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构建中英文语言教育的桥梁——专访TESOL项目学生张一佳
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TESOL学生专访 /Profile/
国际学校的中文老师在TESOL项目学习英语语言教学是怎样的体验？这样的选择看似违和，但在张一佳看来，二者其实颇有相通之处。张一佳目前在上海惠灵顿外籍人员子女学校担任中文老师，同时也是由上海纽约大学和纽约大学斯坦哈特文化、教育与人类发展学院联合培养的英语教育硕士（TESOL）项目的第二届在读学生。
TESOL项目成立至今已接收了三届学生。他们中大多都是在职的专业人士，在项目学习的同时，也任职于上海的各大学校或教育机构。背景丰富且优秀的学生汇聚在一起，为TESOL项目注入了很多活力。
本期学生采访，张一佳和我们细致分享了她的选择、体验和收获。
张一佳：我本科毕业于华东师范大学的汉语国际教育专业。本科前三年，我修完了本科四年所要求的大部分学分，并计划在大四的一整年进行全职实习。大四时，我在惠灵顿做了一年的中文实习老师。毕业时，我成了我们这一年唯一一位取得本科学位后便转正成为全职老师的实习生。
问：是什么让你决定继续读研并选择了上纽大的TESOL项目？
张一佳：其实我在大四的时候收到了不少世界名校的TESOL项目录取通知书，包括爱丁堡大学、伦敦大学学院、格拉斯哥大学等。在权衡了惠灵顿国际学校的工作机会和出国留学继续深造的机会后，我决定还是继续留在国内，成为惠灵顿的中文老师。但是继续深造获取硕士学位还是我一直坚持的目标。因此当我从同事处得知上海纽约大学与纽约大学斯坦哈特学院合办的TESOL项目后，我第一时间来参加宣讲会，以进一步了解这个项目。
问：在TESOL项目中学习的英文教学方法会对你工作中的中文教学有帮助吗？
张一佳：在申请项目之前，我的确有这方面的顾虑，因为TESOL项目关注的是对英语语言教学的研究，而我作为一位中文教师，TESOL项目的课程可能并不符合我的需求。好在我在宣讲会中碰到了项目主任Kentei Takaya教授。在向他提到我的担心后，他非常耐心地解答了我的困惑 ，指出虽然所教的语言种类的不同，但第二语言的教学理论、实践方法等大部分是相通的，不会影响教学的效果。
问：在TESOL项目中的学习体验与你本科时有什么相同和不同之处？
张一佳：我的本科学习更多侧重于理论知识，研究生的学习则更侧重于实践。其实，关于第二语言教学的相关课程我在本科时都已经上过了，但那时候因为没有相关教学经验，只是纯粹在课堂中听教授讲解各项理论知识，无法结合实践去理解，也不知道该如何实际应用到教学操作中去。加入TESOL项目以后，我可以结合已有的工作经验理解课堂内容，所以经常听着听着就有一种恍然大悟的感觉，知道可以怎样把理论付诸实践，反馈到日常教学中。而且教授也会在上课时举一些实际教学的例子，鼓励我们自己设计教学方案、大纲，设计一个单元的课并在课堂上展示，真正做到了“理论结合实际”，这样的改变我觉得很有趣。
问：在项目学习的过程中，你有没有遇到挑战？
张一佳：困难的确有一些，但是我觉得还好。最大挑战的还是将教授中文的经验应用到全英文的授课环境中。不过幸运的是，项目中的两位教授，Robin Harvey和Kentei Takaya，都十分精通中文，Robin教授以前还担任过中文老师。在学习关于语法教学时，我会和教授沟通，是否可以在做作业或展示时，把课上所用的教学法运用到中文的教学案例中，来设计一些课堂活动或者单元课程。教授们都给予了大力的支持，让我结合我实际的教学内容来进行。这样对我非常有帮助。
问：能否具体谈一谈你从教授们身上学到了什么？
张一佳：我从教授们身上学到了很多。让我印象最深的还是Takaya教授的Writing课，他一方面鼓励我们从学生的角度看待语法和写作课程，同时他又鼓励我们从语言教师的角度去思考这些内容，教我们如何更有效地在课堂中教学生语法和写作。
这节课让我对作文的教学改观了很多，也思考了很多。在之前批改学生作文的时候，我会重点修改学生的错别字、语法和写作结构等。但是Takaya教授告诉我们，在批改学生作文的时候，我们要做他们的引导者，而不是editor（编辑）。这让我意识到，在一篇文章中，学生所想表达的思想也很重要。有时候，虽然学生在文中的遣词造句并不是很出彩，但是他们所想表达的内容很精彩，也不失为一篇优秀的文章。这对我很有启发，在这门课以后，我便一直在思考写作时如何平衡语言、内容和思想表达这三者之间的关系，也促使我从多个角度出发，全方位地考量学生的作文。
问：你总能在忙碌的工作中保证优异的学业表现，请问你是如何平衡工作和学习的？
张一佳：可能大部分还是靠意志力吧（笑）。我需要同时教好几个年级，学生的年龄跨度也很大，因此周一到周五的教学任务非常重，常常下班以后就没有时间和精力来继续看上课的内容了。我一般会在周末专门空一天，来集中精力完成学业。
对于每门课的作业，我会给自己设定一个时间。比如对期末报告，教授会提前几周告诉我们报告的内容。我会在作业截止日期前一周就完成作业内容，不纵容自己的惰性，踩着截止日期再赶作业。有时候我也会利用空余的时间穿插完成一些作业或任务。虽然这两年我牺牲了很多周末与朋友聚会的机会，但我觉得这样做可以提高自控能力，合理地安排时间，所以还是挺享受这个过程的。
问：能否谈一谈这一年半的就读体验？
张一佳：在这里上课的体验非常不错。我们项目的人数不多，教授们可以充分关注到每个学生。我们上课的形式多样化，不仅仅是单纯的授课模式，教授也会设计很多小组活动和团队讨论等。此外，作业的形式也很多样化，不仅有论文、小组讨论，也会需要我们制作网站、录音频。我感觉这很新鲜，但也很有挑战。而且读书期间，我们还能充分利用纽约大学和上纽大的资源，包括图书馆、线上数据库等等。此外，通过项目和校友网络，我还可以接触到人脉资源。这些都对我很有帮助。
这段在TESOL项目的学习经历，虽然很累很辛苦，周末也因为学习放弃了不少玩耍、休闲的时间，经常只能一人在家看书、写论文、完成作业，但是回首看这一年半的旅程，我觉得挺充实的，学到很多，认识了很多人，社交圈也拓宽了。这是一段有趣、难忘的经历——累并快乐着！
