张老师 zhāng lǎo shī: Linda Chang

By Jodi Yim James, Staff Writer

Linda Chang teaches Mandarin Chinese at Irondale High School and at Mounds View High School for Mounds View School District. This past year she has been the Vice President of the Minnesota Council on the Teaching of Languages and Cultures (MCTLC). MCTLC is the professional organization for all foreign language teachers in the State of Minnesota. Linda Chang, through her professional involvements, has quickly risen to serve in a leadership position among language teachers in Minnesota. Although there are traditionally numerous Spanish, French, and German teachers who serve on the Board of MCTLC, Chang is one of the few Chinese teachers who have served on this board. She is truly a leader in her field.

Chang has completed multiple degrees and earned multiple Minnesota Educator Licensures, including a Master of Arts in Counseling and a Master of Education in Teaching, for a Minnesota K-12 School Counselor License and a Minnesota K-12 Chinese Language License. As a native speaker of Mandarin Chinese, Chang had to prove English proficiency for her licensure, taking the praxis in English, and verifying skills in both pedagogy and content. For a teacher who is a native speaker from another country, this can be a daunting challenge and require multiple attempts. Chang has been highly successful in her achievements as a Chinese teacher in Minnesota.

With these achievements, and working as a skilled educator in Minnesota, Chang has taken her professionalism to the next level by being active in the career educator's organization, MCTLC. Her work on the board is not only voluntary, but as with all professional organizations, the members (including volunteers and board members) pay membership dues. Chang has felt this worthwhile work and investment in MCTLC is an integral part of the advancement of her career and of Mandarin Chinese pedagogy in the State of Minnesota. She encourages all language teachers to become involved in their Minnesota professional organization, MCTLC. By working with other language teachers, Chang feels she has greatly advanced her own teaching skills.

Indeed, with her two Web sites for the Mounds View School District, Chang exhibits highly skilled acumen in using technology with her Chinese language students: http://www2.moundsviewschools.org/irondale/index.asp?ID=2426 and http://www2.moundsviewschools.org/moundsview/index.asp?ID=2468.

She includes links for Chinese language flashcards: http://semanda.com/, a Great Wall video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_krttdZz-h8, and a site with cartoons for Chinese idiom or proverb stories online: http://www.61flash.com/list/505_1.htm.

Chang credits the University of Minnesota teacher preparation program for her success as a Chinese language teacher. The University of Minnesota Department of Curriculum and Instruction, which is the teacher licensure program, consistently ranks in the top twenty in the nation. Language teachers specifically follow the requirements of the Second Languages and Cultures teaching sequence to earn their advanced degree and license. Professors such as Dr. Martha Bigelow are not only instructing those training to be teachers, they are stellar examples of excellent pedagogy in their own right in working with university advanced degree students. Dr. Bigelow shares that she is "...deeply invested in the schooling of all language learners as they learn in home, community and school settings. I am also interested in teacher education experiences and classroom pedagogies that support equity and access in education." Dr. Bigelow models in her college classroom with her graduate students, the pedagogy she would like to see in their classrooms in both public and private schools, in the field. As a University of Minnesota graduate student, Chang feels she was provided with the academic preparation and experience to work with students in a wide range of school and community contexts.

In the public school district where Chang teaches, she works with a variety of students who have diverse learning styles. Located only nine miles north of the downtown areas of Minneapolis and St. Paul, Mounds View Public Schools serve students who live in the cities of Arden Hills, Mounds View, New Brighton, North Oaks, Roseville, Shoreview and Vadnais Heights. Overall, the District serves nearly 10,000 students from these communities. Mounds View is among the largest districts in Minnesota.

Today, teaching the Chinese language in a large school district means that Mandarin education is not for an elite student body. Chang makes the Chinese language accessible to all students who voluntarily choose to study Mandarin as an elective in her district. Chang highly recommends to all Chinese teachers two key factors that have helped her become a leading Chinese language educator in Minnesota: taking classes through the University of Minnesota Curriculum and Instruction graduate program, and involvement in the MCTLC language teacher professional organization. Chang humbly credits her professors at the University, and her fellow language teachers with mentoring her along the way. If you would like to be in contact with her, her district e-mail is: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .