"After three weeks of intensive training, I have learned advanced Chinese teaching approaches from Dr.Tseng and have discovered how to apply them to real classroom teaching through practicum... I consider the Startalk program not only an opportunity to explore the newest instructional strategies for Chinese teaching, but also a milestone for myself to make changes in the future from my prior teaching styles into more efficient, research based tactics."

Reminiscence: 

I am a native Chinese speaker, and I majored in Chinese Language and Literature from Sichuan University in China. I am an American citizen, and my lovely husband and I raise three wonderful children.

I taught at heritage schools for several years, until being hired as a Chinese language teacher in CCPS public elementary schools in 2007. Since then, I have become a Virginia state certified Chinese teacher (K-12). I greatly love my students and enjoy their beautiful smiles when they are in my classroom speaking and learning in Chinese. Based on my passion for teaching Chinese, I want to sharpen my professional ability to reach the newest level of Chinese education. Luckily, I have had the opportunity to attend the 2012 Virginia Startalk Chinese Teacher Academy at the University of Virginia. After three weeks of intensive training, I have learned advanced Chinese teaching approaches from Dr.Tseng and have discovered how to apply them to real classroom teaching through practicum. It was amazing to see how the approaches worked on those two groups of teenage students, from novice-low levels (having never learned Chinese before) to novice-high levels with only 8 half-days of Chinese language immersion. This great experience has encouraged me to teach using this wonderful method. I consider the Startalk program not only an opportunity to explore the newest instructional strategies for Chinese teaching, but also a milestone for myself to make changes in the future from my prior teaching styles into more efficient, research based tactics.

I cannot wait to apply the theories, modes, and skills I have learned from Dr.Tseng and other talented teachers in class to my own classroom in coming school year.