Having dreamed of becoming a teacher since her years as a high school student, LIU Wei is now delighted to be an influential and respected educator – and she credits the Flinders-Nankai program for her continued development in becoming an education leader.

As a highly experienced English teacher within the Foreign Languages Department at Taiyuan University, she has now taught more than 2,000 students over 18 years, many of whom have become close friends and ventured onto their own highly successful professional journeys.

“My students and their achievements are my greatest accomplishments,” says LIU Wei. “They fall in love with English and the language provides them access to a wider world that changes their lives.”

LIU Wei entered the MELM program with more than a decade of experience as an English teacher, but she wanted to achieve a higher level of proficiency in teaching and education management. “I believe that my theoretical and knowledge framework needs to be constantly updated,” she says, “and that is why I chose the Flinders-Nankai program, to grow from studying within these globally recognised universities.”

She found the MELM program especially beneficial for its convenient teaching structure and location as it was an easy transportation route from her hometown. “This was especially helpful for me as a working teacher. I could use my summer and winter holidays and weekends to complete my courses.”

She launched herself down this study path after being inspired by others who completed the MELM course and strived forward in their careers.

“Many former graduates from our program have set a good example for me. They not only made great progress in teaching theory and practice, but also broadened my vision and provided great communication with all our teaching colleagues, at home and abroad.”

Having emerged successfully from the MELM program, LIU Wei has high praise for what she was taught. “It improved my teaching ability and organisational management ability of English teaching and learning. It also helps me to be more objective and rational when dealing with problems. Through the positive inquiry method we learned in our program, I can guide students’ English learning in a more positive way, and inspire them to improve on their shortcomings.”

She was impressed by the strong academic backgrounds of her Australian lecturers in the MELM course, especially Emeritus Professor David Giles, whose lectures integrated management thinking into education. “This made me understand education and my career in a totally different way,” says LIU Wei. “He combined theories mostly used in business management with the management and teaching practice of our colleges and universities. He provided us with a scientific view of an educational leadership and management system.”

After graduation, LIU Wei used her expanded knowledge and analysis skills to restructure the courses she teaches in the Foreign Languages Department of Taiyuan University. The MELM qualification enabled her to progress from teaching college students to undergraduates, which signaled the start of a very busy period in her teaching career. Her teaching workload doubled, while she also had research papers published in provincial and national journals. “My enriched knowledge and management skills have helped me to better plan and manage my students’ four-year study life and prepare them for future employment.”

LIU Wei is delighted she has received significant assistance and encouragement from her fellow MELM graduates to assess and work through new challenges that emerge in their professional lives. “We keep in constant contact with each other to discuss different solutions and different teaching innovations in different cities,” she says. “When I was setting up the major program for English-Chinese translation in our university, I asked my fellow graduates for advice on curriculum and they shared many valuable experiences with me, which played a huge role in the development of my work.”

Her heightened sense of possibility and responsibility through completing MELM studies has LIU Wei aiming for more higher education goals. “Ever since my student years, I was a class representative, so have always felt a deep sense of responsibility about education. Now I am committed to assist the work of other teachers – to not only prepare and teach lessons, but to communicate and relate with students. I have learned a lot about being a better person, and becoming a life teacher.”

With aspirations to continue studying for a PhD in teaching, LIU Wei says she has experienced great happiness through her teaching career by reaching out to more people across the world.

“I am delighted and energised by the interaction between teaching and learning,” he says. “I have been inspired by my English teacher, Mr Lin, who went abroad to work with the Confucius Institute, which introduces the Chinese culture to many foreign friends. I hope to do the same in the future – to become an emissary and promote further cultural exchanges between China and other foreign countries.”

