Over the past fourteen years, my journey towards being a great teacher has been circuitous at best. It has carried me through two schools and three countries, providing wonderful opportunities to work with students of every grade level from first grade through college and including adult business professionals and military personnel, from Korean to American. My compass has guided me to discover methods to improve my craft as a language teacher and to find great joy in service as an educator. What follows is a brief summary of my journey.
I am originally from BeiJing, China. Under the advice and guidance of my parents, I chose my undergraduate field of study in business administration. Although I was uncertain about my interest in pursuing a career in this field as I came to the conclusion of four years of study, I achieved a very high level of scholastic performance in my coursework. Because I was recognized for distinguished academic performance, I received scholarship support in completing specialized courses and was ranked ninth in a department of 85 students upon graduation. Interestingly, during my years of undergraduate study, I was assigned as a teaching assistant for the Microeconomics course. Working closely with the professor in assisting with mentoring students, adapting course syllabi and grading assignments, I discovered I had more of an interest in teaching than in the business field. This is where my interest in being a teacher began.
Upon receiving my bachelor’s degree and with a nascent interest in being a teacher, I successfully competed among a field of hundreds of applicants for a position teaching Mandarin Chinese at the prestigious Jia Tian Xia Chinese Academy in Daejeon, South Korea. Following a successful year at the Academy, I was offered a leading teaching position at the JRC Chinese Institute in Seoul, South Korea where I served for two years. For the three years I served as an educator in Korean institutions, I enjoyed great success teaching listening, reading and conversation skills to learners of varying age groups from Korea, the U.S., Great Britain and Canada. I gained valuable experience developing curricula, writing course outlines, conducting learner assessments and advising students. The experiences of these years awakened in me a passion for teaching language as I worked with learners of varying backgrounds and age levels. I learned that teaching is more than merely transferring knowledge. Truly effective teaching is accomplished when teachers show compassion and come to really understand the needs and goals of individual learners.
My years in Korea led me to consider other ways I might develop and broaden my capacity as an educator. I chose to take a hiatus from my professional career path and serve as a voluntary missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. This experience brought me to the United States where I served for eighteen months on Temple Square in Salt Lake City, UT. During this period I prepared and gave tours of historic sites and at the visitor centers. In addition, I conducted small- and large-group teaching, delivered presentations to local church congregations and coordinated with local church leadership on teaching initiatives and service projects. These experiences helped me develop confidence in using the English language and also helped me develop greater patience with and compassion toward others. I have learned to communicate effectively with people of diverse backgrounds and cultures from all over the world. I found that because of these experiences, my effectiveness as a teacher and my self- confidence significantly increased.
Upon completion of missionary service in 2009 and with an ever-growing desire to develop as a professional educator, I enrolled in the one-year graduate certificate program in TESOL at Brigham Young University. This intense academic program not only gave me a solid foundation in the English language but also in-depth practical experience in teaching methodology. While enrolled in the program, I was able to teach English in the BYU English Language Center as well as serve as a Mandarin language mentor for the Chinese Flagship program at BYU. In addition to helping me hone my teaching and advising skills, I gained additional, valuable experience selecting and adapting textbooks and teaching materials to meet individual learner needs. I graduated from the program with distinction in 2010.
Upon graduation, I was hired by the Utah State Chinese Immersion language program and was assigned as a first-grade Chinese immersion language teacher at Lone Peak Elementary School. My task was to teach the children math, social studies and science in Chinese. Within six months, most of my students were able to carry out conversations with me in Chinese and solve math problems using Chinese. I felt a tremendous sense of accomplishment as I watched how quickly the children applied their newly-learned language skills to addressing real needs. Working in this program, however, it was very apparent that the resources and materials needed to effectively teach were severely limited. In order to address this deficiency, I joined a team with other senior teachers to develop and adapt curriculum, especially for teaching mathematics in Chinese.
While I was working at Lone Peak Elementary School, I received an offer to assume a position as Assistant Professor at the Defense Language Institute in Monterey, California. Being the nation’s premier language training center for the U.S. military and with a faculty representing scores of nations around the world, I was honored to accept the offer. I was privileged to be assigned to teach intermediate and advanced Chinese Mandarin language in the Institute’s Directorate of Continuing Education in the resident language program. The students are all professional military linguists who have established proficiency in Mandarin Chinese. Thus, the courses I taught were aimed at developing very high levels of proficiency in the language to prepare military linguists for mission-critical assignments. In addition to conducting intensive Chinese-Mandarin language training in the traditional classroom environment, I conducted technology-mediated distance teaching with students located in remote locations around the nation. A glaring deficiency I noted in working with the advanced language programs at the Institute was the lack of comprehensive, up-to-date curriculum and material resources due to severe budget constraints. I played a role in helping to overcome this deficiency working with my Chinese colleagues by using Internet resources to update teaching materials and adapt them to the specific needs of learners. I am pleased to report that student proficiency outcomes on standardized examinations steadily improved over a two-year time frame.
Currently i am doing ED.M in curriculum and teaching as well as Teaching Chinese to Speakers of Other Languages program at Teachers College, Columbia University.
Throughout my life’s journey, I have come to realize that being a teacher is more than about transmitting information and knowledge to others. It is about making an impact, an impression and an indelible mark on the lives of those I serve. I have come to see how effective teaching can positively affect future generations. What a teacher says and, even more importantly, what a teacher does will stay with learners and become significant guiding forces in their lives. They, in turn, will pass those teachings on to their own children. Effective teaching is the greatest investment of time and material resources we can make in our society. Because of this, I have committed myself to be one who will positively impact and enlighten the lives of others.
