Faculty Features | Miki Steiner：挑战自己，走出舒适区
三尺讲台春风化雨，门下自是桃李成辉。广东以色列理工学院拥有世界一流的教师团队。老师们全情投入，潜心钻研，成为学生们科研思维的开启者、科研道路的引路人，也因此收获学生们敬重和爱戴。
广以教师系列专访与大家分享学校的师长大家们在治学修身、教书育人上的真知灼见和感悟箴言，让更多人走进广以课堂，走近广以教师，了解广以的办学特色与育人理念。
Miki Steiner
英语课程主任
全英教学是广东以色列理工学院（GTIIT）的特色之一。很多同学在选择广以时，既对全英教学充满期待，又担心自己是否能够适应。
Miki Steiner老师来自以色列，在以色列理工学院（Technion）教授本科生和研究生科技英语（Technical English），目前担任广东以色列理工学院英语课程主任。近日，Miki接受了广以君的采访，讲述了自己在中国的经历和教学体验，并就同学们关心的如何学好英语、如何用英语构建起交流的桥梁、如何适应全英教学等问题提出诸多指导性的建议。
以下是Miki的讲述。
在中国 / 寻往迹，育人才
In China
2018年，我第一次来到中国，主要是为了体验不同的文化，发现新景观。选择中国还有另一个原因——我想在这片土地上探寻家族的历史。我的曾祖母Shlomit是德国人，1938年，为了避免被送往集中营，她设法登上离开柏林的火车，来到中国，和其他逃离纳粹德国的犹太人在上海定居，形成一个充满活力的社群。她是一个演员，很快开始出演广播节目，与儿子和出生在上海的孙女Jeanne一起度过她的余生。
我虽然对中国的德国犹太人社区了解不多，但踏上中国的土地，我觉得自己能更接近家族的起源和历史。我很感谢中国，作为二战期间极少数不限制移民的国家，在我家人最需要的时候为他们提供了家园和庇护。
在以色列，我几乎没有空闲时间。我要兼顾家庭、工作和研究，费时又费力。在中国，我和丈夫Hagai会利用空闲时间探索汕头。我们租自行车骑行，或是漫步街头。汕头在农村和城市间达成一个微妙的平衡，我们探索着这座城市，欣赏它的独特魅力。在中国生活还有一点很迷人，那就是能早早吃完午饭，然后甜甜睡上一觉，希望我回国后也能保持这个习惯。
在广以度过了两个夏天后，我完全迷上了这里。我喜欢住在校园里，不用每天通勤；我也喜欢窗外美丽的山景。最重要的是——我爱我的学生们。我想起2018年在广以执教的第一天，我想提前到教室准备早八的课件。但我到的时候，惊讶地发现所有学生都已经坐在座位上，桌上准备好了纸笔，静静地等待上课。这在以色列从来没发生过！学生的好学点燃了我的激情，这件小趣事也说明了为什么一提到广以，我想到的词会是“勤奋（diligent）”。
学英语 / 除桎梏，助探索
English Learning
理工科并不好学，在全英教学环境学理工，情况就更复杂。比如数学，它本身就是一门语言。研究表明，数学思维和解题方式会受到母语的影响，比如，中国学生对数学的理解比英语母语者更直观、更有空间感。这意味着语言可以激发不同的数学方法（视觉vs.语言）。因此，学习环境从中文换成英文，意味着思维模式也要相应转变。
Miki Steiner在办公室
我认为，广以学生必须首先克服语言的桎梏。他们学英语的难点在于，人们学习第二门语言的时机，通常是在自己的母语已经日臻成熟，可以自如表达生活中习得的知识、信息、思想和情感的阶段。语言的媒介感在使用母语时隐身，在使用另一语言时则会现身。学生们对科学知识的掌握超过了自己英语能力所及，作为英语教师，我们的工作就是帮他们缩小其中的差距，助力他们探索科学的道路。因此，我们必须找到创新的教学方法，在不降低标准或简化内容的情况下帮助学生掌握英语。
教学法 / 贵于常，贵于新
Teaching Philosophy
在广以，英语不仅是一门通识课，还是广以所有学习的基础。我们希望提高学生英语水平，引导学生用英语思考和交流，注重提高学生阅读理解能力、术语运用能力、写作能力和表达能力。这要求我们不断反思完善教学方法，让学生乐意学、学扎实。
灵活是教学的关键。无论我课前准备得多充分，在课上总会有意想不到的情况。比如，在一个小组里效果很好的内容，在另一个组里却不管用；有时候课堂讨论很热烈，有时候学生们只是看着我，试图在我脸上寻找答案......没有屡试不爽的教学法，灵活、开放地尝试新方法确实让老师们的工作更复杂，但这也促使我们找到更新鲜、更有趣的策略，帮助学生找到学习的意义。
我正在教授一门讲解刘慈欣《三体》的选修课，灵感来源于2019年预备学期的学生。当时他们看到我在读《三体II：黑暗森林》，得知中国科幻小说在以色列非常流行后，我们在课上兴奋地讨论了起来！兴趣是最好的老师，大一新生在课上总是很羞涩，但《三体》打开了他们的话匣子，每个人都各抒己见，一起完成了这门课。
Miki与2019级预备课程学生
在夯实基础方面，作为英语老师，我们希望通过扩充学生理工科词汇库、熟悉专业术语来帮助他们适应全英教学。我们正在联系各专业教授，共同编制一份入门词汇表，希望能早日完成！
中国学生很尊重老师，学习勤奋努力。他们潜力巨大、想法出彩，但大多比较害羞，不敢在课堂上提问。其实，教学需要有来有往，教授在课上得到的反馈不够，不知道学生的疑惑，学生的进步也会受限。
还有一点很重要：别怕丢脸。犯错是学习的一部分，没人会嘲笑你语法犯错或是发音不准确，只有你自己在意，因为你是对自己最严苛的裁判。所以心态上要给自己留点余地，允许自己犯错。同时我们必须明确一个事实：语言不付诸于口则无法习得。如果你因为怕犯错丢脸而不去练习，在英语学习上就无法进步，也会影响你在广以的学习。
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教师寄语
希望GTers享受大学生活！设定每日目标，挑战自己，走出舒适区。
