They say teaching isn’t just a career, it’s a calling.
And you can see that on full display in Xueling Xu’s classrooms.
Xu is North East ISD’s Mandarin Chinese teacher. In fact, she was NEISD’s first Mandarin Chinese teacher.
Now, in her 19th year with our District, she splits her time between Legacy of Educational Excellence (LEE) High School, The International School of the Americas (ISA) and Reagan High School.
“For me, teaching Chinese is primarily a means to prepare and train my students for future careers. Reading, speaking and writing Chinese is definitely one of the top communication skills that our students need to learn, both for now and for the near future. As long as you want to learn Chinese, I am here to teach you.”
Her classroom makes learning a new and difficult language fun. She makes the unfamiliar, familiar by talking with her students about their summer plans, what they like to do on the weekends and give presentations about their favorite movies—all in mandarin of course. This gives them the opportunity to get more comfortable with the language and gives Xu a chance to learn more about her students.
Her students sound confident when they speak Chinese. They often raise their hands to take their turns speaking aloud or presenting. Several of them are so invested in what she teaches, they’ve joined the Chinese Culture Club and visit some of our middle and elementary schools to perform Lion Dances and share what they’ve learned about the language and culture.
“I really enjoy my job. I really like my students learning Chinese in high school. I just believe I bring some difference to this community. I think I am a bridge between China and the U.S.”
