Xuelin Bai

Research interests: Second language acquisition, Chinese as a second language, Chinese language and literature, Chinese text book editing, and translation.

Education

B.A.H. equivalent in Chinese Linguistics and Literature, Nankai University, Tianjin, China, 1982

About

Professor Bai has over 30 years of experience in teaching Chinese as a second language in China and Canada. She held teaching Appointments at Beijing Language and Culture University in China and the University of Regina in Canada. She has been teaching Mandarin Chinese at Queen’s University since 1995.

Professor Bai is the Winner of the Frank Knox Teaching Excellence Award in 2013 as well as the recipient of the Overseas Chinese Teacher’s Award of Outstanding Contribution 2011, presented by the Overseas Chinese Affairs Office of the State Council & China Overseas Exchanges Association, P.R. China. In 2009 she received the Outstanding Overseas Chinese Teachers Award, given by Chinese Consulate General in Toronto & Chinese Culture and Education Society of Canada (CCESC).

Professor Bai believes that teaching a second language is basically teaching people how to use a target language to communicate properly with others in daily and social situations. It is an integrated process characterized by the following features: teaching-directed, learner-centered, practice-intensified, and task-oriented. In addition, teaching Chinese as a second language is a great challenge since it involves a difficult phonetic system and character writing skills which require specifically selected teaching methods. It is essential to stimulate students’ passion for learning Chinese while maintaining high standards and strict requirements, as well as targeting special difficulties in learning Chinese for students from diverse backgrounds.

Teaching

Professor Bai teaches the following courses:

CHIN 100: Introductory Mandarin Chinese I
CHIN 200: Introductory Mandarin Chinese II
CHIN 300: Intermediate Mandarin Chinese