From volunteers to teachers, they keep going on the road of international Chinese language education

For every international Chinese language teacher, teaching overseas is an unforgettable memory in life. From students to volunteers, from volunteers to teachers, they deepened their understanding of each other's language and culture and gained growth through their interactions with local people.

Teaching Chinese and Telling China Stories in a better form

After two years of successfully transitioning into an international Chinese language teacher, Kang Ying, who had been sent to Cuba as a volunteer in 2018, chose the Central America once again. It was Mexico. When talking about her understanding of international Chinese language education, she said that for her, it is not just a profession or a job, but a sacred cause, and she is willing to keep doing it in the future.

Looking back on her past experiences, she is overwhelmed with emotion. "Before I went to Cuba, my friends around me thought it was a poor country and were very puzzled by my choice. But when I came back after one year, my previous impression was completely overturned. I fell in love with it and still miss it. That's why I chose Mexico again," she said firmly, "Seeing is believing, and this has given me a new understanding of international Chinese language education that I am working on. There are so many different opinions on the Internet that foreigners have no way to distinguish the authenticity of the information, and what we should do is to get ourselves involved and show them a real, contemporary China while fully understanding the local language and culture, and truly be the messenger of civilization and cultural exchange and mutual learning."

"It's a real sense of accomplishment to go from feeling uneasy before going to feeling calm this," Kang said. "I hope my future teaching will be more systematic and multimedia technology can be used more skillfully by me, so that I can teach Chinese and tell China stories in a better form. "

Conveying China's Voice

Yu Kewen previously taught in Ecuador in 2016 as a volunteer Chinese language teacher. As an undergraduate English major, she became involved with international Chinese language education when she received a group of foreign students visiting China during her school years. "After a period of time, I realized that international Chinese language education was what I was interested in, so I chose this direction during my graduate exams." When talking about her past experiences, Yu Kewen was filled with happiness. She said that international Chinese language teachers are not only a language teacher, but also take on more responsibilities to tell China stories and convey China's voice, which gives them a stronger sense of mission.

She mentioned that after becoming an international Chinese language teacher and then going to the UK in person, many things were not the same as she imagined. For example, the target students vary greatly from region to region and age to age, with some regions favoring language education while other regions lack of corresponding exams. She has taught a group of British elementary school students, her goal was to develop their interest in learning Chinese and to make them gain some knowledge about China. "I think it will broaden their horizons and plant a seed of interest of Chinese language in their hearts." She said.

"From being a volunteer to a teacher, I am clearly aware of the  responsibility on my shoulders", she said, "Volunteers still need to be led by the pioneer teachers, but as international Chinese language teachers, we have to build up the awareness of leadership and take on more responsibility, and the burden on our shoulders will be heavier. As a member of the international Chinese language teachers, I must learn how to make China's voice heard worldwide."

Keeping on International Chinese Language Education

After teaching in New Zealand for two years as a volunteer, Song Yujia chose to return to New Zealand again after becoming an international Chinese language teacher.

"During those two years in New Zealand, I often participated in a variety of training, and these experiences allowed me to develop a whole new understanding of education. I was particularly impressed by a teacher who mentioned that teaching should be seen as an art; once, a local teacher asked us that 'your first definition of yourself, is a teacher, or a Chinese language teacher', and most of the answers were Chinese language teachers, but she said that you should be a teacher first, and then a Chinese language teacher. This statement had a profound impact on me." When referring to her past experiences, Song Yujia was very excited.

Song Yujia also said that from Chinese as a Second Language in her undergraduate years, to Teaching Chinese to Speakers of Other Languages for her master's degree, and now to International Chinese Language Education, what has changed is not only the names, but also the connotations, which bear the characteristics of the language, culture, education, and their internationalization.

When I gave the children their first lesson, I said, "Tell me your names and then I will give you a Chinese name." The Chinese names made these children so excited and I was determined to continue on the path of international Chinese language education. I look forward to bringing something valuable to the places I go and pass it on to the people I know, and that's the meaning of this cause!"

(Author: Jiang Xiangling)