Teaching Assistant Profile: Xiao Yu
Xiao Yu is this year’s Chinese teaching assistant in the Department of Modern Languages.
"I never imagined I would teach Chinese in the United States,” says Yu. “It is kind of destiny, along with my love for both Chinese and English languages and cultures, that has brought me here."
Belonging to a minority group in China, which is called Tujia, he studied in Beijing for four years, earning his bachelor’s degree in English language and culture at Peking University.
"I am familiar with both the Han-Chinese culture and the culture of my people,” says Yu. “I would like to present a more colorful Chinese culture to students.”
In 2008, he went to the Shaan Xi province as a voluntary teacher to teach English in a middle school for months. He also taught English every week in communities around Peking University.
"I very much enjoy teaching,” says Yu. “It is a kind of sharing that improves both the students and the teacher.”
In his spare time, he enjoys singing, writing and participating in sports such as swimming, badminton, tennis and ping-pong. He also loves cooking and hopes to share delicious Chinese food with his new friends.
"There is a saying in Chinese that stresses ‘reading thousands of books and
walking thousands miles of road,’” he says. “According to this, Alma
College is a perfect place to study and teach, for it has both books to
read and roads to walk!”
