The Value of Service-Learning in Chinese Language Teacher Preparation

Abstract

As both a frontline Chinese language teacher in the U.S. and a Ph.D. student, the author wanted to better combine practice and theory so that the two were more beneficial to pre-service teachers. For the role of a Chinese language teacher, the author would like to serve the teacher community with proficiency and communicative-oriented teaching methods. Being able to combine the mentoring process while reflecting on teaching theories in this field enabled the author to further explore the field as a Ph.D. student. Because COVID-19 segregated different countries with rigorous quarantine policies, the distance between language learners and the target language environment was further. Such a situation made it more urgent to undertake the responsibility to serve the subject. The two roles led the author to this dual service-learning project. The data and feedback received from both the pre-service teachers and the community proved the success of this project. At the end of this chapter, some suggestions and changes in the training of future Chinese international teachers were provided for teacher education programs.