Hope Tsai, Ph.D.

Mandarin Teacher

htsai@kehillah.org

 

Hope Tsai is a passionate Mandarin language educator dedicated to fostering a motivating language learning environment with 5C (Communication, Cultures, Connections, Comparisons, and Communities) and project-based learning (PBL). She was born in Taiwan and came to the States 16 years ago to pursue her graduate study in second language education in Connecticut. She later earned her Ph.D. in Education from Pennsylvania State University (PSU).

She has taught Mandarin in both school and private settings to individuals or groups from TK to adult learners in Taiwan, Germany, and the USA for over 10 years. She was also a diversity specialist and an online campus tech support with PSU. In her Mandarin language classes, she always connects lessons with real-life topics to cultivate students’ interest and critical thinking, to be more creative, and to collaborate and communicate with other classmates and teachers. She believes everyone can learn different languages and teaching is a work of the heart! She also advocates classical Chinese philosophy where an educator not only transmits knowledge, provides classes, but also guides students through confusions (师者，所以传道，授业，解惑也).  Outside of the Mandarin classroom, she is a curriculum designer, career coach, world traveler, hiker, and connoisseur. She also enjoys volunteering, music concerts, sports games, Chinese chess, windsurfing, and cooking.