你好Nǐ hǎo (‘hello’ in Chinese), my name is Wei Geiger. Thanks for checking out the BC World Language Department webpage!
I would like to take some time to tell you a little bit about myself and our Chinese program. I left China more than 30 years ago and went to graduate school in Japan. I was a full-time student and a part-time Chinese teacher in Japan for eight years. Since then, teaching Chinese has become part of my life, and eventually became my professional life. I have taught businessmen/women and college students. It has been almost 30 years since my first teaching job. I still enjoy teaching very much.
In addition to teaching Chinese, I also teach BC students and staff Tai Chi and mindfulness meditation in my spare time. I have practiced Tai Chi for over 35 years and I am a Certified Mindful Meditation teacher.
I came to Washington to stay in 2003. I was surprised that we can have six and a half days of rain in one week. I joined Bellevue College in 2005, and in 2007 developed the first Chinese online class in the state. Our online class students were attending classes from other states and countries. The online class has become commonplace now, especially in the last two years during the pandemic. I started to explore VR teaching, developed the VR Zen campus in 2021, and used it to teach classes. I am currently developing an AI-based app for learning conversational Chinese.
I have taught in-classroom, hybrid, and online classes. I enjoy them all. I like my students and care about their future education. I like to help my students reach their education goals and help their dreams come true. When students come back to visit after transferring to their dream university, their beautiful smiling face is worth more than any words.
For the online class student, I remember their voice by talking with them and listening to their speaking homework online every week. Students are so happy when I recognize their voices when I have a chance to meet them. Their visits make me really happy!
Besides work, I enjoy outdoor sports. I like to go to green forests to take a walk and look for the blue sky through the gaps in the tops of the trees. Recently, I am playing pickleball and badminton. I also like to travel. My family and I have traveled overseas almost every year. We enjoyed experiencing different cultures, food and meeting new people, and making good friends during our travel.
I teach my classes mindfully and create a comfortable, stress-free learning environment for students. If I see a student struggling with studying, I often suggest a face-to-face meeting, to find the issues and help the student through the period. The Chinese program has high student success rates, no students are left behind due to lack of support. We have a good Chinese language program; would you be in the class?