The document discusses the ideal school and effective language teaching philosophies. It states that the ideal school adapts to student and teacher needs, embraces all students' ability to learn, and creates a safe and collaborative learning environment. It also emphasizes using varied activities like games to engage language students in using the language, rather than passive learning, in order to unconsciously motivate learning. The author aims to become a teacher who recognizes each student's potential, is empathetic and earns their trust, and motivates through positive attitudes and passion for education.

1. I think the ideal school does not need to be the same time to time, but it always
adjusts to the needs of its students and teachers. Generally, the ideal school in my mind is
one that embrace the idea that all students can learn. Accordingly, the ideal school efforts
on building mutual trust between teachers and students, and creating and maintaining a
safe, supportive and collaborative learning environment. The teachers in this kind of school
are not only knowledgeable but also versatile and are willing to adapt varied teaching
approaches for different contents. Also, teachers work collaboratively to design and
develop authentic measures for assessing student learning. The school values teachers’
efforts and teachers value students’ voice and need for choices.
As to my teaching philosophy, especially for teaching students a different language,
I think it is important to shift the perspective from pedagogies to learning progress.
Learning a new language could be boring and arduous, but it could also be fun and
rewarding! The key is the teacher. A qualified Mandarin/Chinese teacher should be able to
let students enjoy the process of learning Mandarin/Chinese, and I am working on being
such a Mandarin/Chinese teacher.
Being a Chinese, I am used to the teacher-centered classroom where teacher’s lecture
dominates the class. It is true that lectures are useful for students who read poorly or who
are unable to well organize learning material. Also, some teachers can convey personal
enthusiasm in lectures and stimulate students’ interest in certain subjects. However,
the teacher-centered classroom has put students in a passive rather than active role.
Learning a foreign language requires full engagement because language ability includes
two sides i.e. input and output, and four aspects i.e. reading, listening, writing and speaking.
Instead of being a receptacle of vocabulary and grammar rule, students learning
Mandarin/Chinese need to fully participate in “using” the language through varied
activities/scenarios. To help my students and language partners learn Mandarin/Chinese in
a way that subconsciously or unconsciously motivates them, I have designed and practiced
competitive games, collaborative games, and visual art projects. Some of the most
successful games are “Climbing the Great Wall”, “Finding the ‘JianXi (spy)’”, “Decode
the Pinyin Telegraph”, “Watch out the landmine”. When students learn the direction words
in Chinese, they learn the characters by making a Chinese lantern; when students learn the
color words in Chinese, they draw ribbon bridge; when students learn the words for seasons
in Chinese, they make season wheel… I reward students with stickers, candies as well as
praises, and sometimes they enjoy their “triumph” and do not realize that they have learned
so much about Mandarin. I enjoy teaching Mandarin through these activities because it
rewards me, too. It’s fun and meaningful!
Yet, being a teacher does not merely mean I teach only the subject whether it is a
foreign language or math. It means I should set the example for students and model the
learning process for them. Learning itself is a skill and it only develops by practice. To be
able to learn and use a foreign language, my students need to learn how to learn. In fact,
learning has never been easy and will not be easier merely because of games and
technologies. What I should do as a teacher is that to learn every of my student and help
them enhance their determination to learn Mandarin/Chinese and overcome the indolence
in a way that they do not notice. Being among the students and getting to know them helped
me grow empathetic ears. Every student has his/her brilliant ideas or unique strengths, as
well as the curiosity to explore the unknown world. A good teacher should be someone
who is able to recognize the potential of students, who is empathetic and can earn trust

2. from students, who can motivate students by positive expectation, optimistic attitudes,
unyielding hope and full passion for education! That’s kind of teacher I am dedicated to
becoming.