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Teacher chips away language barrier
By Steffie Lu |
September 29, 2012, Saturday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
BORN as a chaoxian, or Chinese of Korean descent, 37-year-old Jin Minxiang has been teaching Mandarin to South Korean expats in Minhang for more than 10 years.
Although Korean is her mother tongue and she doesn't have any communications problems with her students, Jin said teaching a second language is always a challenge.
Now the director of the Jinxiu Jiangnan Culture Center, Jin has about 200 students - ranging from children to housewives - in her classes.
"South Korean people are very concerned about the quality of education even if they are just taking these classes to kill time," said Jin. "So we try to give them our best at low tuition fees."
The classes are normally held two or three times a week in 90-minute sessions. They cover basic vocabulary, grammar and sentence structure over a two-year curriculum.
"After two years, if they stick to it, the students are able to pass the government's Mandarin language examination for foreigners," Jin said.
Some pronunciations in Mandarin do not exist in Korean, such as the four tones. Jin has devised methods of helping students surmount the most difficult stumbling blocks. She's the only instructor at the center qualified to teach beginners' classes.
"With a good language foundation built in the first year, the students can move on quickly to other teachers," Jin said. "It gives me sense of accomplishment to see students speaking the language more and more fluently."
Jin said there are other culture centers giving free language lessons, but the quality of the teaching is not always guaranteed.
"Some of the students have attended classes at other schools, but eventually they come back here because the teaching methods are better," Jin said. "This makes me very proud."
Born in Heilongjiang Province in northeastern China, Jin said both her parents were teachers in the middle school she attended, but she grew up with no particular aspirations to follow in their footsteps.
"I received stricter surveillance than any other student in my school at that time, so I hated teachers and never wanted to become one," she recalled. "Even after I was forced to go to a normal university by my parents, I still wanted to be a white-collar worker after graduation."
Her subsequent work in a company office, however, didn't bring her the satisfaction she had expected. Complicated workplace relationships, unsympathetic bosses and frequent overtime began to feel suffocating. So Jin quit office work.
A new career path presented itself when she moved to Shanghai with her husband.
"At that time, not many South Korean were living in Minhang," she said. "My neighborhood community said that there were three South Koreans who wanted to study Chinese. They asked if I would be interested in tutoring them."
The rest is history.
Looking back, Jin said she is happy she found her niche in life. Outside the classroom, she has become friends with many of her students.
"It's almost always girl talk, or in this case, wife talk," she said of those friendships "We discuss newly opened restaurants, the latest shopping discounts and that sort of thing." She has lived in Minhang for more than 10 years. Although her family is closely allied with the now large South Korean community there, Jin said she sees no big gap between South Korea and Chinese people.
Her two children are now studying at a bilingual primary school, and they speak Mandarin better than Korean, she said.
Jin said she admires the traditional family relationships of the Chinese Han people, where men and women are more equal.
"Male chauvinism is dominant in the Korean culture as well as in my family," said Jin. "I hope that we will absorb something from the Chinese Han culture."
Impressions about Minhang:
This is a fairly good place and life is very convenient.
Funniest experience in Minhang:
I can't think of anything funny but life here is happy.
Favorite place in Minhang:
Hongqiao Town
Favorite cuisine:
South Korean
Suggestions for improving Minhang:
Housing prices in Minhang are too high. May they drop in the future.
Advice for newcomers:
If you are a foreigner, learn Chinese.
Motto of life:
What parents do reflects on their children.
Although Korean is her mother tongue and she doesn't have any communications problems with her students, Jin said teaching a second language is always a challenge.
Now the director of the Jinxiu Jiangnan Culture Center, Jin has about 200 students - ranging from children to housewives - in her classes.
"South Korean people are very concerned about the quality of education even if they are just taking these classes to kill time," said Jin. "So we try to give them our best at low tuition fees."
The classes are normally held two or three times a week in 90-minute sessions. They cover basic vocabulary, grammar and sentence structure over a two-year curriculum.
"After two years, if they stick to it, the students are able to pass the government's Mandarin language examination for foreigners," Jin said.
Some pronunciations in Mandarin do not exist in Korean, such as the four tones. Jin has devised methods of helping students surmount the most difficult stumbling blocks. She's the only instructor at the center qualified to teach beginners' classes.
"With a good language foundation built in the first year, the students can move on quickly to other teachers," Jin said. "It gives me sense of accomplishment to see students speaking the language more and more fluently."
Jin said there are other culture centers giving free language lessons, but the quality of the teaching is not always guaranteed.
"Some of the students have attended classes at other schools, but eventually they come back here because the teaching methods are better," Jin said. "This makes me very proud."
Born in Heilongjiang Province in northeastern China, Jin said both her parents were teachers in the middle school she attended, but she grew up with no particular aspirations to follow in their footsteps.
"I received stricter surveillance than any other student in my school at that time, so I hated teachers and never wanted to become one," she recalled. "Even after I was forced to go to a normal university by my parents, I still wanted to be a white-collar worker after graduation."
Her subsequent work in a company office, however, didn't bring her the satisfaction she had expected. Complicated workplace relationships, unsympathetic bosses and frequent overtime began to feel suffocating. So Jin quit office work.
A new career path presented itself when she moved to Shanghai with her husband.
"At that time, not many South Korean were living in Minhang," she said. "My neighborhood community said that there were three South Koreans who wanted to study Chinese. They asked if I would be interested in tutoring them."
The rest is history.
Looking back, Jin said she is happy she found her niche in life. Outside the classroom, she has become friends with many of her students.
"It's almost always girl talk, or in this case, wife talk," she said of those friendships "We discuss newly opened restaurants, the latest shopping discounts and that sort of thing." She has lived in Minhang for more than 10 years. Although her family is closely allied with the now large South Korean community there, Jin said she sees no big gap between South Korea and Chinese people.
Her two children are now studying at a bilingual primary school, and they speak Mandarin better than Korean, she said.
Jin said she admires the traditional family relationships of the Chinese Han people, where men and women are more equal.
"Male chauvinism is dominant in the Korean culture as well as in my family," said Jin. "I hope that we will absorb something from the Chinese Han culture."
Impressions about Minhang:
This is a fairly good place and life is very convenient.
Funniest experience in Minhang:
I can't think of anything funny but life here is happy.
Favorite place in Minhang:
Hongqiao Town
Favorite cuisine:
South Korean
Suggestions for improving Minhang:
Housing prices in Minhang are too high. May they drop in the future.
Advice for newcomers:
If you are a foreigner, learn Chinese.
Motto of life:
What parents do reflects on their children.
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