ECI 520 Teaching of Composition

3-Letter Project
Jing He
March 25, 2016
Letter 1:
Jing He
1440 Collegiate Circle, Apt.
203
Raleigh, NC 27606
Ms. Fuli Wang
Principal of Junior High School of Beijing Royal School
Beijing Royal School
11 Wangfu Street, Changping
Beijing, China 102209
Dear Ms. Wang,
I hope you have had a good start of this semester and everything
goes on smoothly in the school. I want to thank you again for having
recommended me for this graduate program at NC State University.
I really appreciate the opportunity to learn to be a better teacher,
and feel eager to implement what I learn here to serve our school
and our students better in the future.
I write to talk about some of my thoughts concerning our reading
corner. In fall, I had a course about teaching literature to young
adults, in which I learned various theories and strategies about the
teaching of reading. While learning, I always think about how I can
use the concepts and strategies to help students at BRS learn
better. I feel so proud that we have a large collection of young adult
books in our school, but I think that there are still many aspects that
can be improved concerning the management and use of the
reading corner. I feel its my responsibility to think more about how
we can make better use of it.
Currently the reading corner is inside the library, and the
management is relied on the librarians. However, there are some
problems as a result of this kind of management. The first problem
is that the librarians are too busy with the large library business to
really take care of our reading corner. The books have not been
categorized properly and they are not even registered in the library
lending system. The other day I found some teachers say in our
WeChat group that some books were lost again. The current
countermeasure is forbidding students from taking the books
outside of the library. I dont think that will solve the problem, and I

believe that we should be glad with the fact that the students
actually take out the books the read.
I suggest we should build a separate and independent system for
our reading corner. The books should be registered and we should
allow students to borrow some books. I understand that the current
policy of forbidding students from borrowing the books is to make
sure that the teachers can have the books they need in our reading
classes. We can solve that problem by having some books reserved
only for class use. Our English teachers can take turns to do duty in
the reading corner, because we know our reading classes, the books
and the students. Its also a good opportunity for the teachers to
spend a little more time reading, which I believe is the wish of all
teachers.
If its possible, I even suggest our reading corner should be moved
to a separate room for the benefits of both the school library and
our reading corner. Sometimes when we are having reading classes
in the reading corner, the noises of other students talking in the
public area will influence the learning process; and sometimes our
discussions cannot work well because some students in the public
area demand absolute silence. I believe reading demands quietness,
not silence. We should allow students to share their responses to
what they read, though we need to make them happen in an
organized way.
Another aspect I think we should improve is that we need to
promote reading engagement by making full use of our reading
corner. Many teachers and I always appreciate your efforts to get
the budget to purchase the books, which is not a small budget and
not usual in many Chinese schools. Therefore, I feel worried to see
that not so many students really read outside class. We may
complain that our students dont read because they are attracted by
other things like their electronic devices. But we should think about
one question: do we really invite them to read? The answer is
positive if its our reading class that we talk about. However, apart
from the chances we provide when we require them to read, we
actually havent created enough activities to help our students
engage in reading.
We can start from establishing a reading club. There are still many
students who are not interested in a sports club or a drama club but
like reading. A teacher can be the organizer, or several teachers can
work together. We can set to meet several times a week. Students
will choose the books they are interested along with teachers
suggestions. Teachers will have conferences with these students.
Activities will be designed to share their reading in more interesting
ways. More importantly, these students should be encouraged to
share their reading experience with all the students in the school.

We can help them make book trailers, give book talks and even hold
book fairs. If we try with an open-minded mindset, and help these
students find the pleasure of reading, this atmosphere of enjoying
reading will be contagious among the young adults in our school.
I always feel fortunate to be able to work at our school, which has a
comfortable atmosphere for innovations in teaching and learning. I
feel excited to go back to the school and bring what I learn here to
help more changes happen in the Junior High School. I am willing to
talk with you more about the details, contribute my efforts, and
collaborate with our colleagues to build our reading corner even
better.
Thank you for your time in reading this letter. Wish you a wonderful
semester.
Sincerely,
Jing He

Letter 2:
Jing He
1440 Collegiate Circle, Apt.

203
Raleigh, NC 27606
Sophie Chen
15 Fengdan Street, Changping
Beijing, China 102209
Dear Sophie,
How are you? Hope you are enjoying your semester in the new
school. I know the school must be very glad to have you and you will
always bring brilliant ideas to the colleagues and students just like
you did when we worked together.
I am pretty good. I really enjoy the life of being a student again. I
have three courses this semester: one on teacher leadership, one on
teaching composition, and one on global learning. All of these
courses are interesting, and the teachers are marvelous and super
nice. We have regular assignments each week, and have big
projects every now and then. The learning tasks sometimes can be
challenging, but the learning process and results always make be
feel energized and fulfilled.
When I am learning, I always think of you. When I learn about
teacher leadership, I remember how you helped me when I was a
new teacher, and how you always influenced other teachers with
you innovative ideas in teaching even though you didnt have any
formal leadership position. When I learn about the teaching of
writing, I recall those days when you organized those writing
workshops to help our students prepare for the composition contest.
Your ideas and practices always brought inspirations to me, and
helped me grow to be a better teacher.
The area that I think I have been influenced most by you is the
teaching of reading. I really appreciate that you demonstrated to me
that to be a good reading teacher, you have to be a good reader
first. I was so encouraged by your insistence in reading regularly. I
can see from your daughter Helen that reading has helped her grow
to a good student and a good person. In reading classes, you
designed various activities to help students engage in reading. Its
you who successfully persuaded the principal to buy so many
English young adult works. Its you who built up the reading corner
and took real care of it. You recruited student volunteers to manage
the reading corner and you gave instructions to teachers how we
could use the books and the area in our reading class. Sincerely I
believe that without you we could never have had such a wonderful
resource for our reading classes.
Unfortunately, after you left, the reading corner was bereft of its

