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Learning a second language is undoubtedly a challenging undertaking, and the pedagogical methods involved in teaching a second language can make the process easier or more difficult for students.  Linda Yu ’12 will spend this summer with Professor Hong Gang Jin, the William R. Kenan Professor of East Asian Languages, testing different pedagogical methods for teaching Chinese. Their project, “Attention to What? An Investigation on the Linkage Between Attention and Input,” is funded by an Emerson Summer Grant.

Eight seniors in Professor De Bao Xu’s Chinese 495 course, Practicum in Chinese Language Education, have had a rewarding spring semester teaching elementary school students about various aspects of Chinese culture.  The program, which collaborates with the Oneida-Herkimer-Madison Board of Cooperative Educational Services (BOCES), is funded through a U.S. Department of Education Foreign Language Assistance Program (FLAP) grant.

Hong Gang Jin, the William R. Kenan Professor of East Asian Languages and Literature, chaired and co-presented on a panel at the annual conference of National Council of Less Commonly Taught Languages (NCOLCTL) held April 8-10 in Madison, Wisc. Jin presented “Teacher Development Programs to Empower LCTL Teachers: Issues and Challenges” with colleagues from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and Boston schools.

Hamilton College was recently named the recipient of a grant for more than $120,000 from STARTALK to undertake two Chinese language programs this summer—a Chinese teacher development program and a week-long intensive learning Chinese course for students in grades 8 and 9. The  programs will take place on campus from June 4 to June 15.

An article by Hong Gang Jin, the William R. Kenan Professor of East Asian Languages and Literature, has been published in Journal of Chinese Teaching in the World (SJHYJX), 2011, Vol. 25:1, pp.78-98. The article is titled "Ten Methodological Principles of Modern Language Teaching."

Hong Gang Jin, the William R. Kenan Professor of East Asian Languages & Literature, chaired a panel titled “Pushed Output Hypothesis and Development of CFL Proficiency and Learning Strategies” at the annual meeting of the Chinese Language Teachers Association (CLTA) on Nov. 19, in Boston. The meeting is part of the annual national convention of the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL).

William R. Kenan Professor of East Asian Language & Literature Hong Gang Jin gave the keynote speech at the Fifth Annual Five College Chinese Language Conference at Smith College on Oct. 30. Her talk was titled "Teaching Chinese as a Foreign Language: Methodological Principles and Best Practices."

Hong Gang Jin, the William R. Kenan Professor of Chinese, was invited to give a teacher development workshop at Georgia's Annual Teacher Development Conference on Oct. 17 in Atlanta. Her presentation was titled "Task-based Language Teaching in the Chinese Classroom: Design and Implementation."

Andrew Rogan ’10, Cristina Garafola ’11, and 13 students from colleges across the country participated this summer in the Hamilton-run Associated Colleges in China (ACC) Field Studies Program. The program aims to provide American undergraduates with opportunities to interact with rural children and educators in China in order to further advance their cultural understanding and improve their language proficiency.

De Bao Xu, professor of Chinese, was elected to the executive board of directors of the Chinese Language Teachers Association in the U.S. for a term of three years.