Self-Introduction

OK, I'm really lazy. The following article was my autobiography written before. After reading it, why not take a quiz about me? Have fun.

“Extensively interested in many fields. Music is my lifetime companion; language is my natural aptitude. The purpose of life is to improve the lives of humanity. ”

These short lines borrowed from my profiles on the Internet can faithfully indicate three traits about my personality: I am open to a wide range of things, especially sensitive to sounds, and my philosophy of life is to help people. All of the above, in my opinion, are essentials of a career in language teaching.

Born in Taipei, I once lived in Sanchong and grew up mainly in Banqiao. The liberal upbringing from my parents and my elder brother has molded me into an independent woman with a balanced combination of reason, intelligence, feelings, and enthusiasm. Since my childhood, I have appreciated and enjoyed the beauty of sounds, particularly those sounds in music and language. In addition, some experiences expanded my horizons of the world and extended my understanding of foreigners, such as studying as a transient second grader in Okalahoma for a few months as well as spending summer and winter vacations from 1989 to 1992.

Regarding my academic performance, I excelled at not only English but also Chinese, of which my score in the university entrance examination was even higher than those scores of my classmates who entered departments of Chinese. But it was not until I read the cover story about the Chinese fever from issue No. 1057 of Business Weekly did I think of a potential career for me, teaching Chinese as a second/foreign language, which can perfectly combine both of my strengths. Being good at both subjects, I am confident enough to possess the predisposition of teaching Chinese as second/foreign language. To strengthen the professional knowledge of this field, I achieved two certificates of programs in Teaching Chinese as Second/Foreign Language in 2008 and 2009.

Furthermore, another experience also reminds me of the pleasure in teaching Chinese to foreigners. A multilingual family once traveled in Taiwan and stayed at my home as guests. The couple was interested in learning Chinese and asked me how to pronounce certain sounds by showing me Pinyin and International Phonetic Alphabet (which I did not know then until I entered senior high school afterwards). Knowing only what native speakers in Taiwan possess, I did my best to teach them the Mandarin Phonetic Symbols (注音符號), demonstrating the place and manner of articulation of those pronunciations that foreigners often found difficult. My effort was rewarded with pleasant results. They did improve. This experience might inspire my future interest in teaching Chinese. What’s more, the intern-like 10-hour service tutorials with two international students for FJU Language Center deepen my interest in this field.

Concerning my extracurricular activities, I was a member of a wind band in elementary school years, playing the flute, a member of another wind band in high school years, starting to learn the euphonium and the baritone, and then I joined wind bands in college years and a performing group of marching arts (Taipei Yuehfu Drum and Bugle Corps) outside the campus, playing the euphonium and the baritone. Through these groups and activities, I learned responsibility, perseverance, and devotion, which will definitely support me to survive in the competitive society.

As an English major and Chinese lover, I hope in the near future my abilities will help more and more people learn Mandarin Chinese and Chinese culture around the world.