Thornton Academy Postscripts Alumni Magazine Fall 2012 | Page 12

TA In t er n at io n al

TA’s
Mandarin
Chinese Teacher
Serves on
National Panel
If anyone doubts the rigor with which
teachers prepare themselves for
teaching, look no further than the
preparation needed for certification
in teaching Mandarin Chinese
language. TA’s Mandarin Chinese
teacher, Phoebe Hsieh, knows
firsthand what this preparation
looks like. Representing Maine, she
served on a national panel that sets
the standards for the competency
needed to teach beginning
Mandarin Chinese. Phoebe traveled
to the Educational Testing Service
(ETS) as a standard-setting panelist
who designed the examination for
teachers. ETS makes all the SAT,
TOEFL, and GRE exams. Phoebe
joined 36 other
panelists who
represented a total
of 50 states.
The purpose of
this test standardsetting panel is to recommend a
passing score for a “just qualified”
beginning Chinese (Mandarin)
teacher. They are expected to have
certain knowledge and skill about
Chinese language and culture.
Phoebe explained how she is
contributing to the national dialogue,
“The test takers are not students;
they are Chinese teachers who
would like to obtain a teaching
certificate in the United States.

Eight foreign languages
are now taught at Thornton
Academy
Test takers have to study Chinese
for several years and know both
traditional and simplified Chinese
Postscripts

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11

Board Chair Eric Purvis ‘81 and Phoebe Hsieh speak with new international students and
their parents.

writing in order to demonstrate their
command in speaking, listening,
reading, reading, as well as Chinese
culture and history.”
Wait. Traditional? Simplified? Phoebe
explains, “Traditional Chinese is
used in Taiwan and Hong Kong and
other parts of Asia where Chinese
populations live; it has been used for
over 1000 years. Simplified Chinese
is used primarily on mainland China;
it is a newer writing style with slightly
more simplified characters.” For
example, here is the term for “nation”:

國
(guó in simplified Chinese) 国
(guó in traditional Chinese)

Hats off to those brave enough to
master any foreign language and
to Phoebe for supporting national
dialogue about excellence in
language teaching.
-P.E.

Did you know?
•
•
•
•

135 Number of international
students who study at TA
25 Number of international
students living with families
13 Number of countries of origin of
our international students
8 Number of foreign languages
taught at Thornton Academy

She assured me that “only” two
thousand of the characters would
be simplified. Phoebe should know;
she was born in Taiwan, raised
multilingually, and earned a master’s
degree from NYU in Teaching English
to Speakers of Other Languages
(something she has done for over 20
years).
Chris Indorf, Associate Head of
Teaching and Instruction said, “At TA,
Phoebe has singlehandedly launched
our Mandarin program as part of
our initiative to develop a curriculum
that is more global in nature. Eight
foreign languages are now taught at
Thornton Academy.”

Three students from Kazakstan attend Thornton
Academy. One of them, Inkar Artygalina ‘14,
was featured on a Channel 13 WGME TV news
segment about the experience of international
students on campus.