I am originally from BeiJing, China. Under the advice and guidance of my parents, I chose my undergraduate field of study in business administration. Although I was uncertain about my interest in pursuing a career in this field as I came to the conclusion of four years of study, I achieved a very high level of scholastic performance in my coursework. Because I was recognized for distinguished academic performance, I received scholarship support in completing specialized courses and was ranked ninth in a department of 85 students upon graduation. Interestingly, during my years of undergraduate study, I was assigned as a teaching assistant for the Microeconomics course. Working closely with the professor in assisting with mentoring students, adapting course syllabi and grading assignments, I discovered I had more of an interest in teaching than in the business field. This is where my interest in being a teacher began.
Upon receiving my bachelor’s degree and with a nascent interest in being a teacher, I successfully competed among a field of hundreds of applicants for a position teaching Mandarin Chinese at the prestigious Jia Tian Xia Chinese Academy in Daejeon, South Korea. Following a successful year at the Academy, I was offered a leading teaching position at the JRC Chinese Institute in Seoul, South Korea where I served for two years. For the three years I served as an educator in Korean institutions, I enjoyed great success teaching listening, reading and conversation skills to learners of varying age groups from Korea, the U.S., Great Britain and Canada. I gained valuable experience developing curricula, writing course outlines, conducting learner assessments and advising students. The experiences of these years awakened in me a passion for teaching language as I worked with learners of varying backgrounds and age levels. I learned that teaching is more than merely transferring knowledge. Truly effective teaching is accomplished when teachers show compassion and come to really understand the needs and goals of individual learners.
My years in Korea led me to consider other ways I might develop and broaden my capacity as an educator. I chose to take a hiatus from my professional career path and serve as a voluntary missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. This experience brought me to the United States where I served for eighteen months on Temple Square in Salt Lake City, UT. During this period I prepared and gave tours of historic sites and at the visitor centers. In addition, I conducted small- and large-group teaching, delivered presentations to local church congregations and coordinated with local church leadership on teaching initiatives and service projects. These experiences helped me develop confidence in using the English language and also helped me develop greater patience with and compassion toward others. I have learned to communicate effectively with people of diverse backgrounds and cultures from all over the world. I found that because of these experiences, my effectiveness as a teacher and my self- confidence significantly increased.
Upon completion of missionary service in 2009 and with an ever-growing desire to develop as a professional educator, I enrolled in the one-year graduate certificate program in TESOL at Brigham Young University. This intense academic program not only gave me a solid foundation in the English language but also in-depth practical experience in teaching methodology. While enrolled in the program, I was able to teach English in the BYU English Language Center as well as serve as a Mandarin language mentor for the Chinese Flagship program at BYU. In addition to helping me hone my teaching and advising skills, I gained additional, valuable experience selecting and adapting textbooks and teaching materials to meet individual learner needs. I graduated from the program with distinction in 2010.
Upon graduation, I was hired by the Utah State Chinese Immersion language program and was assigned as a first-grade Chinese immersion language teacher at Lone Peak Elementary School. My task was to teach the children math, social studies and science in Chinese. Within six months, most of my students were able to carry out conversations with me in Chinese and solve math problems using Chinese. I felt a tremendous sense of accomplishment as I watched how quickly the children applied their newly-learned language skills to addressing real needs. Working in this program, however, it was very apparent that the resources and materials needed to effectively teach were severely limited. In order to address this deficiency, I joined a team with other senior teachers to develop and adapt curriculum, especially for teaching mathematics in Chinese.
While I was working at Lone Peak Elementary School, I received an offer to assume a position as Assistant Professor at the Defense Language Institute in Monterey, California. Being the nation’s premier language training center for the U.S. military and with a faculty representing scores of nations around the world, I was honored to accept the offer. I was privileged to be assigned to teach intermediate and advanced Chinese Mandarin language in the Institute’s Directorate of Continuing Education in the resident language program. The students are all professional military linguists who have established proficiency in Mandarin Chinese. Thus, the courses I taught were aimed at developing very high levels of proficiency in the language to prepare military linguists for mission-critical assignments. In addition to conducting intensive Chinese-Mandarin language training in the traditional classroom environment, I conducted technology-mediated distance teaching with students located in remote locations around the nation. A glaring deficiency I noted in working with the advanced language programs at the Institute was the lack of comprehensive, up-to-date curriculum and material resources due to severe budget constraints. I played a role in helping to overcome this deficiency working with my Chinese colleagues by using Internet resources to update teaching materials and adapt them to the specific needs of learners. I am pleased to report that student proficiency outcomes on standardized examinations steadily improved over a two-year time frame.
Currently i am doing ED.M in curriculum and teaching as well as Teaching Chinese to Speakers of Other Languages program at Teachers College, Columbia University.
Throughout my life’s journey, I have come to realize that being a teacher is more than about transmitting information and knowledge to others. It is about making an impact, an impression and an indelible mark on the lives of those I serve. I have come to see how effective teaching can positively affect future generations. What a teacher says and, even more importantly, what a teacher does will stay with learners and become significant guiding forces in their lives. They, in turn, will pass those teachings on to their own children. Effective teaching is the greatest investment of time and material resources we can make in our society. Because of this, I have committed myself to be one who will positively impact and enlighten the lives of others.