Xin Zhang was born and raised in China and earned her bachelor’s degree in English education. Xin came to the U.S. as a visiting scholar teaching Chinese language and Chinese history in the University of Texas at Brownsville, where she completed an MAIS in English and history and government as minors. She also completed a second M.A. in East Asian studies at the University of Arizona, where she received her Ph.D. in language, reading and culture with an emphasis in bilingual and multicultural education. Xin’s total experience ranges from classroom second language teacher in both public school and university levels to preservice language teacher educators in the U.S. and China. Her research focus is on ESL teacher preparation and development through community-based field experience. Specifically, she explores ways to build on and integrate family and community language and culture resources into English and content areas of teaching.