Chinese

Xiaonan Chu

Xiaonan Chu

Adjunct Lecturer in Chinese

Office: 510 Kent Hall
Office Hours: M, W, Th 10:20–11:20 a.m.
Email: xc2375@columbia.edu

Educational Background

MA: Bilingual and Bicultural Education, Teachers College, Columbia University
Certificate: Teaching Chinese to Speakers of Other Languages (TCSOL), Teachers College, Columbia University
MA: English Literature, China University of Petroleum
BA: English, Changchun University of Science and Technology

Classes Taught

CHNS UN1111 FIRST YEAR CHINESE W I
CHNS UN1112 FIRST YEAR CHINESE W II

Research Interests

Second Language Acquisition
Chinese Language Pedagogy
Language Input and Learner Engagement
Differentiated Language Instruction
AI-Supported Language Learning
Curriculum Development

Bio

Xiaonan Chu began teaching as an adjunct Chinese language instructor at Columbia University in Fall 2025. She previously served as a Teaching Associate in Chinese at Columbia and has taught Chinese and English in both the United States and China. Her experience also includes curriculum development, teacher education, and interdisciplinary program design. Her current interests center on responsive language-learning ecologies that integrate rich and comprehensible input, meaningful communication, differentiated pathways, learner agency, and AI-supported learning. She is particularly interested in how language curricula can respond to learners’ diverse linguistic backgrounds, cognitive strengths, and developmental needs.

Publications

Chu, Xiaonan. “On a Contrastive Method of Teaching Culture in ELT Classroom for College-Level Students.” Higher Education of Social Science, 3(3), 2012.

Chu, Xiaonan, and Xiuhua Wang. “Characteristic Analysis of Mandarin Chinese From a Cultural Perspective.” Studies in Literature and Language, 7(2), 2013.

Book chapter in preparation (co-author): Interdisciplinary theme-based learning for K–12 educators in China.

Ling Yan

Ling Yan

Senior Lecturer in Chinese

Office: 512 Kent Hall
Office Hours: TR 11:15am-12:45pm
Phone: (212) 854-3594
Email: ly2131@columbia.edu

Educational Background

PhD: Linguistics, University of Kansas (2005)
MA: Applied Linguistics, Northwestern Polytechnical University (1996)
BA: British Literature, Northwest University (1986)

Classes Taught

CHNS UN1101 First Year Chinese I
CHNS UN1102 First Year Chinese II
CHNS GU4015 Fourth Year Chinese I
CHNS GU4016 Fourth Year Chinese II

Research Interests

Linguistics
Second Language Acquisition
Chinese Teaching Pedagogy and Culture
Syntax and Prosodic-Syntax

Ling Yan started teaching Chinese in 1999 and has taught Chinese at all levels. She joined the Columbia faculty in 2004. In addition to teaching, she also serves as the Coordinator of Elementary Chinese. Before joining Columbia, she played an active role as a summer instructor at the University of Kansas.

Publications

Approaching China Textbook (1st Year) (Pekin University Press, 2015)
“Yuti (Register-Stylistic) Grammar and Textbook Compiling” (Journal of the Chinese Language Teachers Association, 2013; co-author)
“An Analysis of the Chinese Prosodic Words in Rewritten Chinese” (Proceedings of The 18th Annual Meeting of the International Association of Chinese Linguistics (IACL) and 22th Annual North American Conference on Chinese Linguistics (NACCL), 2010)
201 Chinese Verbs (2nd edition) (Barrons Educational Series, Inc., 2007; co-author)
“A Statistic Analysis of VP Prosody in Modern Chinese Writing” (Harvard University Proceedings on New Trend of Chinese Written Language Teaching and Studies, 2005; co-author)
“The Syntax of the Ba-constructions” (Kansas Working Papers in Linguistics, 2004)

Jia Xu

Jia Xu

Senior Lecturer in Chinese

Office: 506 Kent Hall
Office Hours:  MTWR 11:20-11:35, W 3:00-5:00
Phone: (212) 854-8545
Email: jx2196@columbia.edu

Educational Background

Doctor of Education (EdD), University of Florida

Master of Education (EdM), Educational Psychology, Teachers College, Columbia University

Master of Education (EdM), Curriculum and Teaching Methodology, Beijing Language and Culture University

Bachelor of Arts (BA), Teaching Chinese as a Second Language; minor in Finance, Beijing Language and Culture University

Classes Taught

CHNS UN1101-UN1102 First Year Chinese I and II

CHNS UN2201-UN2202 Second Year Chinese N I and II

CHNS UN2221-UN2222 Second Year Chinese W I and II

CHNS UN3003-UN3004 Third Year Chinese N I and II

CHNS GU4015-GU4016 Fourth Year Chinese N I and II

Research Interests

Educational Technology

Cognitive Science in Education/Educational Psychology

Chinese Language Pedagogy

Jia Xu began her career as a Chinese lecturer in 2005 and joined the Columbia faculty in 2012. Prior to Columbia, she taught all levels of Chinese at BLCU. She also served as a program coordinator, language instructor, and textbook editor for the foreign diplomats program in Beijing. Additionally, she independently established and taught a full Chinese language program at the Bentley School in California. Jia Xu is the author or co-author of several textbook series, including the Authentic Chinese series, Chinese Textbooks for Foreign Diplomats, the Great Wall Chinese series, and the official examination papers and Chinese proficiency test syllabus for all levels of the HSK and YCT exams. At Columbia, she has taught Chinese from the first through the fourth year and currently teaches second-year and third-year Chinese. Jia Xu also serves as the third-year Chinese (humanities) coordinator and program coordinator for teaching associates (TAs) in EALAC.

Publications

Authentic Chinese (Volume II). Textbook. (Phoenix Tree Publishing Inc., 2024; co-author) 

Authentic Chinese (Volume I). Textbook. (Phoenix Tree Publishing Inc., 2023; co-author)  

Authentic Chinese (Volume I). Workbook. (Phoenix Tree Publishing Inc., 2023; co-author)

Teaching Standards, Approaches, and Techniques for K-12 Chinese Classes in the US (Chinese Language Teaching Methodology and Technology, 2020)
Chinese for Foreign Diplomats, publication pending
Teaching Philosophy, Methods and Practices among U.S. K-12 Chinese Teachers (Intensive Chinese Language Educational Research, Beijing Language and Culture University Press, 2011)
Great Wall Chinese(textbook and workbook), publication pending
Official Examination Papers of HSK Level 1 to Level 6 (Sinolingua, 2011; co-author)
Chinese Proficiency Test Syllabus Level 3, 5 & 6 (The Commercial Press, 2010; co-author)
Chinese Proficiency Test Syllabus Speaking, (The Commercial Press, 2010; co-author)
Official Examination Papers of YCT Level 1 to 4 (The Commercial Press, 2009; co-author)