level thinking skills. Through YouTube videos, topic related websites and social networking, I enhance students’ authentic language learning experience. I also implement online platforms such as Thinklink, Padlet and Playposit to promote collaborative learning. When conducting online collaborative projects, I first assign students to groups and guide them through the instructional handouts. Students then fully take control of their own learning process. With the help of technology and collaborative learning, my students build stronger bonds among each other. My role changes from the instructor to the facilitator. The student-centered approach and the positive competition make my students learn faster and more effectively.

 

        When assessing students, I often wonder if too many directions will restrict students’ creativity. They will merely follow the directions and answer what they are asked in the tasks. I prefer to give students some space where they can be flexible and imaginative. I believe challenges can take them to another level. I also tell students to change their attitudes from “what grade I received and what grade my friend received” to “this is what I knew when I started the course and this is how much progress I have made”. I do not limit students to pencil and paper tests. Formative assessments are like photo albums; they reveal a student’s ongoing learning process more than just a single snapshot.

 

        The cultural, socioeconomic, linguistic, and academic diversity in today’s student population requires foreign language teachers to work with students whose needs, educational experiences and native language skills are very different. Culture is a broad concept that is inherently tied to many of the linguistic concepts taught in second language classes and I believe cultural knowledge is essential to the successful acquisition of languages. I have found that learning about culture and customs encourages my students to respect cultural differences. In addition, I am sure they become more fascinated with Chinese when they learn about the culture. To avoid misunderstanding, it is also the teachers’ job to introduce their own culture to the students. Through authentic materials and cultural examples, my students gain a knowledge and understanding of the cultures that use the language. In fact, students cannot truly master the language until they have also mastered the cultural contexts in which the language occurs.

 

        I like to tell the students about our traditional festivals and why Chinese people value them so much. There are always interesting stories or legends behind the customs and festivals. My students not only know the Chinese Zodiac, but the story passed down for generations. They listen to the same story I heard as a child. They know some Chinese do not eat beef because they were born in the year of the ox. Through their encounters with Chinese folklore, I hope the students will look beyond the customs of eating rice dumplings, making moon cakes, and giving red envelopes to see the cultural and historical significance in the context of Chinese society. Cultural information should be presented in a way that does not place higher value or judgment on distinctions between the students’ native culture and the culture explored in the classroom.

 

        I do not see myself as only a language teacher. I believe teachers have great influence upon students. In order for my students to learn independently and be responsible for themselves, I respect and treat them like adults. My goal is to create a student-centered classroom where active learning is strongly encouraged. Through positive attitudes, motivation and participation, I ensure that individual students achieve their full potential and I evaluate students from different perspectives. To help students find academic success and plan for the future, I encourage students to study abroad and apply for different scholarships, such as CLS (Critical Language Scholarship Program), HES (Huayu Enrichment Scholarship) and the Fulbright Research Grant. I was the language specialist of Fulbright committee at the University of Scranton in 2017. I also constantly provide language advice for Fulbright candidates and serve as CLS campus advisor.

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        I am always striving to be a better teacher. Through this profession, I have committed myself to becoming a lifelong learner. I earned my second master’s degree in secondary education-world languages at the University of Scranton in 2015. While working at the University of Scranton, I consistently attend workshops held by the Center for Teaching and Learning Excellence. Learning from other teachers is an important way of professional development. I also attend and present at conferences to exchange ideas with other language teachers. To build up my academic credibility, I have articles published in academic journals and I will continue to contribute to this field.        

       

        Teaching Chinese has become the focus of my life. There is nothing more satisfying than seeing my students speak Chinese confidently, and fluently express themselves. I believe my open-minded and energetic personality can make learning come alive, and my professional teaching experience can help students to learn Chinese more easily and efficiently.

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