vitality. All teachers are busy with their own business to take care of
it. The books are not registered in the system and students are not
allowed to take the books outside the reading corner. Kind of
ridiculous, right? I mean shouldnt we cheer for the fact that those
students take these books to read? How fortunate we should feel
about still having some students who read! Besides, even with this
policy, there are still books missing. Whats more discouraging is
that few students go to the reading corner to read. There are no
other activities that make use of the reading corner to promote
reading engagement.
I think, and I know you will agree, that we need a separate system
to manage our reading corner. Our English teachers should take
turns to take care of it, which is not only beneficial to our teaching
but also a good opportunity for us to spend some time in reading.
There should be more activities created to let students know more
about the books we have, and invite them to read. We can have a
reading club for those who are interested in reading. We can help
these students organize activities like book talks or book fairs to
share their reading with other students.
In fall semester, I took a course called Teaching Literature to Young
Adults. I learned a lot about the pedagogical concepts and strategies
about the teaching of reading. So I always think about what I can do
to help my students engage more in reading. I feel ashamed that I
didnt contribute enough the reading corner, and feel eager to
contribute more efforts when I go back to the school to teach.
I feel sad that you are not working in the school any more, but I
know you will always supportive whenever I need suggestions and
help.
Thank you for always being there. Looking forward to seeing you
again in Beijing in August.
Take care,
Jing
P.S. Still remember you recommended Gone with the Wind to me? I
have read it and I love it so much that I went to the writers House in
Atlanta. I enclose a bookmark that I bought there and hope you will
like it!

Letter 3:

Jing He
1440 Collegiate Circle, Apt.
203
Raleigh, NC 27606
Carl A. Young
College of Education
CICE Department
402 Poe Hall, Campus Box 7801
Raleigh, NC 27695-7801
Dear Dr. Young,
In your course of Teaching Literature to Young Adults, I got chances
to learn more profoundly about the teaching of reading, and I always
think about how I can help my students engage in reading when I go
back to Beijing Royal School to teach. Considering the resources
that I can use in my future reading classes, I remember our reading
corner where there is a large of English young adult books.
However, I believe its not being fully and properly made use of.
Therefore, I wrote two letters concerning this issue.
The purpose of my first letter is to seek solutions by addressing the
problems and giving my suggestions. The audience of my letter is
Ms. Wang, the Principal of Junior High School of Beijing Royal School.
Ms. Wang is responsible for all the teaching affairs in the Junior High
School. Its she who got the budget for purchasing the books from
abroad and building the reading corner. Therefore, she has the
power to make decisions concerning the reading corner. Besides,
she used to be an English reading teacher and always emphasizes
the importance of reading to students English learning. I believe
she will be willing to listen to my concerns and suggestions.
My second letter is written to my friend Sophie, a former teacher at
Beijing Royal School. Sophie has influenced me greatly as a reader
and a reading teacher. She reads young adult literature regularly
and shares her reading with me. She is an excellent reading teacher
and made many innovative changes happen in her reading class.
When she was still working at our school, she was the teacher who
really takes care of the reading corner. She managed the books well,
and invited many students to reading there. Therefore, when I am
worried about the current situation of the reading corner, I want to
talk to her. The purpose of my letter is to share my concerns with a
friend who will resonate with me on the issue and will be supportive
to me. I also write to express my gratitude to her for her positive
influence on me in the area of teaching reading.
The writing styles of the two letters vary a lot because of the
purposes and the audiences. The language for the first letter to the
principal is more formal, while the language for the letter to my

friend is more personal and casual. I come straight to the point in

the first letter, because I believe the principal wants to know my
purpose of writing and also my supporting ideas directly. While in
my letter to my friend, I talk about my life and then gradually lead
my topic to the issue. In my first letter, I try to focus on the issue
and suggestions in an objective way, so that the principal will
consider my suggestions without feeling offended or judged. While
in the second letter, I feel safe to tell my friend my disappointment,
my worries, and my eagerness. I support my first letter by pointing
out each problem concerning the issue, its negative result, and my
suggestions on the solutions. My second letter is supported by
recalling the details of how my friend has influenced me and why I
think she will resonate with me on the issue.
I will not send the first letter, because I am afraid that my principal
is too busy to read this letter in English and would rather I speak to
her directly about my thoughts. However, I will go to talk with her
about this issue when I am back at BRS and hope that I can
contribute my efforts to make the changes happen. This letter will
work as a scaffold to bring up my proposal in a planned logical way. I
will send the letter to my friend, because its really what I always
want to share with her. She is not only a good reading teacher, but
also an excellent writing teacher. She will be happy to read my letter
in English to her, not only from the perspective of a friend, a
colleague, but also a writing teacher who also seeks more efficient
strategies in her classroom.
Thank you for offering us this chance to write letters. Its definitely a
good practice for us to experience writing with different purposes
and for different audiences, which I hope I can use in my future
writing class. It also gives me a chance to think about something I
really care and some changes I would like to see happen. Whats
more, its a good opportunity for us to write a real letter when most
people have abandoned this precious way of communication in
current society.
I look forward to and appreciate any suggestions from you on my
writing.
Sincerely,
Jing He