From teaching English in China to teaching math and science in Atlanta and Orlando, Yuanyuan Zhu has taught students of all ages around the world. Now, Zhu has come to Trinity Prep to teach her favorite subject: Chinese language and culture. With more than 25 years of teaching experience, she now brings her global perspective to Trinity’s world languages department, using new ideas to make learning Chinese fun and engaging.
“I’m very much into teaching foreign language,” Zhu said. “I think I can definitely have a better career here and also bring some new ideas to Trinity.”
Currently Zhu is teaching Chinese III, Chinese IV and AP Chinese with the use of her new ideas. These ideas include incorporating games, competitions and interactive activities into the classroom. One recent lesson involved card games where students reviewed characters in groups before racing to demonstrate their knowledge. The fast-paced and competitive nature of this game is what Zhu believes is essential for student learning.
“My goal is to always keep their interest,” Zhu said. “So I use different teaching strategies such as reading, listening, stories, games and competitions to help students learn.”
Zhu also emphasizes the broader importance of learning Chinese, noting the country’s growing influence in the world.
“China is a very huge country (like) America,” Zhu said. “These two countries definitely will have lots of trading in international business together, so it is very important for our students to learn more about Chinese culture.”
Over the years, Zhu has taught all ages from preschool to college, which has helped her identify the most effective teaching strategies for her students.
“I do the lesson plans according to the different ages, levels, interests and capabilities of the students,” Zhu said.
Equally as important to learning the language, Zhu also highlights the need to bring traditional Chinese culture into the classroom.
“The priority will probably be Chinese festivals because we can see them and (students) can learn very quickly from it,” Zhu said. “When I see a foreign culture and they bring me something from their country and their festivals, (it is what) I love the most.”
To put all these lessons into effect, Zhu plans on heavily collaborating with other world language teachers to give students the best possible learning experience.
“I talk to my other Chinese teacher every day to ask her how she plans her curriculum,” Zhu said. “I also learn other teaching strategies from other foreign language teachers to see how they use technology and how they use games in their classes.”
Zhu also plans to implement her personal philosophy of teaching into the classroom, which is rooted in respect and curiosity.
“The environment should be respectful towards each other,” Zhu said. “(However), it should not just be respect from my students to me, (but) I should also respect them as equals. Then learning can function and be fun and interesting too.”
As Trinity students begin this new year, they will not only be learning a new language but they will also be gaining insight into a culture that continues to shape the global stage. For Zhu, the ultimate goal is to reinforce this point.
“Learning Chinese as a foreign language will open their minds and help them see the world a lot more,” Zhu said.
