Everyone at Little Tiger is a teacher and directly involved with students, including directors Meggie and Jiao. All of our teachers possess extensive classroom experience, master’s degree level training in foreign language education, and expertise in early childhood education. Most importantly, our teachers are energetic, engaging, and love working with children.
There is extraordinary collaboration across the classroom communities—all of our teachers know all of our students and vice versa. This creates a supportive, family-like environment.
Besides the necessary teaching credentials, all teachers at Little Tiger Program have received certification in the standard American Red Cross First Aid/CPR/AED – Pediatrics training course. All have passed a background check with the Texas Department of Public Safety’s Fingerprint-based Applicant Clearinghouse of Texas (FACT).
Meggie Chou
Founder + Head of School
Meggie Chou founded Chinese with Meggie in 2006 and serves as the school’s director. Originally from Taiwan, Meggie holds a BFA in Studio Art from the Art Institute of Chicago and a Masters degree from UT-Austin. She also attended Rice University’s Institute for Chinese Language Teaching. Meggie believes in the power of language education at an early age and is dedicated to creating a fun, productive and engaging environment at Chinese with Meggie. In addition to directing the school, she also leads her teaching team in developing innovative programs and learning materials. Most recently, she authored Diving into Chinese, a series of 40 books for young Chinese language learners. The books are published by China Sprout and Higher Education Press; e-books for the iPad are available through the iTunes Bookstore.
Jiao Li
Director of Little Tiger and Lead Classroom Teacher
Originally from Taiwan, Jiao Li is the Director of the Little Tiger program as well as the assistant director of Chinese with Meggie. She moved to Austin from Minnesota, where she was a full-time Chinese immersion classroom teacher in the Eisenhower Elementary/Xinxing Academy for 6 years. She has a M.A. in TESOL (teaching English as a second language) from University of Florida, and a B.A. in Elementary Education from Nanjing Normal University in China. She also holds a TESOL certificate from Florida, K-6 teaching licenses from both Minnesota and Texas, and a K-12 teaching license from China. Before moving to the US, she taught middle school English in China for 3 years. She is a passionate teacher and loves using her energy and creativity to make the classroom an exciting and engaging place for students.
Rui Cao
Director of Admissions and Administration
Dr. Rui Cao received her B.A. in English for Foreign Trade from NanKai University in China. She earned a M.A. in English (with concentration in ESL) from University of Toledo and a Ph.D. in Linguistics from University of Florida. She leads our Adult Professional Classes at Chinese with Meggie. Prior to joining Little Tiger and Chinese with Meggie, she was a faculty member at the Defense Language Institute, Concordia University Texas, and Schreiner University, teaching undergrad Chinese courses and being the Coordinator of the Texas Learning Consortium between 2015-2019.
Yuxia Liu
Kinder Lead Teacher
Ms. Yuxia received her Masters Degree in Teaching Chinese as a Second Language from Jinan University in Guangzhou, and she holds K-12 certification in China. Before joining the Chinese with Meggie and Little Tiger team, she had more than three years of experience teaching Chinese in China and abroad. Among her previous teaching positions, she was a Chinese teacher for the Confucius Institute in Bangkok, where she also learned to speak Thai. Her passion for teaching is equally matched by her passion for learning.
Zheyi Liu
Music and Visual Arts Teacher
Dr. Zheyi Liu is a classically trained musician well versed in Double Bass and GuZheng. She earned her BA in Music Performance from the Central Conservatory of Music in Beijing, China. She has received MA and DMA (Doctor in Musical Arts) degrees, with a focus of Music Performance, from UT Austin. Before joining Little Tiger, Zheyi taught music for a number of years, during which she found a passion for sparking kids’ artistic and musical interests. At Little Tiger, Zheyi enjoys teaching and developing curriculum for the music and visual arts programs.
Mandy Chen
Subject + Assistant Teacher
Mandy Chen originally comes from Taipei, Taiwan, where she received her B.A. in Childhood Education from National Taiwan Normal University. After arriving in the US, she pursued her MA in Curriculum and Instruction with Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Education from University of Colorado, Denver. She also holds the certificate of Teaching Chinese as a Second Language, and a TESOL certificate. Her classroom experience includes two years as an assistant teacher in the GreenField Preschool in Taiwan. In the US, she has assisted in ESL classrooms and volunteered as a Chinese teacher at the Colorado Chinese Language School. Since joining CWM in early 2016, Mandy has enjoyed working with kids in CWM’s fun, creative, interactive and challenging environment.
Anny Chen
Pre-K + Subject Teacher
Anny Chen Martinez works primarily with Pre-K students in the Little Tiger and Chinese with Meggie communities. She was a Montessori guide and an instructor for online Mandarin courses before she joining the LT and CWM teaching team. Prior to her teaching career, she was based in China and worked as head of Asian market expansion for a large clothing retailer. She received her BA in International Trade from Tunghai University, Taiwan, in 2004. Between 2013 and 2014, she was awarded a scholarship in the EMBA program at Hult International School. In 2016, she received her certificates in TCSOL (Teaching Chinese to Speakers Of Other Language) and EDI (Teaching Chinese as a Foreign Language). She believes that a relaxed approach, well-designed curriculum, and clear teaching methods will help any person master a new language.
Sharon Lin
Elementary Teacher
Sharon works with Little Tiger’s elementary students in a range of subjects. Before beginning her career in education, Sharon Lin received her Master’s Degree in Landscape Architecture from Harvard University, and later worked as a landscape designer in Taipei, Taiwan. While in Taipei, she co-founded and led a TESL after-school program for eight years. After arriving in Texas in 2017, Sharon taught Chinese courses in Eanes ISD before joining the CWM/Little Tiger team. She holds certificates for TCSL from National Taiwan Normal University, and LOTE Chinese writing and oral proficiency from ACTFL. Sharon is passionate about using pedagogical methods grounded in science to create fun and effective learning experiences.