Annelise Borger

I obtained my BA degree in Chinese from the University of Canterbury in Christchurch, New Zealand.  I had no prior knowledge of Chinese before beginning tertiary study. Once I completed a Graduate Diploma of Teaching (Secondary) from Victoria University of Wellington, I began a full time position at Middleton Grange School establishing a Chinese programme and teaching English. I started the Chinese programme from the ground up and have had to create a lot of my own resources, as there are very few quality resources written for the New Zealand curriculum, and for non-native Chinese teachers. I completed the TPDL (Teachers professional development languages) course which equipped me with task-based language teaching pedagogy and training. This course has transformed my language teaching and has helped me make my learning activities authentic and relevant for my learners. With the assistance of a government grant I have established Chinese programmes in three additional feeder schools over two years. I have also been privileged to go on the ILEP China Scholarship for three weeks of intense task-based language activities in China. I have only just started my Flipped Learning  journey and already I have seen the advantages as I have been able to use my Flipped videos across multiple schools and classes and have been able to open up more face-to-face time in class to develop rich learning opportunities for my pupils. I am now in my fifth year teaching Chinese and because of the work I have been doing establishing Chinese language programmes across schools and implementing a Flipped Classroom, I have received the New Zealand Distinguished Chinese Teacher Early Career Award for 2017.