Teachers are like the lighthouse, enlightening all the succeeding generations. They devoted themselves to teaching and research, winning many students' respect and love.
The series of interviews with teachers will share their insights on education so that more people can get close to GTIIT's classes and teachers and know about its characteristics and educational philosophy.
Miki Steiner
Head of English Program
English-medium instruction is one of GTIIT's characteristics. Many students, when choosing this university, are both excited about a brand-new teaching style and worried about whether they will be able to adapt.
Mrs. Miki Steiner comes from Israel. She is the head of the English program at GTIIT and teaches Technical English for Graduates and Undergraduates at the Technion. Recently, Miki spoke to NPA about her life in China and teaching in GTIIT. In the interview, she also addressed students' worries about how to learn English effectively, how to communicate in English, and how to adjust to full-English instruction.
Here is Miki's story.
In China /
Trace the past, cultivate the talents
在中国 / 寻往迹，育人才
My first visit to China (2018) was motivated by adventure. I wanted to travel, experience a less familiar culture, and explore new places. I also had a personal interest in coming here. Getting to China brought closure to a family story that began in 1938 when my German great-grandmother, Shlomit, about to be deported to a concentration camp, managed to board one of the trains leaving Berlin and escape to China. She, and many other Jews fleeing Nazi Germany, settled in Shanghai and formed a vibrant community there. As an actress, she soon started performing in radio shows and spent the rest of her life in China with her son and granddaughter Jeanne, who was born in Shanghai.
Although not much is known about the German Jewish community in China, I felt that just by visiting China, I was closer to my family's history and origin. I am thankful that China, being one of the very few countries not restricting immigration during World War II, provided home and shelter for my family when they needed it most.
In Israel, I have little spare time. Juggling family life, work, and research is time-consuming and exhausting. In China, I spend my spare time exploring Shantou with my partner, Hagai. We rent bikes or go on long walks. Shantou has a delicate balance of rural and urban areas, we get to know places nearby and appreciate their unique charm and appeal. Another aspect of Chinese life we find enchanting is the early lunch followed by a sweet nap. I hope to keep this habit when I go back home.
