Teachers
Lei Tang, Lily
Class Teachers
Supply Teachers
Binyun Watson
Hui Hui
Jinsong Lu
Lili Xiao, Ariel
Ruohong Jia, Rose
Xiaomei Li, May
Xiong Fu
Yan Li
Yan von Weber
Yangqing Wen
Zhao Yang
Learning Coordinator
Jianying Xu, Cathy
Colchester Chinese School has a strong teaching team. Although it is a nonprofit organisation with all the teachers being volunteers, and there is a constant shortage of professional Chinese teachers in surrounding areas, the school never compromises on the quality of teaching and the requirements for teachers.
All the teachers are Chinese expatriates who have lived in the UK for years. They all have received higher education, and most of them hold postgraduate degrees. They all have professional backgrounds, e.g., in economics, linguistics, and education. Some work in mainstream schools; some work in universities; two of them have extensive experience with young children; and four of them have been providing private Chinese tuition ranging from beginners to GCSE level.
Not only do the teachers have considerable and invaluable experience from the classroom, but also they benefit greatly from their abundant life experience by studying and living in a lot of different countries, e.g. USA, Germany, Australia, Japan, Singapore… While recognising the social and cultural needs of local Chinese learners, they take a global view of students’ future development on the more and more competitive international market. Most teachers themselves are parents whose children were/are studying Chinese in the school, and therefore have first-hand experience with the challenges in Chinese teaching and learning.
In the last decade, the teaching team has always been a close-knit group. It keeps growing: new teachers join in from time to time; old teachers would stay in the group after they left teaching, to share their experience and offer their help in organising extracurricular activities etc. Teachers in the Colchester Chinese School hold meetings regularly to exchange ideas and discuss possible improvements to teaching. They also receive professional training regularly from top institutions both in the UK and China. With the full support of the committee and the great help from volunteers and parents, the teaching team has gone from strength to strength since it was founded.
As we know, it is impossible to separate a language from the history and culture of its originating country. Many people became interested in learning Chinese as they were fascinated by China’s gourmet food, fine art, great literature, and so on. Colchester Chinese School has plentiful talents in those domains, and therefore students can learn how to read and write Chinese not only from the textbooks, but also through a variety of fun activities. Colchester Chinese School is proud of its achievements in bridging different cultures and communities.
考切斯特中文学校的师资阵容强大。虽然它属于非盈利的社团组织，且海外华文教师人才紧缺，但学校对教师的录用一直秉持宁缺勿滥的原则。任课教师均为受过高等教育、在英国工作生活多年的华人志愿者，其中多人有语言或教育专业背景，持有硕士学位。学校的授课时间目前是每周六，周一到周五老师们都各有自己的全职工作：有三名老师在大学工作，两名老师专长于幼儿教育，四名老师从事从初学者到 GCSE、ICGCSE的中文补习，有一名代课老师在伦敦著名的私校教授中文。
老师们不仅有多年从事教育工作的丰富经验，而且学习、生活足迹遍布多个国家：德国、美国、澳大利亚，日本、新加坡……，在很多国际机构任职过，所以，对海外华文教育的思考和探索既有地域认知，更有全局观念。历任及现任的任课老师多为人父母，对海外儿童及青少年的汉语学习尤有切身体验。出于对中文学校教学质量的信任，很多老师的子女都在学校就读。
建校至今的十多年里，考切斯特中文学校的教师团队一直紧密携手，合作无间。老师们定期开会交流教学经验，征求家长建议，并根据学生的不同要求，调整教学方案，提高教学质量和效率。同时，在校委会的大力支持下，老师们定期接受中、英两地针对海外华文教育的各种培训，在教学上，力求精益求精、与时俱进。
学习一门语言和了解这门语言相对应的历史、文化密不可分。考切斯特中文学校的教师及志愿者的队伍中人才济济，各有所长，在中国书法、民族舞蹈、传统乐器、中医理论方面都有专业水准。在学习汉字听、说、读、写的同时，老师们也利用各自的特长，在志愿者的帮助下，寓教于乐，通过各种课内、课外的文艺活动，提高学生对汉语和中国文化的兴趣，搭起不同种族和社区之间的桥梁。