Cover girl Connie Bingxiao Jiang completes journey from learner to teacher
When she arrived in Canada three years ago, Connie Bingxiao Jiang was a student struggling to learn English. After overcoming many obstacles, she is now embarking on a promising teaching career at Concordia University.
By Thanh Pierre Nguyen
superpeter@myway.com
Connie Bingxiao Jiang arrived in Canada only three years ago and already, she has made a significant contribution to Canadian society.
Indeed, as a requirement for obtaining her Master of Arts degree in Educational Studies from Concordia University, she wrote a 50-page paper that addresses, from an instructional point of view, the language and literacy problem of immigrants in Canada.
Every year, hundreds of thousands of new immigrants arrive in Canada, and about 45% of them cannot speak English nor French (according to survey data from 1993 to 2003). Furthermore, the International Adult Literacy Survey (IALS) of 1998 shows that the average literacy level of immigrants was at level 2, on the lower end of a total of five levels.
Her paper, titled "The Transformative Learning Approach in ESL Acquisition of Adult Immigrants in Canada," is a sober, lucid and comprehensive review of the theory of transformative learning. In particular, she argues that facilitating transformative learning for immigrant learners can solve problems related to language acquisition, which is considered as a precondition of integration into Canadian society.
First articulated in 1978 by Jack Mezirow, transformative learning theory says that adults make meaning out of life experiences. When they encounter an experience that differs from previous experiences and that seems inconsistent with their expectations, they begin to critically examine their experiences, expectations, beliefs and value judgments. As a result, they change the habitual expectations they hold, and adopt a new perspective as a basis for making decisions or taking action.
Although it sounds logical enough, Connie stresses that this theory is ideal and comprehensive, but also complicated.
"It’s not a specific method. Transformative learning cannot be taught.
"Her motivation for choosing that topic was to "reflect on and to achieve a deeper and a more thorough understanding of my own experiences both as an ESL (English as a second language) learner and as an English tutor to a Chinese immigrant."
Through her own real-life experiences, she realized that her learning process was transformative.
Through her master’s thesis, she hopes to share biographically gained insights with ESL educators and researchers so as to more effectively help new ESL learners.
However, these insights did not come easily nor without significant challenges.
"Since moving to Canada, I have experienced changes in language, living environment, social status, and educational model. Before I came to Canada, I lived in the same city where I was born. I had no experience of living alone abroad which might have helped me to adapt more easily to a new living environment," Connie says.
In Canada, she was all by herself, and had to figure out solutions independently.
"I realized my potential to take care of myself and developed my capacities for managing time, financing, dealing with homesickness, making friends, learning in a second language, and so on.
"Prior to coming to Canada, Connie completed a bachelor’s degree in journalism from the Central China Normal University, in Hubei province. Her father, a university professor, and her mother, a business woman, both encouraged her to continue her studies.
She came to Montreal in the summer of 2002 to commence her graduate studies at Concordia. "I selected Montreal because of the French and English cultures mixed together. I love culture!" exclaims the cover girl.
Now that she has secured a master’s degree in education, Connie is looking for a Mandarin teaching position or a job as a Chinese tutor.
Starting next January, she will begin a part-time job as teacher for a course in Mandarin at Concordia.
Teaching or tutoring is not new to Connie. She worked as a language exchange partner, teaching Mandarin one-on-one and in small groups. She also volunteered as a tutor at Frontier College, reading books to children and helping adult learners to develop clear and well-organized essays.
Last semester, she worked as teaching assistant at Concordia, for the Mandarin course given by the Department of Classics, Modern Language and Linguistics.
But perhaps the most significant experience came when, in the spring of 2004, she began to help a Chinese immigrant to improve his written English. She soon found out that he had other difficulties related to gaining self-confidence, finding a job and planning a career.
Connie was able to help him to reflect critically on his situation and to discuss practical solutions.
This story illustrates a point she made in her paper: "Starting a critical reflection is the key to initiating transformative learning."
Ultimately, according to Connie, the goal is for adult immigrants to integrate into Canadian society, and the first step is the acquisition of one of the two official languages. She defines integration as "a social and psychological process, by which immigrants develop a positive attitude towards both their original culture and that of the host society, and actively participate in social practices."
"The acquisition of literacy in English enables immigrants to participate in social activities and to transform their perspectives," she says.
In her view, literacy education facilitates immigrants’ personal development while promoting social change toward multi-culture and democracy.
