As the spring flowers bloom and the small green leaves unfurl all around campus, we are talking with Cameron Sage, who is one of our current LTS cohort members.

Hello Cameron! First, please tell us a bit about yourself and your background.

While I have more recently been living on the Oregon coast in Tillamook, I am originally from Terrebonne Oregon and previously a graduate with a bachelor’s degree in history from the University of Oregon. Although I originally received my degree in history, the summer after graduation I decided to move to China to teach English for a year as a means to travel and experience another culture before returning for further education in History. However, I enjoyed teaching and living abroad so much that I decided to stay which continually fueled my passion for language teaching and traveling all over the world. More recently I decided to enhance my language teaching experience and qualifications by joining the LTS program in order to give myself more language teaching opportunities.

Cameron at the colosseum in Rome

You have already had some good experience teaching language – tell us a little about what you did before LTS.

Before entering the LTS program I had been working in education and in language teaching. I spent 3.5 years in Beijing China teaching English to middle and high school students before returning to Oregon during COVID and working at a Tillamook Bay Community College in Tillamook Oregon. While at the community college I mainly worked in the library but was still able to work with and teach a few ESOL classes. I was also able to work in a wider range of areas at the community college which gave me experience in other facets of education, such as in testing, tutoring, admissions, and other areas which has cemented my want to continue working in educational settings.

What have you been learning in LTS that has deepened or broadened your understanding of language teaching?

While I feel I have gained many different skills and knowledge throughout the LTS program that will make me a better teacher and educator, two areas are most prominent in my mind. First of which is practice and experience I have gained in creating and analyzing curriculums for language courses. Gaining a wider understanding of what an entire curriculum entails, and how to make one has helped me evaluate classes on a wider scope in what can and should be accomplished in a longer period of time instead of on a class by class or unit by unit basis. Another learning experience which has caused me to reflect on previous teaching experiences is that of the context behind why students are learning a language. In particular understanding that using these contexts should drive lesson planning and engagement in the classroom, in particular understanding the multiple contexts and motivations of students is something that I hope to take moving forward to create better learning experiences for my students.

What do you hope to do after you graduate this Summer? What would be your dream job in 5 or 10 years?

After I graduate, I hope to be able to find an English teaching position abroad, preferably in a college or adult setting. I have taught younger students for most of my teaching experience and would like to teach in a somewhat different setting with students who are more likely to be taking classes because they want to rather than because it is compulsory. My dream job would be working in higher education as well in the future, potentially at a community college or in community language learning settings in the US, after I may no longer want to live abroad. This way I could assist students who have a great need for learning the language and in these places which generally have cheap enrollments for these types of classes, many more students will have the ability to join and learn.

Cameron at a video game Tournament in Shanghai

What is a fun fact about yourself that others may not know?

Something that some people may not know about me is that I used to play some video games (Super Smash Brothers) competitively and was taken to and paid (small amounts) to go to some events in China in order to promote and compete. These were different expo events about video games which hosted competitions or exhibition events. While it wasn’t ever something that would have turned into a full-time job or career I felt very lucky to have that experience.

First, please tell us a bit about yourself and your background.

Wei and Elijah in California during a Spring Break Trip

Hello everyone! I am Wei Tang, an educational explorer from Shanghai, China. I am also a mother of a 3-year-old boy. For the first 30 years of my life, I never left China because I had to take care of my elderly grandparents. In 2016, with the passing of my grandparents, I decided to see the world. This journey around the world completely changed my thinking. In the UK, I was amazed by the history behind the afternoon tea etiquette. In the tea ceremony experience in Japan, I realized the preciousness of “Ichigo Ichie”. The passion of Spanish Flamenco and the tranquility of the Blue Mosque in Turkey were a wonderful contrast. And the smiles everywhere on the streets of Thailand made me understand that happiness can be so simple. Every country I visit is like reading a three-dimensional cultural encyclopedia, which makes me truly appreciate the diversity of the world. In the end, I chose to stay in the U.S. because it is like a small United Nations, bringing together people from all over the world. Later, I majored in Global Studies and Education while studying at the University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB).

