"Some students come in with the idea that learning Chinese is impossible," says associate professor of Chinese Jianhua Bai, who grew up in the People's Republic of China. But by the end of the first semester, his introductory-level students are engaging in lively classroom conversation.

In his courses, which are taught through the Department of Modern Languages and Literatures, Bai challenges his students in Chinese culture through Chinese fables, films, newspapers, and short stories. "You cannot separate the culture from the language," he says. "In Chinese you may know what to say, but it's also important to know what is appropriate to say."

Since coming to Kenyon, Bai has actively researched new ideas in the teaching of language, incorporating successful cutting-edge methods into his classroom practice. In addition, he has used distance-learning technologies to make advanced Chinese instruction available to small colleges that otherwise lack the resources to offer it.

Although he has made a name for himself at the national level, he finds his happiness, he says, in the Kenyon classroom. "The biggest excitement for me is to see people who knew nothing about Chinese when they arrived become proficient after two years-and perhaps study in China during their junior year. A colleague in China said to me, 'Your students are wonderful-send me more of them!'"