About me
Welcome to Creative Chinese!
I am an experienced teacher of Chinese, and also was a general classroom teacher for over 15 years.
In the early 1980′s when the Australian government mandated that every child learn a second language, I began teaching Chinese to Primary school children in South Australia.
I also contributed to a video series developed by the Catholic Education Office to showcase best practices of language teaching.
I have a Bachelor of Education, an Advanced Degree in Language Acquisition, and have studied Mandarin Chinese in both Taiwan and China.
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So why Creative Chinese?
Creative Chinese was created after a number of teachers contacted me about my teaching materials, and the website’s goal is to nurture a community of Chinese teachers.
We explore new ideas, share best practices, and support active and engaged learning. Register and join in discussions, forums, and make comments to share with others.
In 2007, I wrote a pilot program for Chinese Monster Magic and a DVD was produced.
Following up on interest in the learning of Mandarin by young learners, I wrote and produced 8 Modules and these can be accessed by becoming a Subscriber of Creative Chinese.
I have also written a series called – Learning Themes for Junior High students which includes role-plays, vocabulary lists, student contracts, and picture talks for Grades 6-9.
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Speaker Engagements / Presentations / Conferences
I have regularly been a presenter at Chinese Conferences and below are the most recent presentations:
2007 - CAIS Institute Chinese Education Conference, San Francisco, USA – Multiple Intelligences and Learning of Chinese
2008 – CAIS Institute Chinese Education Conference, San Francisco, USA – Teaching Chinese Creatively
CAIS Institute Chinese Education Conference, San Francisco, USA – The Thematic Approach to Teaching Chinese
2009 - CAIS Institute Chinese Education Conference San Francisco, USA – No Books, No Problem!
CAIS Institute Chinese Education Conference – San Francisco, USA – Technology, Chinese and the High School student
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Conference Presentations – UK, 2010
2010 - SSAT Chinese Conference, London UK – Thinking outside the Box
SSAT Chinese Conference, London UK – Chinese Characters without Tears
SSAT Chinese Conference, London UK – Multiple Intelligences and Chinese Learning
2010 – Dorking Professional Development session, UK – The 10 Essentials of a Successful Chinese Program
Dorking Professional Development session, UK – Teaching Young students Chinese with Monster Magic
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Conference Presentations – UK, 2011
2011 – SSAT Chinese Teachers Conference, London UK – Strategies for Teaching Culture through Language (Royal Society)
SSAT Chinese Teachers Conference, London UK – From Good To Oustanding – Transform your teaching! (British Museum)
UKFCS – United Kingdom Federation of Chinese Schools – The Thematic Approach to Teaching Chinese (Goldsmiths College, London)
UKFCS – UK Federation of Chinese Schools – TPR – Teach Chinese the active way! (Goldsmiths College, London)
Edinburgh City Confucius Hub – Edinburgh – The Thematic Approach to Teaching Chinese (St. George’s School, Edinburgh)
Edinburgh City Confucius Hub – Edinburgh – Chinese Characters without Tears (St. George’s School, Edinburgh)
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Contact me
I also teach Stop Motion animation to K-8 students, and run an early literacy program for 2-4 year old children in San Francisco – Blast Off to Reading.
I am a life-long learner and enjoy thinking about how students learn and how best to encourage the ‘active’ learning of Chinese.
I am available to run workshops, present professional development sessions, and work with small groups or individual teachers of Chinese.
Contact me to register interest in workshops or presentations to teachers.
View my resume and Workshops here.
So if you are a teacher of Chinese, interested in language learning, or are looking for creative ideas for teaching, join us here on Creative Chinese!
P.S. Don’t forget to sign up for the Weekly Newsletter.
Happy Teaching!
