Well, I studied Mandarin for 3 years while I was finishing my degree (although I will try to keep that a secret from my students, lest they ask me to explain in 普通话). I shouldn't have any problems pronouncing their names but that doesn't mean I might not slip up. If they already have chosen a "western" name and want to use it, that's fine. If they want my help, I would likely pick a name common in the U.S. without regard to religion or whatever else people seem to get caught up on. I will make my first preference to call them by their real name. I've noticed that most of the Chinese doctoral students and professors here do not use western names; they use their real name and just accept everyone mispronouncing it. Haha, in my Aerodynamics class, our professor was named Dr. Zhang. During study meetings outside of class, people would be so confused about how to say his name and would simply call him "Jayng" (as opposed to djahng). Only in the last weeks did I tell everyone how it's pronounced... which I found humorous.

Justin P.

PS - I love some of the names people have chosen for themselves.