Q & A with Teacher Xiuqing Sun

  Q - Where were you born? A - Beijing China Q - What school did you attend? A - China Communication University Q - What degree did you obtain there? A - Media Management Q - Tell us a little about your family. A - I am an only child. My dad passed away and mom still lives in China. I visit once a year. Q - Where have you traveled? A - I have traveled to Thailand (very beautiful), Japan, Korea, China and around the U.S. Q -  Do you have a favorite quote? A -  I cannot give a direct translation but it is something like this; “If I walk with two other people, I can learn from at least one of them.” It shows humility and the willingness to learn from different people, regardless of their age, background or beliefs. Q - How long have you been teaching? A - I’ve been teaching Chinese for about 8-9 years. In China I taught Chinese to foreigners for about two years. Everybody learns English in China, since kindergarten. Then I moved to the U.S. with my family. I’ve been teaching at TIA since 2012, when a friend introduced me to Mr. Wu, who hired me. Q - What is your favorite part about teaching Chinese? A - Teaching little kids about the Chinese culture and language. Q - What is the most challenging part of your job? A - To get students motivated to learn Chinese since China is far away. Q - Why is learning Chinese important? A - Chinese helps you develop a different part of the brain because it helps your visual side since it is pictures and not phonemic. For older students it also gives access to other parts of the world and exposure to new cultures. Q - What makes the Chinese curriculum at TIA a good program? A - TIA’s language program is more colorful and interesting than any other school. Not only do we teach the language, we focus on culture, dance, music, food, etc. Q - Is Chinese difficult to learn? A - No, it’s just like any other language. It has parts that are difficult and easy. It is just different. Q - Do you have any experiences at TIA that you would like to share? A - I was really impressed with a parent this past year. A student and her family are very involved within the program. The mother helped the student with dances and practiced poems during breaks and after school. She had the child practice with me over the phone during spring break. Q - What would you like to see different in the Chinese curriculum? A -  I would like parents and students to know more of China as a whole. There are a lot of misconceptions about China. Throughout the program, I like to introduce parents to different Chinese concepts. We visit the cultural center, Chinese websites, Chinese movies, videos, music videos, food, etc. We provide them with a full cultural immersion.

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