I was once a student learning a foreign language as well, which is English, so I know how frustrating it can be to "decipher" a sentence in a foreign language. Knowing that Chinese is much more difficult to learn than English is, I think a good strategy would be to compensate the struggles with fun activities. During my semester abroad in Taiwan where I taught local students English, I turned away from the old school memorization techniques and instead taught them through interactive activities such as in class karaoke and games. As friendly and passionate teacher as I could be, I was strict with my students and I plan to continue teaching with this character because it fosters my students' improvements. My visit not only enhanced my Chinese, but also introduced me to the the rapid transformation my home country is undergoing. It is truly a sight to see how traditional values remain as stronghold of the society amidst predominant development. Culture and language are essentially two interactive factors that foster one another. By understanding the culture behind a language, the students are provided a new spectrum at learning the language. With these perspectives that I hold, I hope to help my students succeed in their Chinese acquisition- to decipher the code that leads to appreciation of a foreign culture.

Reading, script writing, novel writing