Welcome to my portfolio!

My name is Sally (Xuting) Zhang. I was born and grew up in Beijing, China. I was majoring in English and Teaching Chinese as a Second Language in my bachelor’s degree. I passed the examination and obtained a Chinese teacher Certificate from International Profession Certification and Association (IPA). After that, I became a Mandarin teacher and have taught Mandarin, HSK (the standardized Chinese proficiency test), Chinese history and Chinese philosophy (Confucianism) to foreign students for five years and a half. I self-taught the Korean language for a while and passed TOPIK (The test of proficiency in Korean) level one, which enabled me to teach more effectively to Korean students who did not speak much English.

I wanted to improve my knowledge structure from a wider perspective, so I came to continue my study in Canada. I recently completed my Master of Education program at Thompson Rivers University in Kamloops, BC, and I improved myself in respect of my perspectives about teaching, my knowledge, as well as my love and enthusiasm in teaching. I volunteered in the Language Learning Center (LLC) as a tutor at Thompson Rivers University for three semesters. I enjoyed so much helping the ESL students with their English Learning in the LLC and being connected with them, and I improved my teaching skills there as well.

I am now in the process of studying Teaching English as a Second Language (TESL). I have been feeling that learning a new language takes great effort yet has so much fun. It enables us to learn about other societies and cultures in the world, meanwhile, it helps us to build connections and friendships with people from the other side of the world. With what I learned in the M.Ed. and TESL program, along with my enthusiasm towards teaching, I hope to become an English teacher, who helps students feel happy, fruitful, confident, and being supported in their English language learning journey. It would be a very meaningful work in my mind.

In my spare time, I love reading, playing the piano, as well as enjoying the peacefulness and beauty of nature.

These pages will help you to know more about me, my ideas about teaching, my reflections on teaching, my resume, and my lesson plans.