A Model for Language Teachers and Educators: An Interview with Dr. Li-Rong Lilly Cheng

By Clifford Elliott Noble II and Shubin Li, 1997

Introduction

Dr. Lilly Cheng is Professor of Communicative Disorders and Assistant Dean of Student Affairs and International Development of the College of Health and Human Services at San Diego State University. She is also Director of the International Institute for Human Resources Development in Health and Human Services and a fellow of the American Speech-Language Hearing Association (ASHA). Chinese by origin, she moved to the United States over twenty eight years ago and has been studying and working in America ever since. This woman is an example of sheer determination in action to help all humans to take initiative to empower themselves and their families.

Summary of Dr. Cheng's Life Story

Dr. Cheng was born in Shanghai, China in 1946. Shortly afterwards, her grandfather accepted a post in Taiwan during the communist takeover of China. Dr. Cheng was two and a half years old then. She moved to Formosa (hereafter referred to as Taiwan) with her grandfather, mother and younger brother. They left Shanghai in a hurry. Much of her family's history was left behind in the process. She spent her childhood in Taiwan , recalling little of her native country or family history there. The transition had a great impact on the direction of her life. Her early childhood was spent in southern Taiwan. Her earliest memory was listening and talking to people who spoke different dialects like Shanghainese, Mandarin, Cantonese and Taiwanese, and languages like Japanese. As a young child, Dr. Cheng was very confused about languages and could not speak just one of them. She had to speak many languages to survive. This left a lasting impression on her when she was a primary student. As a result, she grew up with the view that "one just must be flexible."

After primary school, she went to a girl's middle school. The competition was high and she was considered a good student from the perspective of general education. She had some difficulty with math once and with physical education at another time, but that did not hinder her. When she finished her junior high school, she went to the same high school. After taking a competitive national examination she was selected to attend National Taiwan University (considered the Harvard of Taiwan). She learned English and Spanish and majored in foreign language literature. Surprisingly, she did very well in her studies. She was likely the top student in her class and did not have to worry about getting scholarships. Dr. Cheng received scholarships throughout college and attained excellent recognition from the university.

After graduation she went to the United States because she thought it was a big country and possibly would afford her the opportunity to learn a lot more. She chose teaching English and went into linguistics with a major focus on teaching English. It took her about a year to realize that teaching the English language would not be her goal. The little English she knew could not get her through an academic program in America. Although she was bilingual and multicultural, she did not have the history, the knowledge, or the "know how" of the American culture. As a result, she began to teach the Chinese language in America. She began doctoral level courses in linguistics while she was teaching.

While studying linguistics, she decided to switch to sociolinguistics. Eventually she went into the field of communicative disorders (a 180-degree switch) and moved into the field of speech sciences. Apparently, her childhood exposure to many dialects and languages had laid the foundation for her adult interest. "Looking at the scientific, pathological, physiological, neurological aspects of language, I went into the pathological end of things and became a language pathologist." She went through rigorous training in medical school, clinical training, and eventually obtained her credential and certification as a clinician. She began to work in hospital settings and home-care settings. Simultaneously, she conducted research, clinical teaching, and made clinical contact. Thus, Dr. Cheng's career in medical services began. This led to her noteworthy accomplishment of starting San Diego's first medical program for speech, language and pathological services with Kaiser Preventive Medical Group. Simultaneously, San Diego State University recruited Dr. Cheng for clinical teaching and to conduct research. For the past fourteen years Dr. Cheng has been teaching and conducting clinical and general research.

Dr. Lilly Cheng is the oldest of three children in her family. They live in the United States. Her parents have always been supportive of her educational advancement. Currently, her mother commutes between Taiwan and the United States. Her father passed away six years ago. She has been married for twenty-seven years and has an thirteen-year old son. Her husband is a mathematician by training. His major interest has been in fluid dynamics that involves the area of physics and mathematics. He has his own company doing consulting work and solving very difficult mathematics problems. Now he is developing his own software packages and computer modeling. He is essentially at the forefront of high technology.

Dr. Cheng has many publications. Most of them are in English and a couple of them are in Chinese. Sometimes she was the single author and other times she was the coauthor, editor or contributor. A list of a few of her publications follow: Accessing Language Performance: Guidelines for evaluating Limited English Proficient Students (1987,1991), Human Communication Disorders (1989, gone through six editions), Myth or Reality: Adopted Strategies for Asian Newcomers in California (1993), Integrating Language and Learning for Inclusion (1995), Nu Ren Yi Zhi Hua (currently up for publication shortly), and her next book will be Children: Our Cherished Hope.

As stated earlier, Dr. Cheng is Chinese by origin, but she has lived in the United States for almost twenty nine years. Is she an American Chinese or a Chinese American? Asked whether she had ever felt frustrated because of different culture backgrounds she said :"You will find people who are totally not tolerant with your foreignness even though I consider myself pretty much bicultural. A kind of level of lack of understanding of the global world is frustrating." For Dr. Cheng, a lot of people really do not understand how to go beyond current cultural boundaries. They appear to be trapped in a world of their own. "That is always frustrating. People always try to pin me down and say, "Who are you? Where are you from? Why are you here"? That frustrates me because I am often caught in a mental disequilibrium trying to figure out who I am."

Regarding cultural behavior preferences (American or Chinese), Dr. Cheng feels that her ways of thinking and ways of doing things in terms of looking at the world or problem solving are very European based because she received her higher education in the United States. Most of her theoretical bases of thinking or paradigms developed in the United States. There is no doubt in her mind that her thinking process relies completely on American higher education, which characterizes her analytical and critical thinking abilities. Deep down, she figures her values have changed. She is no longer able to keep one value system. She has two value systems because she came to America so young. She had no model women from China or Taiwan; instead, all of her models were from the United States. The formation of her personality appears couched in more European or at least on American based models. She feels she has a blend of multiculturalness inside her; but deep down within, her principles are more academically based. Her academic life is coached in the American culture.