Why teach in China?

 

 

My husband and I applied to the Brigham Young University China teachers program,   http://kennedy.byu.edu/chinateachers/, because I was graduating with my PhD, my husband had just retired, and I wanted to expand my teaching experience. I wanted to work more closely with second language learners. More and more Chinese students are enrolling in US universities; I wanted to gain some insight about them.

Tongji University, one of the top universities in China, accepted our application and offered us both positions for a year. It was a wonderful experience to foster academic and cultural ties between Tongji and BYU.

It was also enlightening to work with students who hold an Eastern worldview. I taught oral and business English to English majors, which includes pronunciation and vocabulary, but my main objective was to teach critical thinking. When a student tearfully told me she should drop my class because she thinks differently than her classmates, I convinced her that a different perspective was exactly what her classmates needed to hear. I encouraged my Chinese students, as I encourage all students, to realize that it is valuable to break out of dualistic thinking and recognize the multi-faceted nature of human beings and the issues they consider important.

Experiences like these help me better understand complex concerns all students have as they become agents of their own education and work with other students who are also finding their way in the college environment. Every year every class I teach is different because of the individuals who make up the class. Each semester is like a treasure hunt to discover, encourage, and celebrate unique strengths in each one.