Bridging Chinese and English Language Teaching - Student Interview Featuring Doris Zhang
The TESOL program has welcomed three cohorts of students since its inception in 2018. Most of our students are working professionals, teaching in schools or educational institutions in Shanghai while studying in the program. Students with a wide range of backgrounds and with excellent abilities have gathered together to inject a lot of vitality into the TESOL program.
In this student interview, Doris Zhang shares with us her choices, experiences, and rewards after joining the TESOL program.
Q: Can you let us know your study and work experience before joining the TESOL program?
A: I graduated from the East China Normal University with a bachelor's degree in Teaching Chinese to Speakers of Other Language. In my first three years of undergraduate study, I completed most of the credits required for my four-year undergraduate study and planned to do a full-time internship for the whole of my senior year. During my senior year, I did my internship as a Chinese teacher at Wellington College International Shanghai. I was the only intern in my year to become a full-time teacher after obtaining my undergraduate degree.
Q: What made you decide to go on to graduate school and choose the TESOL program?
A: I actually received a number of offers from other prestigious universities for TESOL programs during my senior year, including the University of Edinburgh, University College London, and the University of Glasgow. After weighing the job opportunities at Wellington International School and the opportunity to study abroad, I decided to stay in China and become a Chinese teacher at Wellington. However, it was always my goal to pursue a master's degree. So when I learned from my colleagues about the MA TESOL program offered by NYU Shanghai and NYU Steinhardt School, I came to one of the program open houses to learn more about the program.
Q: Will the English teaching methods you learn in the TESOL program help you in teaching Chinese in your other work?
A: I did have concerns about this before applying to the program, because the TESOL program focuses on the study of English language teaching and learning, and as a Chinese teacher, the TESOL program curriculum might not have met my needs. Luckily, I ran into the program director, Professor Kentei Takaya, at the open house. After mentioning my concerns to him, he patiently answered my questions and pointed out that although the language taught is different, most of the theories and practices of teaching a second language are similar and will not affect the effectiveness of teaching.
