Teaching philosophy
My teaching philosophy is based upon my experiences of teaching Chinese as a foreign language in the past three years.
Why teaching? Why teaching foreign language?
When recalling my own education, I may not remember all I have learned, but I always remember my favorite teachers, who was humorous, who was responsible, who was efficient, who was strict, whose class was a great joy, whose class was clear and effective, and so on and so forth. Why do I remember such observations clearly? That’s because I always wanted to be a teacher as great as they were. It is quite natural for me to choose teaching as my life-long career. I haven’t doubted for a second that I would be a teacher since high school.
In China, people choose their major studies before they even enter the university, although many don’t really have any idea what they are going to do in the future. However, I always knew what I wanted to do after college—to be a teacher, more specifically, a foreign language teacher. That was exactly what I did after graduating from a four-year university. The starting point of my teaching career was a teaching position in an English language training school in Tianjin in 2006. That lasted for one and a half years.
My teaching career resumed in 2010 after two and a half years of graduate studies in a U.S. university. With a Master’s degree at hand, my specialization is foreign language instruction focusing on Chinese as a foreign language education. I am now teaching Mandarin Chinese to English native speakers. Learning Chinese language is a challenging journey for most American students. I am honored and pleased to be their guide in this journey.
What is teaching? What is learning?
Learning a foreign language proves to be quite a challenging yet rewarding experience. To learn a foreign language does not necessarily mean to know a bunch of grammatical terms and rules. It means to be able to communicate efficiently and effectively. Using a foreign language proficiently also involves functioning culturally appropriate in the environment where the target language and culture is dominant. A lot of culture knowledge does not guarantee barrier-free communication. Being aware of cultural differences and apply appropriate behavioral culture to real-life communication would substantially benefit people who are from different cultural backgrounds.
Goals/objectives of teaching and learning
The goal of my teaching is to create a student-centered learning environment where students have the maximum opportunity to use the language to communicate meaning and exchange ideas in a culturally appropriate way; hence, students would eventually be able to communicate with Chinese native speakers smoothly. This would be the ultimate goal of my language classes.
Learning objectives should be aligned with national Standards for Foreign Language Learners (ACTFL 5Cs). Standard-based learning would allow students to be competent in the following aspects: (1) Use the target language to interpret meaning and intention, to present information and opinions, and to communicate interpersonally; (2) Understand cultural products, practices and perspectives; (3) Make connections with other disciplines to further understanding; (4) Compare the target language and culture with their own to be aware of cultural differences and to develop global perspectives; and (5) Become a life-long learner.
Teaching methods
A student-centered approach is adopted in my Chinese language class, in which lecture time would be minimized and student’s practice and conversation time maximized. In my opinion, a foreign language teacher should be no longer the center or the focus of the classroom; rather, they should serve as a learning “coach”, who provide instruction and help to allow students to take the center stage.
Staying in target language (i.e. the foreign language that students are learning) is another important best practice in a foreign language classroom. Using Chinese to give basic and daily instructions is crucial when creating a target language environment in which students are aware of the importance to use the target language and be constantly reminded to practice the target language all the time.
Learning a foreign language is challenging, yet it can also be fun and meaningful. Making connections between language learning and real-life communication would be a good strategy to motivate learning and improve meaningful learning.
Last but not least, accommodations should be made for the new millennium learners by integrating modern technology in teaching and learning activities when it significantly increases the effectiveness of communication, practices, and learning.
My expectations of teacher-student relationship
A good teacher-student relationship is the foundation of a good learning environment. Teacher and student can build mutual trust if they communicate with each other constantly and smoothly. I would make every effort to form and maintain a good teaching-learning relationship with my students. I want every one of them to understand that I care about their studies. However, it is completely understandable that my class would not be the only class that students attend. I would encourage students to reach certain standards rather than pushing them to fulfill unreasonable requirements. Individual meetings would be set up from time to time to get to know student’s learning progresses, their learning needs, their challenges, and their difficulties; and furthermore, to discuss and find possible solutions or identify effective strategies to help students improve learning.
Assessment of learning and teaching effectiveness
Use a variety of assessment techniques and tools to constantly monitor and analyze students learning outcomes. A combination of formative and summative assessments should be set up to continuously evaluate teaching and learning effectiveness. Assessment should also reinforce and improve teaching and learning in every aspect from overall curriculum design to daily lesson planning. Therefore, a backward-design approach would be adopted when developing curriculum or writing lesson plans, that is to have assessment expectations in mind while designing learning activities that are going to help students meet those expectations.
Professional development
Being a teacher means to be a life-long learner. Seeking various professional development opportunities should be an essential part of my teaching career. I am a life member of Chinese Language Teacher’s Association of Virginia (CLTA-VA), and constantly and actively participated in many workshops and discussions organized by the organization. Being part of this teaching professional’s organization allows me to get inspired by fellow colleagues and get motivated to be a better teacher. As an active member of the Foreign Language Association of Virginia (FLAVA) and American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL) I attend the regional and national teaching conferences on a regular basis, which allows me to get access to cutting-edge researches done by experts and best teaching practices shared by veteran teachers. Attending teacher training programs, teaching workshops, and graduate-level teaching method courses would also be part of my professional development plan.
