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I was born
I was born on Nov. 1, 1983, in Hui’an County, China. My hometown is located in the southeastern part of China, facing Taiwan. My hometown is famous for its stone carving. There has been a long tradition of local craftsman carving stone materials into different shapes and figures. My hometown was honored as "the hometown of Chinese folk art (sculpture)" in 2006. -
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Shizhong's life timeline
This is a brief snapshot of the important moments in my life. -
Hui’an Stone Sculpture Art Festival
When I was attending at No. 1 Hui'an Middle School, the 1st Hui’an Stone Sculpture Art Festival was held. Stone sculpture pieces were placed on the playground in my school and my English teacher was busying translating for foreign and local artists. I was so impressed by how English can play such an important role in international communication. -
Started my undergraduate program
I chose English as my major at Fuzhou University and hoped that someday I can also be a good English teacher and translator like my high school English teacher. -
Started my first job
Upon graduation, I joined Beijing CAPA Performance Management Company. It was an exciting experience because I was using English in my work and was doing translation and liaison for an upcoming international event in October. -
The 1st China-Europe Performing Arts Symposium
After months of work, my colleagues and I helped make the international conference happen. My boss wanted to meet foreign counterparts and establish business relations so I was called upon to do the meeting translations, which was so challenging yet exciting for me. I realized that my English language and translation skills were not good enough for such occasion. -
The Graduate School Entrance Exam
Yearning for bettering my English and learning the skills for professional translation, I took the Graduate School Entrance Exam again. I could still remember the freezing winter mornings in Beijing. I told myself even if I failed again I wouldn’t regret trying it. -
Started graduate school
My graduate school turned out to be a great journey for me. I was lucky to learn from professors who had received professional training at the European Union and Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey, California. They, in turn, used the same methods to train us. We used special note-taking symbols to facilitate memory training and translation. -
Started teaching English at Guangxi University
Upon graduating from grad school, I was offered a faculty position at Guangxi University. I enjoyed teaching students how to learn English. -
The China-ASEAN Expo
Thanks to the close partnership between my university and local government agencies, I had the opportunity to work as a part-time conference translator for the China-ASEAN Expo. I felt honored to be an intercultural communication facilitator, just like my high school English teacher, for the participants at this grand event. -
Teaching Chinese in the United States
I was brought to the United States to be a Fulbright Chinese Teaching Assistant at New College of Florida under the auspice of the Fulbright Exchange Program. It has been a fun experience to use my second language, English, to teach my first language, Chinese. This experience also prompted me to think about all the factors related to language teaching and learning. -
I'm Married
Oct. 14, 2014, has been one of the greatest days in my life. My wife and I held a grand ceremony and reception at the Garden Hotel in Nanning, China. We invited our close friends, relatives, and colleagues. We exchanged vows and recalled the wonderful days we spent together. What a great ceremony! -
Started my Ph.D. program
After my Fulbright program, I was inspired to apply for the TESOL Ph.D. program at UCF. I look forward to learning more theories and research methodologies so that I can be a better language teacher and researcher.
