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Introductions to Foreign Instructors/Experts at Zhengzhou University
Randy Green
Randy Green is a native of Rolla, Missouri, a small town located near the geographic and population centers of the United States. He was educated at the University of Missouri at Rolla, where he studied mathematics and mechanical engineering, and at Southwest Missouri State University in Springfield, Missouri, where he studied history, education, and sociology.
After his graduation with a B.S. degree in Sociology, he spent many years as a salesman and sales manager for a variety of businesses. Changing careers, he became a teacher. He worked as a Writing Consultant for ESL Students at the University of Missouri at Rolla’s Writing Center. In 2004, he was invited to come to Zhengzhou University and teach oral English to the students here.
His writing, speaking and teaching experiences include the preparation of training and technical manuals; editing and rewriting documents for ESL students; co-authoring an article on mentoring international grad students; and developing the content of web sites for Internet businesses. He was active in Toastmasters International and served as Area Governor for his region. He was the editor of his Toastmasters club’s monthly newsletter.
Pamela Volland
Pamela Volland, BA, BSN, RN, teaches Nursing English at the Zhengzhou University College of Nursing. She is originally from the United States and has worked with girls and women in crisis in Los Angeles, California; St. Louis, Missouri; Chicago, Illinois; Baltimore, Maryland; and Washington, D.C. and for sixteen years in Seoul and Chunchon, South Korea. In Hong Kong and Macau, she worked with women and children who were victims of domestic violence and family breakdown, and the sick and elderly. In China, before coming to the College of Nursing at Zhengzhou University, she taught English at Shandong Institute of Business and Technology in Yantai, Shandong.
She says, “My interests are not in academic research but rather in direct service to persons in need. I belong to an organization dedicated to serving girls and women in crisis and have dedicated my life to this service. It is my sincere hope that one day it will be possible for foreigners to serve girls and women in crisis in China with the following and other problems: AIDS, crisis pregnancies, domestic violence, prostitution, and those with family and emotional problems.
“In working with English students, I find that many students seek my help to prepare to go abroad and make more money. While I wish them well, I am most interested in assisting students to grow in appreciation for and to discover the riches to be found in serving, with hearts full of love and compassion, people in crisis and great need.”
Richard Toepler
Richard Toepler, his wife Marjorie, and daughter Emily have been a part of the Zhengzhou University community since the fall of 2003. Richard currently teaches linguistics, literature, and English language skills in the School of Foreign Languages of Zhengzhou University. He holds both an MA in English literature and an MA in TESOL, and his study and research interests include rhetoric and rhetorical theory, poetics and literary criticism, and 18th century studies.
Prior to joining the School of Foreign Languages of Zhengzhou University, Richard was an ESL Lecturer in the Department of Foreign Languages and Bilingual Studies at Eastern Michigan University in Ypsilanti, Michigan, USA.
Richard, Margie, and Emily are always happy to share a plate of jiaozi, and are also active music enthusiasts.
Ms. Frances Post
Frances Post is from the rural state of Vermont in America and the youngest of three children. She says, “My brother and sister live close to my Mom with their spouses and children. Although I am far away from my family for ten months of the year, I enjoy having two homes - one in China and one in America.”
This is her fourth year of teaching English in China. Before coming to Zhengzhou University, she lived and taught in Huhehaote, Inner Mongolia for three years. Her undergraduate degree was in teaching children. She worked in the public primary schools in her home state of Vermont for five years and cared for infants in a kindergarten before that.
Since coming to China, she has earned an MA degree in TESOL (Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages). She says, “I find teaching the university students in China to be very rewarding. They are eager to learn and cooperative about trying new ways of learning the English language.”
Owen Lau
Owen Lau is a Chinese-American from Los Angeles, California but grew up in Hong Kong. He lived, studied, and worked in California for nineteen years. This is his third year of full-time teaching in China. His grandparents are from Fu Shan, Guangzhou. His great-grandfather worked in Mexico during the 1910’s before returning to China some time later. His father's side of the family first set foot in America during the 1920s.
He graduated from the University of California, Irvine, majoring in Applied Ecology with a minor in epidemiology and public health, and almost a minor in mathematics. He worked at the American Cancer Society, the Orange County Department of Public Health, and at a community center, which is just a few minutes away from LA's Chinatown.
He writes, “I have had the privilege of teaching young people from elementary school to high school level. I've taught English in Yunnan and in Hong Kong in summer programs before teaching full-time in Huhehaote and Zhengzhou. I will receive a MA in TEFL/Intercultural Studies from Wheaton College in Illinois at the end of this year. My areas of interest are in intercultural communication, and the use of multimedia in the classroom.”
Stephen Sanders
Stephen Sanders, thirty years old, is from America, “born and raised in the state of Indiana”. He comes from a large family; he is one of the five children in his family. Three of his brothers and sisters are married and he has four nieces and four nephews.
He went to university in Indianapolis, Indiana at Butler University where he studied Mathematics and Secondary Education with a minor in Business Administration. After university, he taught mathematics in a middle school for six months (one semester). Following that semester, he came to China for the first time (Aug.1998) to Xi'an, where he studied Chinese language and culture for two years.
He returned to the United States in the summer of 2000 to work in Indianapolis. After two years there, he decided to return to China with ELIC to teach English. His first teaching assignment was in Lan Zhou at Northwest Normal University where he taught Oral English to post-graduate students. During his second year with ELIC, he was asked to become a Personnel Advisor and move to Zhengzhou University in 2003.
He has been teaching Oral English to post-graduate students at Zhengzhou University for the past two years in addition to his role as Personnel Advisor for ELIC. During his time in China with ELIC, he has also been working to complete his Master’s degree from Wheaton College in the field of Intercultural Studies. He will complete his degree this summer. Next fall, he plans to move to Changchun, Jilin to continue studying Chinese language and culture.
Patrick and Amy Seifer
Patrick Seifer obtained his B.A. in French and English at Whitworth College in Spokane, Washington in 1989. He also received a certificate in teaching at that time. He obtained his M.A. in TESOL from Azusa Pacific University in Azusa, California in 2002. He has taught junior high and high school students in America, coached track and field, and has taught ESL to adult immigrants and refugees in Atlanta, Georgia. Most recently, he has worked for several years at Zhengzhou University as an ESL teacher.
Amy Seifer obtained her Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in music from Auburn University in Auburn, Alabama in 1978 and 1980, respectively. She received her M.S. in TESL from Georgia State University, Atlanta, Georgia in 1995. Amy has teaching experience in both music and ESL in the States. She has taught English at Zhengzhou University for several years.
Patrick, Amy, and daughter Abigail, enjoy their life in China and hope to remain here for some time to come.
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