Why teaching? Why teaching foreign language?
When recalling my own education, I may not remember all I have learned, but I always remember my favorite teachers, who was humorous, who was responsible, who was efficient, who was strict, whose class was a great joy, whose class was clear and effective, and so on and so forth. Why do I remember such observations clearly? That’s because I always wanted to be a teacher as great as they were. It is quite natural for me to choose teaching as my life-long career. I haven’t doubted for a second that I would be a teacher since high school.
In China, people choose their major studies before they even enter the university, although many don’t really have any idea what they are going to do in the future. However, I always knew what I wanted to do after college—to be a teacher, more specifically, a foreign language teacher. That was exactly what I did after graduating from a four-year university. The starting point of my teaching career was a teaching position in an English language training school in Tianjin in 2006. That lasted for one and a half years.
My teaching career resumed in 2010 after two and a half years of graduate studies in a U.S. university. With a Master’s degree at hand, my specialization is foreign language instruction focusing on Chinese as a foreign language education. I am now teaching Mandarin Chinese to English native speakers. Learning Chinese language is a challenging journey for most American students. I am honored and pleased to be their guide in this journey.
What is teaching? What is learning?
Learning a foreign language proves to be quite a challenging yet rewarding experience. To learn a foreign language does not necessarily mean to know a bunch of grammatical terms and rules. It means to be able to communicate efficiently and effectively. Using a foreign language proficiently also involves functioning culturally appropriate in the environment where the target language and culture is dominant. A lot of culture knowledge does not guarantee barrier-free communication. Being aware of cultural differences and apply appropriate behavioral culture to real-life communication would substantially benefit people who are from different cultural backgrounds.
Goals/objectives of teaching and learning
The goal of my teaching is to create a student-centered learning environment where students have the maximum opportunity to use the language to communicate meaning and exchange ideas in a culturally appropriate way; hence, students would eventually be able to communicate with Chinese native speakers smoothly. This would be the ultimate goal of my language classes.
Learning objectives should be aligned with national Standards for Foreign Language Learners (ACTFL 5Cs). Standard-based learning would allow students to be competent in the following aspects: (1) Use the target language to interpret meaning and intention, to present information and opinions, and to communicate interpersonally; (2) Understand cultural products, practices and perspectives; (3) Make connections with other disciplines to further understanding; (4) Compare the target language and culture with their own to be aware of cultural differences and to develop global perspectives; and (5) Become a life-long learner.
Teaching methods
A student-centered approach is adopted in my Chinese language class, in which lecture time would be minimized and student’s practice and conversation time maximized. In my opinion, a foreign language teacher should be no longer the center or the focus of the classroom; rather, they should serve as a learning “coach”, who provide instruction and help to allow students to take the center stage.
Staying in target language (i.e. the foreign language that students are learning) is another important best practice in a foreign language classroom. Using Chinese to give basic and daily instructions is crucial when creating a target language environment in which students are aware of the importance to use the target language and be constantly reminded to practice the target language all the time.
Learning a foreign language is challenging, yet it can also be fun and meaningful. Making connections between language learning and real-life communication would be a good strategy to motivate learning and improve meaningful learning.
Last but not least, accommodations should be made for the new millennium learners by integrating modern technology in teaching and learning activities when it significantly increases the effectiveness of communication, practices, and learning.
My expectations of teacher-student relationship
A good teacher-student relationship is the foundation of a good learning environment. Teacher and student can build mutual trust if they communicate with each other constantly and smoothly. I would make every effort to form and maintain a good teaching-learning relationship with my students. I want every one of them to understand that I care about their studies. However, it is completely understandable that my class would not be the only class that students attend. I would encourage students to reach certain standards rather than pushing them to fulfill unreasonable requirements. Individual meetings would be set up from time to time to get to know student’s learning progresses, their learning needs, their challenges, and their difficulties; and furthermore, to discuss and find possible solutions or identify effective strategies to help students improve learning.
Assessment of learning and teaching effectiveness
Use a variety of assessment techniques and tools to constantly monitor and analyze students learning outcomes. A combination of formative and summative assessments should be set up to continuously evaluate teaching and learning effectiveness. Assessment should also reinforce and improve teaching and learning in every aspect from overall curriculum design to daily lesson planning. Therefore, a backward-design approach would be adopted when developing curriculum or writing lesson plans, that is to have assessment expectations in mind while designing learning activities that are going to help students meet those expectations.
Professional development
Being a teacher means to be a life-long learner. Seeking various professional development opportunities should be an essential part of my teaching career. I am a life member of Chinese Language Teacher’s Association of Virginia (CLTA-VA), and constantly and actively participated in many workshops and discussions organized by the organization. Being part of this teaching professional’s organization allows me to get inspired by fellow colleagues and get motivated to be a better teacher. As an active member of the Foreign Language Association of Virginia (FLAVA) and American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL) I attend the regional and national teaching conferences on a regular basis, which allows me to get access to cutting-edge researches done by experts and best teaching practices shared by veteran teachers. Attending teacher training programs, teaching workshops, and graduate-level teaching method courses would also be part of my professional development plan.