YANG LIU

734-496-5298 | yangliou@umich.edu 丨 https://yangliouteach.weebly.com

Jun 3rd, 2023

Yang Liu
543 Churh St.
Ann Arbor, MI 48104
yangliou@umich.edu
734-496-5298

Dear Sir/Madam,

My name is Yang Liu, a graduate student in the School of Education at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. I am
writing to express my great interest in the position of Part time Foreign Language Instructor(Chinese).

I have a bachelor’s and master’s degree in teaching Chinese language and literature to speakers of other languages
from China, and I also have a master’s degree in educational studies from the University of Michigan, Ann arbor. I
am a certified teacher of Chinese to speakers of other languages.

My ambition to become a professional educator was ignited in college, and my goal was to be a teacher who
empowers others to have the privilege of learning. I enjoy using my teaching skills to improve equity in education.

I have been working in the area of Chinese language teaching for more than three years. I worked as a Chinese
language tutor in the Chinese Flagship program at Indiana University for one year and the Language and Culture
Center at Duke Kunshan University for half a year. I developed effective working relationships with my students
and I am always impressed by their energy and enthusiasm. I instructed college students arranging from beginner to
advanced levels. I designed my courses thoughtfully to meet students’ various needs, including daily communication
topics, social news, modern poetry appreciation, philosophy, ethical topics, and the OPI(Oral Proficiency Interview)
test training. Teaching OPI speaking courses has also given me a deeper perspective on supporting students to
prepare for this important exam. I also organized the Chinese New Year's party, breakfast making event and other
game days for students to cooperate with each other and expericen diverse cultures. Designing courses for students
at every level from beginning to advanced has significantly improved my teaching skills. These experiences
emphasized the value of multiculturalism and the varied backgrounds of my students, showing that diversity, equity,
and inclusion (DEI), a core aspect of human endeavor reflected in teaching, must be safeguarded.

The pandemic has changed the nature of teaching, so developing engaging online teaching experience and
educational technology skills will certainly be a central topic of discussion and research. I explored online teaching
by working in some online Chinese educational institutions for children and adolescents. At the same time, I
extented my teaching methods and enhanced students’s learning experience with the aid of educational technology
tools, such as Edupuzzles, Quizlet, Padlet, etc.

During my internship at Huron High school(Ann Arbor, USA) and Daystar Bilingual International Academy(Beijing,
China), I taught at the secondary school. More than one year’s working experience there not only improved my
confidence, but also my teaching and classroom-management skills, for which I was highly commended by my
senior colleagues. I also honed my teamwork and interpersonal skills by cooperating with other teachers in planning
our teaching materials according to the International Baccalaureate (IB) curriculum.
Besides, I am always whole heartily committed to equity, diversity and inclusion in education. I derived a great
sense of fulfillment from my teaching experience at a Hope primary school, located in a village with academic
inequities and financial inadequacy. It reinforced my desire to study education in the future. Additionally, my
participation in the Community Education Program (CEP) exposed me to students' diversity, capacities, and needs
regarding systemic factors such as background and current living circumstances. I offerred after-school learning for
middle school students new to the area in a resources-limited community, as well as helping them channel emotional
issues. Also, as leader of a team helping autistic children and adolescents in education, I developed my skills while
assisting students in controlling their emotions and means of expression. This experience motivated me to focus on
teaching methods for special needs students.

Additionally, I found that educational equality in different areas and for different vulnerable groups must be part of
public discourse, and I have made this a point of duty in my career. For the past eight years, I have been training to
teach Chinese as a foreign language—a vocation about which I am enthusiastic and ambitious. My goal is to be a
teacher of Chinese to speakers of other languages, which combines my professional background in education with
my interest in Chinese history, literature, and culture. Given my inventiveness, creativity, and empathy, I have the
advantage of designing engaging Chinese classes that incorporate features like paper-cutting, traditional Chinese
painting and Chinese calligraphy. I aspire to be a lifelong learner who teaches students according to their needs.

Given the requirements of this position, I believe my expertise in teaching Mandarin can be a value-add to the
educational development in this district.

Thank you for your consideration, I am very excited about this opportunity and look forward to hearing from you
with regards to an interview.

Sincerely,
Yang Liu