This dissertation is a combination of two manuscripts. By using autoethnography in manuscript one, this study first reflects on my learning English as a foreign language journey and the influences that brought to my life. The seven stories in this study cover many aspects of foreign language education, including teaching contents, teaching methods, and teacher preparation. Through the lens of autoethnography, I will further explore factors that influence foreign language education. Through detailed analysis, I discover language learning is not isolated. Foreign language teaching and learning will be influenced by economy, politics, cultures, and society. Based on these findings, I ask many thought-provoking questions on foreign language education, such as teaching contents and teaching methods. Manuscript two is traditional qualitative research using ethnographic methods. I use in-depth interviews to explore teachers' beliefs and practices of one supervisor and three foreign language teachers. I first present findings on their beliefs and practices in foreign language teaching and learning, including changes and challenges in the division's language education and foreign language teachers' beliefs and practices and their alignment with the ACTFL Standards. I will also use the ACTFL Standards as a lens to analyze how their beliefs and practices match with the 5Cs: Communication, cultures, connections, comparisons, communities. Finally, I will provide suggestions for future similar studies. / Doctor of Philosophy / This dissertation is a combination of two manuscripts. Manuscript one reflects on the author's journey learning English as a foreign language and the influences that had brought to her life. The seven stories in this study cover many aspects in foreign language education, including teaching content, teaching methods, and teachers' preparation. The author further explores the causes and other related factors in foreign language education. Through detailed analysis, the author discovers language learning is not isolated. Foreign language teaching and learning will be influenced by economy, politics, cultures, and society. Manuscript two is traditional qualitative research using ethnographic methods. The author uses interviews to explore teachings beliefs and practices of one supervisor and three foreign language teachers. She provides suggestions for future studies.