Q: What are the similarities and differences of the learning experience in the TESOL program compared to your undergraduate studies?
A: My undergraduate studies focused more on theoretical knowledge, while my graduate studies focused more on practical learnings. In fact, I had already taken courses related to second language teaching in my undergraduate studies, but at that time, because I had no relevant teaching experience, I just listened to the professors' theoretical knowledge in the classroom and could not understand how to use it in practice, nor did I know how to apply it to teaching. After joining the TESOL program, I could understand the class content and how it linked with my current work experience, so I often felt a sense of insight as I listened. The program taught me how to put the theory into practice and reflect it back to my daily teaching. The professors would also give us examples of practical teaching in class and encouraged us to design our own syllabus and teaching plans, and then design a unit of lessons and present them in class, so as to truly achieve the goal of "combining theory with practice." I think this change is very interesting.
Q: Did you encounter any challenges during the learning process?
A: There were indeed some difficulties, but I think I managed it well. The biggest challenge was applying the experience of teaching Chinese in a fully English-speaking environment. Fortunately, two of the program professors, Robin Harvey and Kentei Takaya, are both very proficient in Chinese, and Professor Harvey was a former Chinese teacher too. For example, when I was learning about teaching grammar, I communicated with the professors about the possibility of applying the pedagogy used in class to the Chinese teaching examples when doing assignments or presentations to design some classroom activities or unit lessons. The professors have been very supportive and allowed me to incorporate what I was actually teaching. This has been particularly helpful to me.
Q: Can you tell us specifically what you have learned from the professors?
A: I have learned a lot from the professors. I was most impressed by Professor Takaya's writing class, where he facilitated experiential learning and encouraged us to immerse in grammar and writing activities by asking us to wear the "student hat" to help us understand what it's like to engage in these activities from students' perspectives and then asked us to wear the "teacher hat" as he taught us how to teach these grammar and writing activities effectively in the classroom.
This class has made me change my mind a lot about teaching composition and inspired me to think a lot. When I was correcting students' essays before, I would focus on correcting the students' typos, grammar, and writing structure. But Professor Takaya told us that we should be our students’ guide, not editor, when correcting their essays. This made me realize that the ideas that students want to express in an essay are also important. Sometimes, although a student’s wording in an essay is not very impressive, what they are trying to express is in fact a brilliant idea and has the potential to become an excellent essay.
This class has inspired me to think about how to balance language, content, and ideas in my writing. It has also urged me to consider my students' essay compositions from various angles and in all aspects.
Q: How do you balance work and study, given that you always manage to excel in your studies in spite of your busy schedule?
A: It's probably mostly a matter of willpower (laughs). I teach several different grades and need to deal with a wide age range of students, so I have a very heavy teaching load Monday through Friday. I often don't have the time or energy to continue reading after work during workdays, therefore I usually take a day off on the weekend to focus on my studies.
For each class assignment, I set a timeline for myself. For example, for the final report, professors would usually tell us a few weeks in advance about what the report was going to be about. I would complete the content of the assignment a week before the deadline and not indulge my inertia by waiting until close to the deadline and then catching up with the assignment. Sometimes I would also intersperse some assignments or tasks into my free time. Although I have sacrificed a lot of opportunities to meet with friends on weekends in the past two years, I feel that I have been able to improve my self-control and organize my time wisely by doing so, so I still enjoy the process.
Q: Can you tell us about your TESOL studying experience during the past year and a half?
A: The experience of attending classes here has been very good. Our program is small enough that the professors can give each student their full attention. We have a variety of classes, not just lectures, but also group activities and team discussions. In addition, the assignments are diverse, not only papers and group discussions, but also websites and audio recordings that we are required to create. I felt that it was new but also challenging. Moreover, during the study period, we were able to make full use of the resources of NYU, including the library, online databases, and so on. In addition, through the program and alumni network, I have access to networking resources. All of this has been very helpful to me.
I often have to give up a lot of relaxation time during weekends because of studying, as well as to do all the readings, papers and assignments, but looking back on this one-year-and-a-half long journey, I think it has been quite fulfilling. I have learned a lot, met a lot of people, and broadened my social circle. It has been an interesting and unforgettable experience – exhausting but definitely enjoyable!
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