Kexin: Springfield tutor

Certified Tutor

I see myself as a guide for my students, like a guide leading climbers up a mountain. A climbing guide's duty is not only to help climbers reach the summit, but also to make the experience more fascinating. Like a climbing guide, I set a manageable pace for students through task-based language teaching methods to ensure they reach their language proficiency targets. I use cultural knowledge to make learning the Chinese language even more captivating. Lastly, the strong connections I have built with my students have been enriching and inspire me to further better myself as a teacher.

Learning a language requires significant effort and time. Therefore, I always scaffold my teaching and guide my students to learn step by step. In my class, I first lead students to practice vocabulary and grammar separately in different topics, and then put them together into a language task. This helps my students consolidate what they have learned through meaningful conversations and negotiation of meaning. For example, in a lesson about transportation, I set three topics for the first half of the class: how to go to Chicago, what I need to do to go to Chicago, and how to transfer between different means of transportation. After students have practiced all the vocabulary and grammar from each topic, I have them enact a real-life task. In this task, the students work in groups to describe how to get to Chicago and explain its advantages and disadvantages. The activity requires students to apply newly learned vocabulary and grammar, and also requires them to create paragraphs instead of sentences. During the language task, students negotiate the meaning of new grammar and vocabulary amongst themselves and with me. This enables students to notice the linguistic forms in the input and map the correct form onto the meaning they want to convey. By doing language tasks, students engage in incidental learning by having meaningful conversations, and are given a sense of achievement by completing real-life tasks.

A good guide helps climbers on their trek and tells fascinating stories to make the experience even more exhilarating. As a native speaker, I know a lot about Chinese culture, which I integrate into my class to engage my students better. I always pick topics relevant to China and students' lives when planning lessons. For example, I might build an activity around ordering food at a Chinese restaurant in Chinatown. By doing so, I create an environment for students to practice as if using Chinese to communicate with native speakers. I also added cultural notes to every lesson so that students could gain a glimpse into Chinese culture. For instance, I taught students the proper amount of money to give in a red envelope and when it is appropriate to give red envelopes during a lesson on traditional Chinese festivals. My students enjoy the cultural knowledges, which further engage them and motivate them in their language studies. Many of my students enjoy my way of teaching and have said that I "make the class fun, comfortable, and easy to approach." By creating an exciting and enjoyable environment for Chinese language learning, I motivate my students to achieve even better learning outcomes.

Since a young age, I have made it my goal to become a teacher. On the way to achieving my goal, I have received a lot of encouragement and helpful instruction, which has made me more determined in my devotion to teaching. I greatly appreciate the opportunities I have had to teach Chinese; regardless of whether my students continue their Chinese studies, I work to inspire them to appreciate the Chinese language and culture. To build a good relationship with my students, I frequently talk with them after class and am always willing to discuss any problems they might have. The connections I have built with students have been among the most rewarding aspects of being a Chinese instructor. In my teaching evaluations, students rated me especially high in elicitation and enthusiasm. I will continue to devote myself to Chinese language pedagogy and integrate new techniques into my class to keep it interesting to students. I will continuously develop, innovate, and improve myself to become a better teacher.