 

自高中起，刘伟就一直梦想着成为一名教 师。如今，她已经是一名有影响力，备受尊 重的教育家。她认为是在南开大学-澳大利 亚弗林德斯大学合作办学项目的学习，让 她成长为一名教育界的领头人。

作为太原学院外语系的一名资深英语老 师，从业18年以来，她教受过的学生超过 2,000名。其中很多学生成为了她的朋友， 并踏上了自己的职业之旅并取得成功。

“我的学生们和他们所取得的成绩是我最 大的成就，”刘伟说。“他们爱上了英语，这 门语言让他们有机会去往更广阔的世界， 改变了他们的生活。”

在刘伟开始就读教育领导与管理硕士课程 前就已经是一名具有超过十年教育经验的 英语老师，但是她希望在教学和教育管理 上取得更高的成就。”我相信我的理论和知 识结构需要不断更新，”她说道，“这就是为 什么我选择了南开大学-澳大利亚弗林德 斯大学合作办学项目，我希望通过在世界 知名学府的学习获得成长和进步。”

她认为教育领导与管理硕士项目的教学结 构和授课地点的安排非常人性化，因为教 学地点离她的家乡通勤十分方便。“这对于 我这样的在职老师来说非常有帮助。我可 以利用寒暑假和周末完成我的学业。”

在受到了一些已经完成管理硕士课程并取 得事业进步的同学们的启发后，她全身心 投入到了她的学习旅程中。“很多从这个课 程毕业的毕业生为我树立了榜样。他们不 但在教学理论和实践上取得了长足进步， 也开拓了我的视野，为所有国内外教育界 的同僚们提供了沟通交流的机会。”

从教育领导与管理硕士项目成功毕业后， 刘伟认为课程让她受益匪浅。“这个项目极 大提高了我的教学能力和英语教学组织管 理能力。它还帮助我在面对困难时更客观， 更理性。课程教授的‘积极探究教学法’让 我能够帮助学生更积极主动地学习英语， 帮助他们改善不足之处。”

教授教育领导力与管理硕士课程的澳洲讲 师们的强大学术背景给她留下了深刻印象， 尤其是荣誉教授David Giles，他的课程将管 理思维与教学相结合。“这让我从一个全新 的角度理解教育和我所从事的事业。”刘伟 说道，“他将通常在商业管理中运用的理论 和大学的管理、教学实践相结合,教会我们 用科学的视角看待教育领导和管理体系。”

毕业之后，刘伟运用她新拓展的知识和分 析能力重建了她在太原学院外语系所教授 的课程。教育领导力与管理硕士课程学位 使她从教授专科学生晋升为教授本科生的 老师，这标志着她的繁忙教学生涯的开始。 她的教学量翻倍了，同时她还在省级和国 家级期刊发表了研究论文。

“我的知识和管理技能的提升让我能更好 地规划和管理学生4年的学习生活，帮助他 们更好得为未来就业做好准备。”

刘伟很高兴能得到教育领导与管理硕士项 目 毕业生的支持和鼓励，帮助她评估和迎 接职业生涯中的新挑战。“我们时常保持联 系，经常探讨不同城市不同的教学方法和 教学创新。”她说道，“当我在大学设立英中 翻译的重点课程时，我向我的同学们寻求 课程设计的建议，他们都向我分享了他们 的宝贵经验，这对我的项目开发起到了至 关重要的作用。”

教育领导与管理硕士项目的学习让刘伟对 未来充满信心和责任感，这激励她寻求更 高的教育目标。“从我的学生时代开始我就 是班级代表，所以我总是对教育有很强的 责任心。现在我致力于帮助其他老师，不仅 仅帮助他们更好得备课和教学，更帮助他 们和学生沟通，交心。我学到了很多，学会 了如何变成一个更好的人，学会了如何成 为一名人生导师。”

希望继续攻读教学博士学位的刘伟说她的 教学生涯让自己获得了极大的幸福感，通 过教学她可以接触到世界上更多的人。

“教学和学习中与人的互动让我欣慰并充 满活力。”她说道，“我的英语老师林先生启 发了我，他后来出国担任了孔子学院的院 长，将中国文化介绍给许多外国朋友。我希 望未来也可以做同样的事情——成为一名 使者，促进中国和其他国家间更深入的文 化交流。”