LINE

Text:AAAPrint
Society

Deaf professor carries smiles across the Pacific

1
2017-01-26 10:01China Daily Editor: Feng Shuang ECNS App Download
Zheng Xuan teaches Chinese Sign Language at the Metro Deaf School in Saint Paul, Minnesota, the United States.Photos Provided To China Daily

Zheng Xuan teaches Chinese Sign Language at the Metro Deaf School in Saint Paul, Minnesota, the United States.Photos Provided To China Daily

Chinese Sign Language expert Zheng Xuan became the first hearing-impaired teacher to volunteer abroad with Confucius Institute

An educator who became the first deaf person to receive a PhD from a Chinese university has broken new ground with her volunteer work abroad.

Zheng Xuan, 35, works in a "Confucius classroom" at the Metro Deaf School in Saint Paul, Minnesota, the United States.

Named after the ancient Chinese philosopher, Confucius schools and classrooms fall under the Confucius Institute program and are generally run as nonprofit public institutions to help foreigners understand China through language and culture classes at overseas universities.

There are 511 branches in 140 countries, teaching Chinese to more than 2.1 million students.

Zheng is the first hearing-impaired teacher to have been sent abroad as part of the program, which was established in 2004.

She has adopted as her personal motto the words of Irving King Jordan, the first deaf president of Gallaudet University in Washington D.C: "Deaf people can do anything hearing people can do, except hear."

The classroom where she works was set up in 2015 in partnership with the St. Cloud State University Confucius Institute.

Zheng teaches students Chinese Sign Language, basic Mandarin and Chinese culture, but communicates with her colleagues using American Sign Language and English.

"I teach almost all the students here from kindergarten to high school now," she told China Daily via e-mail. "I work in four different languages."

  

Related news

MorePhoto

Most popular in 24h

MoreTop news

MoreVideo

News
Politics
Business
Society
Culture
Military
Sci-tech
Entertainment
Sports
Odd
Features
Biz
Economy
Travel
Travel News
Travel Types
Events
Food
Hotel
Bar & Club
Architecture
Gallery
Photo
CNS Photo
Video
Video
Learning Chinese
Learn About China
Social Chinese
Business Chinese
Buzz Words
Bilingual
Resources
ECNS Wire
Special Coverage
Infographics
Voices
LINE
Back to top Links | About Us | Jobs | Contact Us | Privacy Policy
Copyright ©1999-2018 Chinanews.com. All rights reserved.
Reproduction in whole or in part without permission is prohibited.