People

Dr. Xin Zhang

Xin Zhang is an Assistant Professor of Chinese and Intercultural Communication at Duke Kunshan University, Assistant Director Language and Culture Center where she coordinates the Chinese Program. Her research lies at the intersection of applied linguistics, language pedagogy, and intercultural communication with a focus on how multilinguals negotiate identities and socialize into globalized workplaces and educational contexts. She has directed intensive study-abroad Chinese programs including the Critical Language Scholarship program, and has received awards for her projects from Chinese Language Teachers Association (USA), Five Colleges of Ohio Consortium, National Federation of Modern Language Teachers’ Association(USA) and National Council of Less Commonly Taught Language (USA). She is the co-author of Perform Guangzhou: A Course in Intermediate to Advanced Spoken Mandarin(2019), and co-editor of The Third Space and Chinese Language Pedagogy(2021).

Dr. Yan Liu

Yan Liu is an Associate Professor of the Practice in the Department of Asian and Middle Eastern Studies and the Director of the Chinese Program at Duke University. She also serves as a board member of the Chinese Language Teachers Association (CLTA), USA. Dr. Liu received her Ph.D. in Second Language Acquisition from Carnegie Mellon University in 2013 and has since taught Chinese language courses, interdisciplinary courses, translation and interpretation, and Chinese Sociolinguistics at Duke. Her current research focuses on learning Chinese as an additional language, Chinese language pedagogy, Chinese heritage language education, and interdisciplinary curriculum development. Her research has been presented at national and international conferences and published as journal articles or book chapters. In 2023, she published the textbook Modern Chinese for Heritage Beginners: Stories about Us with three other co-authors. Guided by heritage language teaching pedagogy and informed by previous research on Chinese heritage language learning, this textbook aims to inspire Chinese heritage language learners to reflect on their identities, explore Chinese American history, and embrace their cultural heritage