Affiliated Departments & Programs

Jianhua Bai, professor of Chinese, teaches linguistics and Chinese at all levels as well as training and supervising teaching assistants in the Department of Modern Languages and Literatures. He also served as chair of the department and as chair of the Asian Studies Program.

Beyond Kenyon, he has served on the executive board of the Chinese Language Teachers Association (CLTA) for two terms (1995-98) (2001-2004) and as president of the CLTA. He also served chair of the Committee of Curriculum and Articulation of the Ohio Foreign Language Association. He also directed two study-abroad programs in China: the Associated Colleges in China (ACC) Program in Beijing and the Hopkins/ Nanjing/CET Summer Program at Nanjing University.

During the summer, he directs the Chinese School at Middlebury College. He is also actively engaged in other professional activities such as organizing international conferences, evaluating conference papers and journal articles in his field, serving as a reviewer for program assessment and faculty reappointment and promotion at other institutions, serving as Senior Advisor (flagship curriculum) for American Council of International Education, chairing (2004-2010) the AP Chinese Language and Culture Exam Development Committee, and maintaining a discussion list that promotes communication among teachers, researchers, and students of Chinese.

His recent research projects include developing proficiency-based materials for advanced Chinese; schema theory and reading instruction; how web-based and distance learning technology can be used to enhance Chinese language pedagogy; the implications of pragmatics to Chinese pedagogical practice; and action research, documenting excellence in teaching Chinese as a foreign language.

Areas of Expertise

Foreign language pedagogy, linguistics, computer-assisted language instruction

Education

1991 — Doctor of Philosophy from Univ Pittsburgh Pittsburgh

1985 — Master of Arts from Univ Pittsburgh Pittsburgh

1979 — Bachelor of Arts from Hebei Teachers Univ, China

Courses Recently Taught

This is the first half of the basic introductory language course in Modern Standard Chinese (Putonghua). This course develops students' basic communicative competence in the Chinese language and their understanding of the Chinese culture. Throughout the course, students develop their listening, speaking, reading and writing skills across the three communicative modes: interpretive, interpersonal and presentational. The bulk of in-class work is devoted to developing oral and aural skills. The Chinese writing system also is introduced. This course includes required practice sessions with aa teaching assistant, which are scheduled at the beginning of the semester. Students enrolled in this course are automatically added to CHNS 112Y for the spring semester. No prerequisite. Offered every fall.

This is the second half of the basic introductory language course in Modern Standard Chinese (Putonghua). This course develops students' basic communicative competence in the Chinese language and their understanding of the Chinese culture. Throughout the course, students develop their listening, speaking, reading and writing skills across the three communicative modes: interpretive, interpersonal and presentational. The bulk of in-class work is devoted to developing oral and aural skills. The Chinese writing system also is introduced. This course includes required practice sessions with a teaching assistant, which are scheduled at the beginning of the semester. Prerequisite: CHNS 111Y or equivalent with the permission of the instructor. Offered every spring.

This course is for students who wish to develop and refine their ability to understand, speak, read and write Modern Standard Chinese. Extensive reading deals with aspects of Chinese culture and society. Reading assignments serve as points of departure for discussion and composition. Video materials also are used for this purpose. This course is recommended for students wishing to specialize in any field related to China. The course may be repeated for credit for a maximum of 1.5 units when taught with different reading assignments and supplementary material. Prerequisite: CHNS 321 or equivalent. Offered every year.

The course is an upper-level course for students at the Intermediate High or Advanced Low Level (on an OPI scale) who wish to further develop their communicative competence in the Chinese language and their understanding of the Chinese culture. Throughout the course, students develop their listening, speaking, reading and writing skills across the three communicative modes: interpretive, interpersonal and presentational. The course adopts a theme-based approach to learning advanced Chinese. Reading materials include newspaper articles and other authentic material such as short essays on aspects of Chinese culture and contemporary issues. Materials are arranged by thematic units and serve as points of departure for critical analysis of the content and for oral discussion and composition. Films also are used in this course. The course is conducted entirely in Chinese and recommended for students wishing to specialize in any field of research related to China. The course may be repeated for credit for a maximum of 1.5 units. Prerequisite: CHNS 322 .

This course offers an opportunity to study on an individual basis an area of special interest — literary, cultural or linguistic — under the regular supervision of a faculty member. It is offered primarily to candidates for honors, to majors and, under special circumstances, to potential majors and minors. Individual study is intended to supplement, not to take the place of, regular courses in the curriculum of each language program. Staff limitations restrict this offering to a very few students. To enroll in an individual study, a student must identify a member of the MLL department willing to direct the project and, in consultation with him or her, write a one-page proposal for the IS. It must be approved by the department chair before the individual study can go forward. The proposal should specify the schedule of reading and/or writing assignments and the schedule of meeting periods. The amount of work in an IS should approximate that required on average in regular courses of corresponding levels. Typically, an IS earns the student 0.25 or 0.5 units of credit. At a minimum, the department expects the student to meet with the instructor one hour per week. Because students must enroll for individual studies by the end of the seventh class day of each semester, they should begin discussion of the proposed individual study by the semester before, so that there is time to devise the proposal and seek departmental approval.

The Honors Program is designed to recognize and encourage exceptional scholarship and to allow able students to do more independent work than is otherwise feasible. The senior honors candidate works with members of the international studies faculty to prepare an extended essay on a topic of mutual interest, which is defended before an outside examiner in May. For more detailed information about honors in international studies, see the department chair. Students standing for honors must also take the senior seminar. This interdisciplinary course does not count toward the completion of any diversification requirement. No prerequisite. Permission of instructor and program director required.