What inspired you to want to teach Chinese to young learners?

I have been passionate about teaching since I was young, but due to family reasons, I did not immediately embark on the path of education after graduation. My study experience at UCSB aroused my strong interest in cross-cultural education, especially how to enable students from different backgrounds to better understand and appreciate diverse cultures. Discussions with classmates from different backgrounds in class often spark surprising connections. However, after becoming a mother, I rethought my career direction. I have experienced the power that language brings to people. I hope to not only teach my own children Chinese, but also help more young learners get in touch with this beautiful language. Chinese is not just about Chinese characters and pronunciation, but also about thousands of years of history, culture and way of thinking. I hope that my language class is a place where students can truly feel the charm of Chinese through stories, music, festivals and even food.

Wei first arrived in the U.S. at Wall Street.

You have been participating in an internship at the Chinese Immersion School here in Eugene. Can you describe your experience there? What have you been doing?

This internship experience at the Chinese Immersion School has given me a lot of new insights into education. Beyond what I learned in my graduate classes, actual experience with young students gave me more intuitive insight. I originally thought that teaching was about passing on knowledge to students, but every day here refreshes my thinking. I remember the first time I walked into the classroom, the lively atmosphere made me both surprised and nervous. The teaching method here is completely different from the traditional Chinese teaching method. In China, the teacher is the leader, teaching continuously, and the students listen carefully. There are many activities in the classroom here in the U.S. Watching the children speaking Chinese naturally in a game, I suddenly realized that language is not taught, but grown in real communication. This reminds me of the process of my own child when learning to speak. No one deliberately taught him grammar, but he mastered the language naturally in daily life. What touched me most was seeing those non-Chinese students expressing themselves in Chinese. A little girl blurted out “I like to eat bao” during a role-play. At that moment, I felt the sense of accomplishment of being a teacher. This made me understand that the most important thing in language teaching is not to correct pronunciation or grammar, but to protect the learners’ enthusiasm for expression. When I was helping to design teaching activities, I often thought if this was my child learning Chinese, how would I want him to learn? This idea changed all my assumptions about teaching. I began to focus on creating real communication situations, allowing students to use language naturally when expressing their real ideas. This internship experience made me rethink the meaning of being an educator. I am no longer just a transmitter of knowledge, but also a companion in the students’ language development journey. Every day I see students make breakthroughs in a relaxed and happy atmosphere.

Elijah waiting for Wei after class

What do you hope to do after you graduate this Summer? What would be your dream job in 5 or 10 years?

After graduation this summer, I hope to be a teacher in a Chinese immersion school or bilingual program in the United States. My short-term goal is to gain more experience in the classroom and explore how to make language learning more vivid and closer to students’ interests. In 5 to 10 years, my dream is to design a Chinese course that integrates cultural experiences, such as combining traditional Chinese festivals, calligraphy, and even food making, so that students can learn the language in a real situation. It would be even better if I could open a “Chinese storytelling” or a parent-child Chinese club!

What is a fun fact about yourself that others may not know?

Actually, I wasn’t very good at cooking at first. But since I had a child, I began to study cooking seriously, especially Chinese food. I hope that my son will remember “the taste of home” when he grows up. Food has become a unique link between my cultural memory and future expectations. Those seemingly ordinary home-cooked dishes are cultural codes for me. It is the cultural anchor I created for my child, so that he can instantly find a sense of belonging through taste no matter where he is in the future. Perhaps just like language, the taste of food is also a mother tongue that does not need to be translated, and it defines the concept of “home” in the most direct and profound way. Now I am integrating this understanding of food and culture into teaching. Because I believe that real language education should also be like the taste of home, natural and friendly, with the warmth of life, so that people can remember the emotions and stories contained in it while learning skills.