The Success Story of a Non-local Student Teacher: From a Bumpy FE to a Teaching Career
- 2023
- Alumni/Student Stories
- Department of Linguistics and Modern Language Studies
A sharing from Dr Albert Lee, Assistant Professor, Department of Linguistics and Modern Language Studies (LML)
Landing a competitive local teaching position requires a strong candidate with suitable qualifications and great teaching skills. This is why BEd(EL) alumna Ms Jianlin Liang recently secured her full-time contract as an English teacher after completing her studies at EdUHK and then a Master’s degree. But few would know that her FE was initially bumpy.
Jianlin was a non-local student teacher starting her placement at TWGH Kwok Yat Wai College. With little knowledge of the local school culture, the beginning was almost treacherous. Things often taken for granted (e.g. checking parents’ signatures in student handbooks, sartorial norms) were new to her, and added to her stress from this already high-stakes semester. Inevitably, these had a negative impact on her initial performance, and possibly her supporting teacher’s perception of her.
As her FE supervisor, I saw that what Jianlin lacked was not knowledge, but just a little more cultural awareness of Hong Kong. She also needed help rebuilding confidence after the bumpy start. While working closely with Jianlin to monitor her progress (and health), numerous teachers of the placement school also gave me indispensable advice on how to help her succeed.
The result was almost immediate: soon after, we saw Jianlin handling a class independently, achieving all the small improvement goals we set, catering to different abilities in class, and even experimenting with new teaching strategies. She completed her FE successfully, but more importantly, she found her passion for teaching further fueled.
Non-local FE students work with extra challenges. Ms Jianlin Liang’s success highlights the importance of the student’s own impressive hard work, a strong support network, and good communication.
Jianlin has become a full-time English teacher after completing her studies at EdUHK and a Master’s degree
