Teaching

My teaching interest encompasses courses in ESL and EAP at all levels, pedagogical grammar, and TESOL theories and methods.  In addition to an introductory linguistics course for Elementary Education majors and a TESOL theories course for upper-division Global English majors, I have taught a range of undergraduate and graduate level ESL/EAP courses at Purdue University (e.g., "First Year Composition for International Students," "Classroom Communication in ESL for Teaching Assistants," "Reading, Writing, and Speaking for International Students," "American Language and Culture for International Students," and a range of PLaCE short courses focused on writing or pragmatics).  Prior to pursuing a Ph.D. and working as a graduate instructor at Purdue, I had taught EFL courses in China for four years, at both tertiary and high school levels.  The courses I taught include "Comprehensive English for University Non-English Majors," "Academic Presentation Skills," and "IELTS Academic Writing."  These experiences have not only familiarized me with different teaching tasks, but they have also provided opportunities for observing other teachers and reflecting on my own teaching practice.

The first and foremost element in my teaching philosophy is that students should play a large role in shaping their own learning experience.  To that end, they should set their own learning goals and take responsibility for achieving the goals.  To facilitate this process of promoting self-regulated learning, as a teacher, I foster a respectful, supportive, and challenging environment with clear expectations, fair evaluation, and constructive feedback.  I also conduct periodic reviews of students’ goals and actions with them to lead them toward increased accountability.

Second, I am a firm believer of "learning by doing."  Confucius had a saying that even better explained this idea: "I hear and I forget.  I see and I remember.  I do and I understand."  Take language learning for example, I always believe that a second language (L2) can be best learned and polished when there is a need to use the language to communicate ideas and negotiate meanings.  As a language teacher, I often engage students in interactive communication tasks that help them practice the skills of seeking and providing clarification and managing conversations.  In addition, I believe that all the language skills, reading, writing, listening, and speaking, should be integrated and practiced in a whole unit that involves more than one skill.  A written report of an interview with an expert, face-to-face or online via a video conferencing platform, is one of my favorite assignments for intermediate to advanced language learners because it very well connects writing with speaking, listening, and even research reading.

Third, I believe that building supportive learning communities by engaging students in collaborative learning tasks is a good way to stimulate students' motivation, boost their confidence, and ultimately enhance their performance.  Group presentations, peer review of essays, and blog posts and responses are examples of pedagogic tasks that have promoted critical thinking, collaborative learning, and intellectual discussions among my students.

Last but not least, I believe that a good teacher should be flexible and willing to adjust his/her course schedule and lesson plans according to students' needs, ability, and progress.  What matters is not the number of pages covered in a class session, but how much of the content makes sense to the students and how much of it can be applied later in their academic inquiries.

Over the years of growing from a novice to an experienced instructor, I have improved greatly on pedagogical knowledge and teaching practice, but what delights me most is the thought that I am making my unique contribution to my students' intellectual growth.  To cite the comment that an undergraduate student in the Introduction to Linguistics course wrote about me in an anonymous course survey: "You are a friendly person who is earnest in teaching us what we have come to learn.  It is easy to approach you and talk to you.  You always listen to our questions and answer to the best of your abilities."