Breck Teacher Featured in Chinese Newspaper

Editor's Note: The following is an excerpt from China Insight, a monthly Chinese-American newspaper published in the Twin Cities.

Derek Yang has been a Chinese language teacher in both China and the United States for many years. He has been a Middle School Chinese language teacher at Breck School in Golden Valley for the last 18 years.

Yang grew up in Shanghai where he attended elementary school, middle school, and high school. After earning a degree at Shanghai Normal University, he became a Chinese language teacher at a technical school in Shanghai.

In 1988, Yang came to the Twin Cities where he first attended the University of Minnesota English as a Second Language (ESL) program to enhance his English. He then attended St. Mary’s Graduate School where he earned a Master of Arts in Management in 1992. This was a change in major from being a language teacher to working in business management. However, when seeking a job, he found it difficult to land a position in his field. Yang applied for and was placed in a Chinese language teacher position at Breck School.

At that time, the Chinese language program at Breck was a small program and Yang only taught part-time in the Middle School. Over the years, Yang has watched this grow into two full-time Chinese teacher positions in the Middle School, (as well as two more teachers in the Upper School, and two in the Lower School).  

Students entering Breck Middle School choose between Spanish, Chinese, and French. There has been a steady increase in students selecting Chinese in the middle school. Students may add a third language as an elective when they begin in the Upper School in grade 9, combining Chinese with French or Spanish. As the global situation has changed, Chinese programs have grown in numbers. 

From the start, Yang says, learning to teach Chinese in the United States required major change on his part. When he was teaching in China, the pedagogy was teacher-centered, which is sometimes called the “sage on the stage” style of teaching or “what I say, you do.” He was teaching at the college level in a different era and on the other side of the world. 

Then in Minnesota almost 20 years ago, Yang says he plunged into teaching middle school Chinese and, “I absolutely love my job.”

At first, he felt he did not understand American middle school students. He had to learn how to write lesson plans that addressed the development, needs and interests of his students. He had to learn how to manage his classroom efficiently and most of all, how to make learning Chinese fun.

Once he began this career, Yang never thought to change. He finds as he makes learning fun for his students, he enjoys his work. “I really care about my students,” Yang says with a sparkle in his eyes and a smile.

Yang also experienced student feedback as they moved on to upper school. As they moved on, the students showed great appreciation for everything he had taught them. Yang felt his job was important and he was making a significant difference in his students’ lives. “They stop and chat. They show respect. They make you feel good about what you do,” says Yang. “Each student is different, yet the goal is the same: help them learn Chinese.”