Meet ACTFL's 2018 National Language Teacher of the Year
At the 2017 ACTFL Convention & World Languages Expo in Nashville, Ying Jin was named 2018 National Language Teacher of the Year. Jin is the first Chinese language teacher to be awarded this ACTFL honor. She teaches at two schools in the Fremont Union High School District in California: Cupertino and Homestead High Schools.
The award for ACTFL National Language Teacher of the Year is “intended to elevate the status of the language teaching profession at the state, regional, and national levels by creating opportunities for recognizing the most accomplished members of the profession.” As the ACTFL Teacher of the Year, Jin is a spokesperson for the profession and helps to increase public awareness of the importance of learning languages.
Asia Society’s China Learning Initiatives team caught up with Jin to learn more about what makes her an outstanding teacher in a recent interview. Her passion for Chinese culture and mentoring young people has defined her career and she is excited about the opportunity to advocate for the field. In her own words, “today, being bilingual is definitely a must; multilingualism is the way to go!”
What brought you to be a Chinese teacher, and what keeps you in this role?
My parents were Russian language professors for their entire careers, so maybe I was born with the gene! I’ve had this love for Chinese culture since grade school. I taught Chinese as a second language before I arrived in the U.S. and what keeps me in this role is my supportive colleagues and administrators here, and the opportunity to work at schools within a district who create such a collaborative environment. Whenever we ask for support, we get it.
Please tell us about a mentor that has influenced you and supported you along the way.
My mentor is Duarte Silva (Executive Director of the California Foreign Language Project at Stanford University). I got to know him as a student teacher, and I’ve had the opportunity to work with him on STARTALK since its first year. Duarte has always been ready with advice and support, and he gives me room to grow. He has taught me: (1) keep a "can-do" attitude, and (2) leaders don't tell people what to do; instead, they support their team members.
How do you engage students across their various subjects? Do you collaborate with other teachers?
I've had opportunities to share a physical classroom with social studies, math, drama, and leadership teachers, and I've picked up many ideas from their classes. For instance, from social studies I've developed units based on the study of world continents. Drama and language classes both require a lot of speaking in front of others, and I’ve incorporated ideas from there as well. I've also worked closely with a cooking class. For the Moon Festival and Chinese New Year celebration, both my students and the culinary arts students work together to make food for these two holidays. It's an opportunity for everyone to learn more about Chinese culture.
Over the summer, our district encourages teachers to collaborate. As well, I’m part of the Stanford World Language Project, which meets five Saturdays a year. They provide systematic training to make us better teachers in the areas of lesson design, unit design, and assessment. They also help us to build a strong cohort of teachers within the program.
Why is it important for Chinese teachers to seek leadership roles at school, and in the field at large?
Every teacher is already a leader! Leaders are meant to serve their team members. And, from that perspective, it's an opportunity to serve and to grow.
I work closely with CLASS, ACTFL, and CLTA (California Language Teachers’ Association). I’m the chairperson for the National Chinese Honor Society within CLASS. I really want to provide Chinese teachers on the ground some support and assistance to develop their programs. I’ve learned from a lot of teachers that NCHS can boost students’ interest and provide acknowledgment of their effort and achievement. To promote Chinese language and culture learning is their ultimate goal, and it's also my passion.
Now, with this ACTFL recognition, I have a new role. I'm no longer representing only Chinese language education, but also how we can educate society to help people understand the importance of learning world languages. Chinese is a kind of new arrival in the field of language education. We have a way to go. Yet, I see it as a two-way street: on the one hand, we want to learn from other languages. There are so many good ideas being tested by Spanish, French, and German teachers, etc. We can make modifications to their ideas to work in the Chinese classroom. On the other hand, we have a unique perspective. I want to encourage our Chinese teachers. Don't be shy! We are used to being humble. But, be brave! If you have an idea, share it. It doesn't have to be perfect. Through the process of sharing, you’ll get input from your colleagues to improve your ideas.
I have met so many Chinese teachers at ACTFL, local conferences, and at CLASS meetings. Perhaps 10 years ago, Chinese language teachers were in a "survival mode," thinking mostly about making their program stable, increasing enrollment, etc. Today's mentality is different. We've seen the trend of Chinese language programs growing across the nation and it's time for us to think about stepping outside of our classrooms.
What kind of advice would you give to a new Chinese teacher?
First, I will quote Steve Jobs (he did attend Homestead High School, after all): “Stay hungry and stay foolish.” What do I mean by this? Stay willing to keep trying. Push yourself to the next level. Be ready to step out of your comfort zone. I always try to reflect on and learn from my experience, to figure out what changes to make so my ideas can work.
Stanford has offered teacher education programs for many years through STEP (Stanford Teacher Education Program). In 2010, Chinese language teachers joined this program. This group of teachers consists of one part young Chinese teachers whose language skills are very strong, and their needs are how to teach to American kids. The second, smaller part of the group consists of non-heritage teacher candidates who learned Chinese as a second language. They know American students very well, but they need help with teaching Chinese language competence. Working with these two groups is very different.
Many young and new teachers are aggressive; they want to grow, and they have the energy to pick up new things. At the same time, I want to tell them: don't forget the basics. Technology tools are fun and interesting, and kids like them, but everything we do now must be in the service of students' learning. Let's not do the fun stuff just for the sake of fun . . . it needs to serve the purpose of teaching and learning.
What are your takeaways from the ACTFL Teacher of the Year selection process? What would you suggest to your peers if they want to apply for this honor in the future?
It's a long process. You have to start at the state and regional level before moving to the national level. It took me about two years, but every single minute — every single night — was worth it. As classroom teachers, we are so busy. We are trying to survive every day. We rarely take time to reflect on what works, what doesn't work, and how we can make it work. The selection process requires you to sit down and reflect. I received many good questions, which made me pull out my hair! But these helped me to think objectively about what I have done and how I need to improve. Every teacher, if possible, should go through this process. You're going to be a better teacher afterward. The questions open your eyes and open your mind.
Let’s come back to ACTFL’s 5Cs — these are the guiding principles. Some Cs might be easier than others. For instance, communication is happening in our classroom every day. Culture is also relatively easy to incorporate. But how about community? Is there a way, besides emailing families around Chinese New Year, to really engage parents and your community? How do we reach out to every single community member as part of the learning process? If you get a chance, get involved in state-level world language teacher association events. When I went to our regional conferences, there were nine states in the southwest region. I met a Chinese teacher who was Texas’ teacher of the year, and I was so encouraged! We Chinese teachers are doing a lot and we need to let the world know.
What is your next big goal after winning ACTFL Teacher of the Year?
I'm going to be attending and participating in a lot of conferences this year, and I'm excited. I've been pushed out of my comfort zone and out of the classroom, and I'm meeting new people, learning new ideas, and doing things I never thought I'd do. For example, I’m going to Washington DC to meet with members of Congress to talk about how to advocate for language education. My biggest goal for 2018 is to really promote the whole field of language education. Maybe this is my goal for the rest of my life!