In the end, Connie is more than a credible advocate of a powerful instructional theory. She's a role model whose beauty and Asian mystique will pleasantly amplify her message to the world.
By Thanh Pierre Nguyen
superpeter@myway.com
Connie Bingxiao Jiang arrived in Canada only three years ago and already, she has made a significant contribution to Canadian society.
Indeed, as a requirement for obtaining her Master of Arts degree in Educational Studies from Concordia University, she wrote a 50-page paper that addresses, from an instructional point of view, the language and literacy problem of immigrants in Canada.
Every year, hundreds of thousands of new immigrants arrive in Canada, and about 45% of them cannot speak English nor French (according to survey data from 1993 to 2003). Furthermore, the International Adult Literacy Survey (IALS) of 1998 shows that the average literacy level of immigrants was at level 2, on the lower end of a total of five levels.
Her paper, titled "The Transformative Learning Approach in ESL Acquisition of Adult Immigrants in Canada," is a sober, lucid and comprehensive review of the theory of transformative learning. In particular, she argues that facilitating transformative learning for immigrant learners can solve problems related to language acquisition, which is considered as a precondition of integration into Canadian society.
First articulated in 1978 by Jack Mezirow, transformative learning theory says that adults make meaning out of life experiences. When they encounter an experience that differs from previous experiences and that seems inconsistent with their expectations, they begin to critically examine their experiences, expectations, beliefs and value judgments. As a result, they change the habitual expectations they hold, and adopt a new perspective as a basis for making decisions or taking action.
Although it sounds logical enough, Connie stresses that this theory is ideal and comprehensive, but also complicated.
"It’s not a specific method. Transformative learning cannot be taught.
"Her motivation for choosing that topic was to "reflect on and to achieve a deeper and a more thorough understanding of my own experiences both as an ESL (English as a second language) learner and as an English tutor to a Chinese immigrant."
Through her own real-life experiences, she realized that her learning process was transformative.
Through her master’s thesis, she hopes to share biographically gained insights with ESL educators and researchers so as to more effectively help new ESL learners.
However, these insights did not come easily nor without significant challenges.
"Since moving to Canada, I have experienced changes in language, living environment, social status, and educational model. Before I came to Canada, I lived in the same city where I was born. I had no experience of living alone abroad which might have helped me to adapt more easily to a new living environment," Connie says.
In Canada, she was all by herself, and had to figure out solutions independently.
"I realized my potential to take care of myself and developed my capacities for managing time, financing, dealing with homesickness, making friends, learning in a second language, and so on.
"Prior to coming to Canada, Connie completed a bachelor’s degree in journalism from the Central China Normal University, in Hubei province. Her father, a university professor, and her mother, a business woman, both encouraged her to continue her studies.
She came to Montreal in the summer of 2002 to commence her graduate studies at Concordia. "I selected Montreal because of the French and English cultures mixed together. I love culture!" exclaims the cover girl.
Now that she has secured a master’s degree in education, Connie is looking for a Mandarin teaching position or a job as a Chinese tutor.
Starting next January, she will begin a part-time job as teacher for a course in Mandarin at Concordia.
Teaching or tutoring is not new to Connie. She worked as a language exchange partner, teaching Mandarin one-on-one and in small groups. She also volunteered as a tutor at Frontier College, reading books to children and helping adult learners to develop clear and well-organized essays.
Last semester, she worked as teaching assistant at Concordia, for the Mandarin course given by the Department of Classics, Modern Language and Linguistics.
But perhaps the most significant experience came when, in the spring of 2004, she began to help a Chinese immigrant to improve his written English. She soon found out that he had other difficulties related to gaining self-confidence, finding a job and planning a career.
Connie was able to help him to reflect critically on his situation and to discuss practical solutions.
This story illustrates a point she made in her paper: "Starting a critical reflection is the key to initiating transformative learning."
Ultimately, according to Connie, the goal is for adult immigrants to integrate into Canadian society, and the first step is the acquisition of one of the two official languages. She defines integration as "a social and psychological process, by which immigrants develop a positive attitude towards both their original culture and that of the host society, and actively participate in social practices."
"The acquisition of literacy in English enables immigrants to participate in social activities and to transform their perspectives," she says.
In her view, literacy education facilitates immigrants’ personal development while promoting social change toward multi-culture and democracy.
In the end, Connie is more than a credible advocate of a powerful instructional theory. She's a role model whose beauty and Asian mystique will pleasantly amplify her message to the world.
posted by Super Peter at 9:52 AM
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