Presented by: Panpan Gao (高畔畔)

Workshop Information

When doing meditation in a foreign language, students can be immersed in the language and stay focused as the nature of meditation requires so. Unlike concentrating in class, students do not need to face academic pressure when doing meditation, so they are more likely to absorb the language in this relaxing environment. Apart from improving proficiency, it will also build new channels for teacher-student and student-student interaction in and outside of class, especially when everyone is learning remotely.

This presentation will showcase how to use guided meditation in and outside of Chinese language classes to promote Chinese language learning, deepen students’ appreciation of Chinese culture, decrease students’ level of anxiety, enhance the mental health and wellbeing of Chinese-speaking students. During the presentation, the emphasis on script creation, in-class meditation activities, weekend mediation clubs, elaborated discussion on the theme will be discussed and demonstrated.

Panpan Gao is a lecturer of Chinese at MIT. Her areas of interest include Chinese curriculum design, language pedagogy, and cultural teaching. Panpan Gao has been teaching the Chinese language at the university level since 2010. Prior to coming to MIT, she taught at Harvard University. In addition to teaching, she has also been involved in textbook writing and teacher training for an intensive language summer program.