After two summers at GTIIT, I am completely smitten with this place. I love living on campus and not having to commute every day; I love the mountain view from my window, and above all, I love my students. On my first day of teaching, back in 2018, I decided to get to my 8 am class a bit earlier to make sure I knew how to handle the media system and upload materials I needed for the lesson. When I entered the classroom, I was shocked to realize all my students were already there, quietly waiting for the lesson to start – books and pens on the tables. This never happens in Israel! So when an entire class arrives early to be better prepared for the lesson, it motivates me to work harder and care more. This little anecdote explains why the word 'diligence' comes to mind in reference to GTIIT.
Learn English /
overcome language barrier,
aid sci-tech education
学英语 / 除桎梏，助探索
English adds another layer of complexity to an already complicated topic. STEM is not easy, to begin with. Math, for instance, is already a language in and of itself. Studies have shown that Math thinking and problem-solving are influenced by one's mother tongue. Chinese students, research claims, have a more visual and spatial understanding of Math than English speakers, which means language can motivate a different approach to Math (visual vs. verbal), and shifting from Chinese to English is more than a language shift. It's a change of thinking mode.
Miki Steiner in her office
Teaching English is tricky because second language acquisition usually occurs at a later stage when the knowledge, information, thoughts, and feelings a person develops in life can be easily expressed and conveyed in the primary language. The medium of language becomes transparent in one's mother tongue, and the introduction of another language eliminates this transparency. Instead of focusing on the subject matter of Physics / Mathematics / Biology / Chemistry and so on, GTIIT students must first overcome the language barrier. Their scientific knowledge surpasses their English language skills, and our job as English teachers is to help them close this very frustrating gap, which undermines progress. We must figure out innovative ways to develop students' mastery of English without compromising or oversimplifying content.
Teaching Philosophy /
consolidation and flexibility
教学法 / 贵于常，贵于新
While the courses differ in many respects, the main objective of teaching English is similar: to enhance students' English language skills and motivate them to think, present, and converse in English. In all courses, the emphasis is on reading comprehension, implementation of academic technical terminology, writing, and eloquence in English.
Flexibility is key to teaching. No matter how well I prepare for a lesson, there are always surprises. Something that works so well in one group turns out to be mediocre in another. Sometimes a discussion organically forms in class, and other times students stare at me, trying to remember who I am and why I am bothering them with so many questions… Being flexible and open to trying new approaches makes our job more complicated as we cannot use the same old methods and expect the same results. However, it also enables finding new and interesting strategies for meaningful learning with our students.
I teach an elective course about Liu Cixin's sci-fi trilogy, The Three-Body Problem. The idea for the elective course came from my prep students in the summer of 2019. They saw me reading Liu Cixin's Dark Forest and were so excited to learn that Chinese sci-fi had become popular in Israel that we ended up using the novel as a trigger for class discussions. Usually, it's quite challenging to prompt first-year students to speak in class and engage in conversations, but Liu Cixin's novel served as an incredible ice-breaker. Everyone had something to say about it, and the course basically wrote itself.
Miki and 2019 prep students
Consilidation also matters. As English teachers, we can ease the shift by providing students with the necessary vocabulary and technical terminology for STEM studies. Together with STEM teachers, we have compiled an initial glossary to help students transition from Chinese to English. This interview is an excellent opportunity to thank the departments that sent glossaries and feedback and urge those that have not to support this initiative at their earliest convenience.
Chinese students are very respectful, diligent, and hard-working. They have tremendous potential and exhibit beautiful ideas but are often too shy to share their thoughts or ask questions in class. This lack of feedback creates gaps that become insurmountable as the semester progresses.
There is also one essential tip for second language acquisition. It's so simple that I often wonder why students (everywhere, not just in GTIIT) are so reluctant to embrace it. The tip is not about what you should do but what you must stop doing. You must stop saving face. Your mistakes in English are part of your learning process. Accept them, enjoy them, and learn from them. No one laughs at your mistakes or your pronunciation but you. You are your worst judge, so cut yourself some slack and make room for learning by allowing yourself to err. I want to be very clear: You cannot learn a language without speaking. You cannot speak without making mistakes. Basic logic entails that you must make mistakes in order to learn. To be too self-conscious and unwilling to err is the same as saying you do not want to learn English. At GTIIT, there's no learning without it.
Message
To GTers:
Enjoy this period in your life. Challenge yourself and set daily feasible goals that will encourage you to step outside your comfort zone.
GTIIT
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文/图：Miki Steiner、GTIIT传媒与公共事务部
Text/Photos: Miki Steiner, GTIIT News & Public Affairs
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