More Mandarin Resources!

I always get so excited when I find additional resources for learning Mandarin and I would like to share them with you.

The best one I found recently is: Mandarin Weekly
You can subscribe to http://mandarinweekly.com/ and they will send you an e-mail every Monday with a whole bunch of resources, videos, links, and much more. Each resource also indicates the level of Mandarin it would be appropriate for (Beginner, Intermediate, and Advanced).

Add caption

Even though I am at the intermediate/advanced level, I sometimes still check out the beginner links to see how certain grammatical things are taught or additional uses for words and phrases.

I like that the site also posts relevant links to current events, such as the Olympics, World Cup Soccer, the Olympics, or even voting!

Mandarin Weekly is also FREE! Once you sign up, it will arrive in your inbox every Monday. =)

One link I found recently was from my Mandarin Weekly was: "10 different ways to say "Good-Bye" in Chinese. Most of them I know, but it's still nice to see some other ones that I might not use but could use.

https://ninchanese.com/blog/2016/09/27/10-ways-to-say-goodbye-in-mandarin/

Maybe it's because I'm a teacher... but once I open a link, then I find another related link, and before you know it, I have 10 different links open on different things!

I really like reading up on a lot of different things, but my time is limited and I have to be mindful with my time too. But it's nice that I can easily find an old post in my e-mail and read it when I have the time.

This summer was a really good summer in where I really pushed myself to the next level. I'll share in another post on how I think I moved past intermediate and into advanced Mandarin (maybe... early advanced!)

Thanks for reading!

4 Years Later! CSET in Mandarin Passed! Full-time job found! Credential is Cleared!

Hello again! It has been so long that I had almost forgotten that I had started my blog 4 years ago as I was in the process of obtaining my Bilingual Authorization for Mandarin. Thank you Facebook the ability to "share my memories".

Well, fast forward 4 years later... I passed the CSET exams in Mandarin and received my bilingual authorization in 2012 and found a position teaching Mandarin Immersion on San Diego the following year!

Who knew that I would be where I am today, I for one didn't think so. Even after graduating with my Masters degree did not help finding a job. I am very glad I finished while I still had tuition reimbursement at my other job. Sadly, tuition continues to rise even as I type this...

Sometimes you just have to take a chance... and that's what I did in 2013 when I attending a workshop at the Bowers Museum in Santa Ana. I was still working part time for the Orange County Department of Education (reviewing Mandarin Curriculum) when I came across a workshop specifically for Mandarin-Immersion teachers! That's a rarity in itself! I decided, what do I have to lose? I will fork over the $125.00 and see what I get.

On that day of the workshop I met teachers, principals, and administrators from far and wide. Some who had a Mandarin program while others were interested in starting one. It was a great chance to network as I was still looking for that "full-time teaching job" in order to "clear" my credential. I will write another post on clearing your credential for those of you who are curious. =) Here's the post for it. Clearing your Credential in California

The keynote speaker that day was Dr. Lilly Cheng of SDSU's Confucius Institute. You can read more about her here. She is a tiny woman with a lot of "fire and spunk".  I was immediately drawn to her knowledge and enthusiasm for teaching Mandarin. Back in 2013 I was still in my early days of learning more about Mandarin and all the components of it. One of her examples was the word: 合 which means cooperation and this word comes from 3 smaller words: 人，一，口.  The word means people 人，one 一 ， and mouth 口 essentially translating to cooperation and unity of working together. Chinese can be a very literal language with its meaning that I find ways to remember it easier.

At the end of that workshop, I was pooped out... and I had thought about going home right at 3pm. But at the moment, I thought I would ask her if she knew of any job opportunities. I had already asked around with some of the other principals that day but most were only considering the program or none had any teaching positions available. Finally, I got the nerve to ask the keynote speaker Dr. Cheng if she knew of any job opportunities. I told her I had my preliminary teaching credential, my masters, and my Mandarin authorization, plus I spoke both Cantonese and Mandarin. After chatting for a few minutes about my background and asked if I would be willing to move to San Diego. I said, "Sure, why not." (I had already thought about moving overseas to teach English at the time). Then she immediately called a principal and gave a nice little spiel about me being, "a young lady here who would be a great candidate for your school." She passed the phone to me and continued with networking.

From there, I interviewed and met with the principal and Dr. Cheng again at another workshop. I was hired to teach a self-contained 1st grade class, teaching both Mandarin and English.

The rest is history... Here I am now entering my 4th year as a Mandarin teacher. I have been teaching Kindergarten Mandarin for the last 2 years and it will be my 3rd year.

I am thankful for all the opportunities along the way and all the people I have met who have continued to support me in this quest to teach Mandarin.

A later post to come on visiting China, studying abroad, and finding a Mandarin class locally as well.

Thanks for reading! =)

"Clearing" you credential in California

Most people don't understand how it works... even I didn't really understand it at the time.

Anyhow, when you complete your credential program in California, it is only PRELIMINARY. That means you have 5 years from the time your receive your preliminary credential to "CLEAR" it.
By clearing it, you have one of two options.

1. Find a full-time teaching job in a public school and complete the district's induction program. It is usually two years and is free. This means that you will have to go to class once a week I believe. I don't really know because I did not choose this route.

**Some districts like San Diego Unified have another option within this option that cuts the induction program time to one year if you have been teaching full-time at least a year I believe.

2. This option costs money. But for me, the money was worth the time I saved by not have to drive to campus and allowed me to complete the classes completely online during the semester I chose. I picked summer because I don't see how anyone in their right might would want to do during the school year! But it is doable as I had 3 of my co-workers do it during the school year! Kudos to them.

For me, I chose this because I was already under so much stress with teaching Mandarin and having a lot of health issues at the time.

I have gotten used to online classes and like that I can do my assignments at my convenience.

The program at SDSU cost roughly $2000ish, all of which was paid incrementally during the program.

**Other universities also offer this option usually when you can't find that full-time teaching position or your district is so small that it does not have an Induction Program. Concordia University is one option. However, they require proof that your district does not offer an induction program.

For more information you can visit the California Teacher Credentialing (CTC) website here.

So as of Jan 2016, my credential is cleared! It is now good for 5 years... then you have to renew and pay money... that's all they really want... money.

If you have not cleared your preliminary and your expiration date is coming up soon, just go to the CTC website and file for an extension. For $75.00 you can file for a 3-year extension. I found it better to file for the extension before it expires, otherwise things can get a little complicated.