In a small classroom located in the portables, Amy Kao stands by the door ready to greet students. Once the bell rings, Kao, already in her seat, pulls up a slideshow to teach students Mandarin Chinese. Kao knew from the beginning of her career that teaching Mandarin would become a devotion of hers.

“I have been wanting to teach Chinese overseas since I was in college,” Kao said. “I really enjoy developing stronger cross-cultural sensitivity in the classroom with my students.”

Kao started teaching after graduating college, first working as a kindergarten teacher.

“I am glad after teaching kindergarten, I finally got a chance to be a Chinese teacher in Prosper ISD,” Kao said. “I was teaching in the Carrollton and Princeton ISD for the past three years.”

Although she was not teaching Mandarin in Carrollton and Princeton, she was working with students.

“I spent most of my childhood there,”  Kao said. “One of the most different things between Taiwan and America is you would barely see a single house there. Most people live in apartments because Taiwan’s so small. Think about Texas. It’s 19 times bigger than Taiwan alone.”

Kao was born and raised in Taipei, Taiwan. Moving to America was a culture shock for Kao.

“Growing up in Taiwan makes me become a person who cherishes nature more,” Kao said. “I could barely see it in the city when I grew up in Taipei. I have been enjoying most of my time here in Texas, because there are lots of parks that you can take a walk in your neighborhood and less crowded living areas.”

Kao received her degree from Tzu Chi University.

“(I got my degree in) Bachelor of Art in English literature,” Kao said. “And teaching Chinese as a second language.”

When Kao moved to America, she attended Tarleton State University and received her master’s degree in curriculum and instruction. In Kao’s first year teaching at Prosper ISD, she said she has grown to love the students in her class. Kao currently works at Prosper and Rock Hill High school. She teaches 42 students at Prosper and 37 at Rock Hill.

“I think knowing my students feel excited to be in my class and learn Chinese gives me the motivation to be there for them,” Kao said. “I always tell my students they are learning the hardest language in the world. And I think the greatest achievement that I have achieved so far is seeing my students feel safe and confident speaking Chinese in the classroom.”

In class, Honors Chinese I and Honors Chinese II students are currently learning how to say their classes, what order they have to be in, what supplies they will use in those classes and the time that it starts and ends. In the last unit, they learned how to introduce their family by describing what they do, what they like and what they like to do.

“One of the major challenges that we have in the Chinese class is teaching students how to write Chinese characters. For example, ‘Hello’ in Chinese is ‘你好’,” Kao said. “Students have to recognize the characters and also need to be able to type that on their computer. I do lots of practice with my students, I try my best to expose them to as many characters as I can during class time.”