Study Abroad in China: Summer Intensive Chinese Language in Kunming – Faculty & Staff

Kunming Faculty

Chinese Language Faculty

Chinese language instructors come to the program from a variety of other Chinese language programs, including the CET programs in Beijing and Harbin, and the C.V. Starr-Middlebury School in China in Kunming.

Most faculty have graduate degrees in Chinese language or language pedagogy. Some have taught at institutions in the US.

Chinese Language Teacher Training

CET arranges a variety of training programs for its language faculty at all locations.

• Workshops. Each semester is preceded by a three- to five-day training workshop led by the program’s academic staff. Teachers view videos of successful classes, perform demo-teaching sessions and engage in peer critiquing.
• Class Monitoring. The academic staff monitors classes daily. The staff guides lesson preparation to meet the specific needs of students. The staff also organizes “group preparation sessions” and meets with teachers to share ideas and discuss teaching strategies.
• Guest Training Sessions. In 1996, CET asked Dr. T. Richard Chi, then Director of the Middlebury College Summer Chinese School, to offer a series of special workshops to language faculty. Since then, CET has continued this tradition, arranging workshops by faculty experts annually. Recent trainers are:
  • Ao Qun, United States Military Academy
  • Cui Shuqin, Bowdoin College
  • Li Kai, Oberlin College
  • Liu Xianmin, Vanderbilt University
  • Bai Jianhua, Kenyon College
  • Liu Yuehua, Harvard University
  • Cecilia Chang, Williams College
• Teaching at US Institutions
  CET seeks opportunities for its teachers to fill temporary positions at US institutions. CET has sent faculty to teach at the Middlebury Summer School every year since 1997. CET instructors have also been selected to teach at universities such as Bowdoin College, Duke University, Kenyon College, Vassar College, Williams College and Yale University.

Kunming Staff

CET maintains full-time, bilingual staff at each of its study abroad locations.

The Academic Director, from a US institution, oversees the curriculum, trains faculty and monitors courses. S/he works with faculty to accommodate specific student needs.

The Resident Director manages housing, local roommates, activities and student acclimation, health and emergencies.

Staff Bios

Liu Fang, Summer Academic Director

Ms. Liu Fang comes to CET from Oberlin College, where she has served as a Chinese instructor since 2000. Ms. Liu has taught all levels of Chinese at many schools and programs, including the Middlebury Summer School (Instructor, 1991 and 1994 to 1998; Lead Teacher, 1999 to 2005), Boston College (Lecturer, 1994 to 1995) and the University of Vermont (Lecturer, 1995 to 2000). She also served as Program Coordinator and Coordinator of the Chinese Language program at Yunnan University in Kunming from 1986 to 1990 and 1991 to 1994, respectively. Ms. Liu received her BA from Yunnan University in 1986, and her MEd in Curriculum and Instruction from the University of Vermont in 2000. She has presented papers at numerous conferences and is currently working on a Chinese language teachers’ reference book.

Katherine Leyland, Resident Director
Katherine has been fascinated by Chinese language and culture since the age of 16 when she worked in a Chinese restaurant bussing tables. She pursued her dream of learning Chinese at Middlebury College, and attended the CET Beijing January Term program and the C.V. Starr-Middlebury School in China in Hangzhou in 2006. After graduating from Middlebury in 2007 with a degree in Chinese and Political Science, she headed off to Sichuan Province as an Oxford World Leadership Corps Fellow and staff consultant for the NGO Ecologia, working with rural farmers to help launch a microfinance unit and researching socially responsible local entrepreneurs. After having spent more than three years in Sichuan, Katherine enjoys exploring another area of Western China, and loves sharing her passion about Chinese language and culture with CET students.

Kunming Alumni

Hear what CET Kunming program alumni have to say! Click here to contact a program alumnus.

Academic Advisory Board

CET maintains an advisory board of US-based scholars. The Chinese Language Advisory Board meets annually to discuss curricula and derive teaching standards. Board members visit the CET sites in order to evaluate programs and, when possible, conduct teacher-training sessions.

Dr. Madeline Chu
Professor of Chinese Language and Literature, Kalamazoo College

Dr. Shuqin Cui
Associate Professor of Asian Studies, Bowdoin College

Dr. Baozhang He
Associate Professor, College of the Holy Cross

Dr. Theresa Jen
Director, Lauder Chinese Language and Culture Program, University of Pennsylvania

Dr. Xianmin Liu
Senior Lecturer in Chinese; Chinese Language Program Coordinator, Vanderbilt University

Dr. Jingheng Ma
Professor Emeritus, Wellesley College

Dr. Scott McGinnis
Academic Advisor; Professor, Defense Language Institute

Dr. Claudia Ross
Professor of Chinese; Chair, Department of Modern Languages and Literatures; Chinese Section Coordinator, College of the Holy Cross