Teacher Spotlight: Meet Cara, Our Mandarin Instructor

meet our mandarin teacher, miss cara!

At Tribeca Language, every teacher brings their own voice and perspective to the classroom. 
In this interview, we spoke with Cara, our Mandarin teacher, about what motivates her, what she enjoys most about working with children, and how she supports her students in their language learning journey.

1. What inspired you to become a language teacher for kids?
Language is such an important bridge that connects all the people in the world. Kids are natural language learner from beginning. 
To help kids learn something they genuinely want to know, and this being a new language, is very rewarding. 

Language classes taught with the communicative approach also tend to be more lively, varied, and engaging. Students should have fun in lessons, and that is rewarding to be a part of.

2. What do you enjoy most about teaching kids, and what makes them such a great audience for language learning?
One of the greatest rewards of teaching is seeing the progress of your students. From when students understand a difficult concept, to helping children learn a new skill, seeing a child's eyes light up after grasping a new piece of knowledge is priceless. Teaching is a career to be proud of.

3. How do you incorporate creativity or games into your lessons to keep kids excited about learning?
I give children choices. Children love feeling like they're in control. Make them laugh. I’m not afraid to incorporate some laughter in my lessons.

4. What are some of the most rewarding moments you've experienced while teaching children?
Being able to work with students each day, explore new ideas, and have fun learning with and from them is a very rewarding experience. Each day brings new opportunities to build relationships, engage in learning in different and meaningful ways, and make an impact on the lives of others.

5. What’s one thing you’ve learned from your students that has surprised or inspired you?
The thing I like most about teaching is my students. I love interacting with them, I love learning from them, I love helping them understand the content of any course and I love when they see the connection between what they are learning and their lives.

6. What are your favorite hobbies, or what do you like to do when you are not teaching?
I love cooking, I love outdoor activities and traveling.

7. How do you help children build confidence in speaking a new language?
Give them opportunities to use vocabulary and phrases that they already know well. Check they understand questions and instructions.

8. What advice would you give to parents who want to support their child’s language learning journey at home?
Sing songs and recite nursery rhymes. Songs and nursery rhymes are also fun to expose your child to new vocabulary and language concepts. They can also be enjoyable for both of you! Choose songs and nursery rhymes that are repetitive and have simple lyrics. This will make them more accessible for your child to follow along and learn from.