About me

MA in Language Ed
Certified in 3 US States

Former Assistant Professor at DOD

TPRS/CI Chinese Teacher

Bio

My name is Keren, or 可人 (a lovely or capable person) in Chinese. Growing up in Shenzhen, China, since the age of 14 I knew I was going to be a teacher. I was not satisfied with test-oriented learning environments and teaching styles in China, so in 2012 I went to the United States to pursue my master’s degree in Education.

In the US, I went through everything you can imagine a foreigner can experience in another country. This unique path has helped form my teaching philosophy: language is not only a tool, but also a gateway. If you can speak another language, it’s like opening a window on your house, and you can finally see the world outside; if the language makes you confident and brave enough, you can even open your door, and walk into other houses.

In 2015, I started using Comprehensible Input based teaching methods in my Chinese classes.

In 2016, I was lucky enough to be trained by Dr. Steve Krashen’s team and learned about Comprehensible Input in more depth.

In 2017, in order to learn how to use Comprehensible Input on a daily basis from master teachers, I started working in Denver Public Schools.

In 2018, I started to teach soldiers Chinese via Comprehensible Input in the US Department of Defense.

My life in the US indeed opened a gateway for me. Here I learned how to hike, dive, camp, snowboard, skydive, and travel around the world. Looking back at my journeys, I decided that my mission is to help other people around the world to find their gateways through the Chinese language. My goal is to help each of my students communicate with native speakers confidently, in the same way that I used English to explore the world.

Remember, language is not just a tool, it’s a gateway. You are not only learning how to speak Chinese, you are learning how to be confident.

Do I have
the
credentials 
to teach
you? 

Master in World Language Education (MA)

August 2013 - May 2016

University of Oklahoma | Norman, OK
Credentials:

• Oklahoma Teacher Certificate

• Texas Teacher Certificate

• Colorado Teacher Certificate

September 2009 - June 2013

South China Normal University | Guangzhou, Guangdong
Credentials:

• Certificate of Chinese Mandarin Proficiency (Grade A) 

Am I the
BEST
TPRS 
Chinese 
teacher
for you?

DEFENSE LANGUAGE INSTITUTE - Monterey, CA

August 2018 - September 2019

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Assistant Professor. Improved the Chinese language proficiency of 12 adult learners from levels 0 - 3, in 64 weeks helping them pass the final DLPT (Defense Language Proficiency Test). 

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 MCAULIFFE INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL - Denver, CO

July 2017 - August 2018

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IB Chinese Teacher. Advanced the IB (International Baccalaureate) language curriculum by designing and implementing IB learning activities for 96 middle school students with Chinese language levels I - IV.
 

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INTERNATIONAL LEADERSHIP OF TEXAS - Dallas, TX

August 2016 - August 2017

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Chinese Language Teacher. Applied proven methods and created unique opportunities to motivate 110 high school students in Chinese language levels from I - IV in an extremely challenging trilingual language environment.

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