LMU STARTALK Scholars

Participating in the STARTALK Bilingual Teacher Scholarship Program has benefitted me immensely in the last 5 years that I've utilized this opportunity. It helped me really understand the duties I need to perform as a bilingual teacher and helped prepare me for my own classroom as one of the founding teachers in my District's Dual-Immersion program. It also helped me refine my teaching skills as a teacher, mentor, and technology innovator.

Growing up, I never had the opportunity to expand my bilingualism skills in school. However, I am proud of the fact that every year, my students come out of my classroom not only learning language skills, but also the culture and traditions behind the language they're learning in order to have them appreciate their background and instill pride in their ancestry more.

During the program, I assisted Mandarin teachers in primary classrooms. Through observing my lead teachers, I learned various teaching strategies that were helpful and effective not only in the dual language classroom, but also in other educational settings. I was able to apply many of them when instructing class population with English learners during student teaching. Furthermore, I met colleagues who share the same goal as mine - to provide a safe and positive learning environment for students with various cultural and linguistic backgrounds, through the STARTALK program.

As a bilingual Mandarin teacher, I am most proud of the fact that I myself as a bilingual person serve as an example to my future students. My linguistic abilities prove that it is possible to be fluent in more than one language. Such abilities have not only opened doors to effective communication with others, but also appreciation for my home culture and an open mind to learn about other cultures. As I am preparing to become a teacher of the Mandarin language, I love to share the language with others around me. My favorite memory of such would be introducing different ways of greetings in Mandarin to my Ukrainian coworkers when student teaching in Kyiv, Ukraine. For many of them, it was among their first experiences with the Chinese culture.

I was participating the program before starting my full-time job. In my first year of teaching I know there bound to be some bumps along the way. However, with the learning experience of this program, I can be more prepared and ready to tackle challenges that first year or two may throw at me. Attending this program also increased expertise in my field and, as a result, built confidence in the work I do. I am proud as a bilingual Mandarin teacher because I can take the best of both worlds and make the classroom better. I am proud to be able to approach the world from two different sides and points of view.