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| Shaoming, DL Teacher |
I come from Guangdong, south of China. I was an English teacher in China before I came to Australia 28 years ago. I have two children who were born in Australia and my older son is starting university this year.
When did you join Navitas?
I started in 2011 as a classroom teacher and I've been with Distance Learning (DL) since February 2015.
What do you enjoy about working with DL?
I teach mostly Chinese students. As a bilingual teacher, I can help students with low level English to understand and improve more quickly. It is very rewarding to see them gain more confidence in asking questions and using English in their daily lives.
How do you celebrate Chinese New Year in Australia?
We usually have a few families get together and have a special dinner - it is really more like a feast! We can never finish the food that we've cooked because we bring a lot!
What kind of food do you usually eat?
In China, I remember my mother used to cook traditional dishes that took a long time to prepare. But unfortunately we cannot have the same food or follow the same traditions in Australia. Instead we have seafood.
What message would you like to give to your students?
I wish them a Happy Chinese New Year of the monkey. The monkey is a smart animal so I hope that this year brings everyone great success in their lives.
Did you know that students from a Chinese background were the largest ethnic group in our DL program last year!
- What is the most important festival in your culture?
- How do you celebrate it and do you celebrate it the same way as you did in your country?
- How important it is to keep your cultural traditions in a new country?
Hi I'm Thao, I come from Vietnam and the most important festival is Tet (Lunar New Year) which is at the same time as Chinese New Year.
ReplyDeleteWe have a long holiday of seven days or more from work. We start by spring cleaning the whole house, sometimes buy new furniture and paint the house. We give lucky money as presents to the children and younger people. We get together and have a special food made of pork stew and eggs with family and friends. Then we also play bingo and cards together.
Hi Thao Happy New Year to you and your family. Your Tet celebrations sound very interesting. I hope you are able to continue these traditions in Australia. Thank you for writing.
DeleteHi, my name is Sadiqa and I belong to a Hazara family. I came from Pakistan to Australia 2 years ago.
ReplyDeleteOur most important festival is Nourooz. We celebrate by having special food, wearing new clothes, and visiting family and friends. I think to keep our cultural traditions alive is important because it keeps our identity.
Yes Sadi I totally agree that it is so important to continue our cultural traditions in Australia. It helps us to remember our past and look to the future.
DeleteI had an Iranian student who told me about a festival called 'Yalda' which is held on the longest night of the year. The family get together and eat seedless pomegranates and nuts, and after that they take it in turns to read poetry by their famous poet, Hafiz. I thought that sounded very sophisticated!
ReplyDeleteHi Carol Reading poetry together sounds very romantic too.
DeleteThe biggest celebration for people across Philippines is Christmas. We start decorating our homes and getting ready from the 1st day of September. We put up a Christmas tree and coloured lanterns to make the house beautiful. We spend the whole month of December shopping for food and presents. The last day of Christmas celebration is 13th of January which we celebrate the three kings. The celebration is huge in the Philippines but we try to do the best we can in our new country Australia.
ReplyDeleteHi Charina Wow you do have such a long time for Christmas, it sounds like fun!
DeleteOur most important festival Diwali. Before Diwali we clean our house and decorate it with candles and burn fragrant oils. We give out presents and sweets to our friends and relatives.
ReplyDeleteI think its important to keep our cultural traditions because we can teach our children about our culture and about who we are. Also, it is nice to have happy celebrations.
Hi yes celebrating festivals is a wonderful way to pass our traditions to our children.
DeleteIt is very important to keep our traditional because it is individuality.
ReplyDeleteWow that's so true, what a wonderful insight.
DeleteThank you all for your comments and I hope all those who celebrated the Lunar Year this week to have enjoyed their time with family and friends and all the nice food.
ReplyDelete