Donglin Chai, PhD (柴冬临)
Donglin Chai received her MA (2012) and PhD (2017) in East Asian Languages and Literatures at The Ohio State University with a concentration in Chinese Language Pedagogy. A pedagogue by training, Chai is a leading scholar and practitioner of the Performed Culture Approach, a paradigm-shifting pedagogical framework in the field of East Asian language pedagogy to help learners effectively communicate with native speakers of the target culture.
During the past nine years, Chai has published eight peer-reviewed articles in international academic journals, three textbook series, and one edited book chapter, all relating to pedagogy. Since 2017 she has served as a manuscript reviewer for Routledge, The University of California Press, Chinese as a Second Language: The Journal of the Chinese Language Teachers Association, USA, Journal of Chinese Language Teaching Methodology and Technology (USA), and Palgrave Handbook of Chinese language Studies. She is currently completing a book manuscript about the history of Chinese language education in the US through the generous research support from the University of Iowa.
Over the past decade, Chai has taught as visiting or adjunct faculty at The Ohio State University, Loyola University Maryland, University of Maryland Baltimore County, and Grinnell College. Before the pandemic, she also directed the US Department of State Critical Language Scholarship Chinese Language Study Abroad Program (Xiamen, China) and co-directed The Ohio State University–Soochow University Summer Chinese Language Study Abroad Program (Suzhou, China). She also worked as a teacher trainer and mentor for novice teachers at the Chinese and Japanese Intensive Summer Program by ALLEX at Washington University in St. Louis. Since Fall 2024, Chai has been developing and teaching a dual-campus Chinese Culture Club after-school program in the Iowa City School District and building three local public libraries’ Chinese language collection.
Since 2019, Chai has been co-editing an online weekly magazine on Chinese language pedagogy through the popular social media platform WeChat. This online magazine adopts a multimedia format (audio, video, image) and its vivid presentation and diverse contents have attracted over 7,000 subscribers worldwide.
As a member of The Chinese Language Teachers Association (USA), Chai has actively participated and won Cheng & Tsui Professional Development Award (2018) and First Prize of Cengage Learning Award for Innovative Excellence in the Teaching of Chinese as a Foreign Language (2014), both awarded by the association.
Besides she also squeezed time to serve her city's Parks & Recreation Commission (Member) and an Iowan chapter of the Asian and Pacific Islander American Public Affairs Association (Secretary). When she is not working, you can likely find her spending time with her husband, preschooler, and her mom workout group.
柴冬临，美国俄亥俄州立大学东亚系中文教学法硕士、博士（2017），主要研究方向为美国中文教学史、学材研发、华裔教学、课程建设、师资培训。曾任俄亥俄州立大学讲师、格林内尔大学访问助理教授、马里兰洛约拉大学访问助理教授、马里兰大学兼任助理教授。曾合作创建美国国务院关键语言奖学金、俄亥俄州立大学赴华留学项目的中高级课程并担任驻地主任与骨干教师。曾任美国ALLEX暑期中日文师资训练项目导师。曾获美国中文教师协会职业发展奖（2018）、学习创新教材一等奖（2014）。著有国际学术期刊论文八篇（其中独立七篇、一作一篇，双向匿名同行评审）、专题论文集一章、教材三套、书评一篇。近年在北大社（2022）、外研社（2023）、北语社（2024）网络研修班授课，反响热烈。现任美国爱荷华大学访问学者、中西部中文学院非营利机构主席、“体演文化教学法”微信学术公众号副主编、爱荷华北城政府公园娱乐董事会会员、亚太裔美国人公共事务联盟东爱荷华分会秘书。
Peer-Reviewed Articles
Chai, Donglin. (2018). Knowledge transmission in the view of the analects and its implications to CFL teacher training. Journal of Chinese Teaching and Research in the U.S., 85-110.
Chai, Donglin, and Mu, Bing. (2020). Connecting language learning in the classroom with the local community: Using field performance tasks in Chinese study abroad contexts. Journal of the National Council of Less Commonly Taught Languages, 27, 33-73.
Chai, Donglin. (2020). Eliciting cultural performances at the intermediate level. American Journal of Chinese Studies, 27(2), 155-160.
Chai, Donglin. (2022a). Applying the Performed Culture Approach in collegiate beginning and intermediate level Chinese courses: The case of Integrated Chinese. Chinese as Second Language, 57(2), 119-140.
Chai, Donglin. 柴冬临 (2022b). 中国本科留学生担任美国中文教学助理机制研究 [Chinese undergraduate student teaching assistants in a U.S. collegiate Chinese language program]. 汉语教学方法与技术 [Chinese Language Teaching Methodology and Technology], 5(2).
Chai, Donglin. (2023a). Teaching Chinese heritage and foreign language students in mixed classes. Journal of the National Council of Less Commonly Taught Languages, 35, 203-265.
Chai, Donglin. 柴冬临 (2024). 基于体演文化开发中高级汉语视听说课程 [Develop multimedia Chinese language course for intermediate and advanced learners based on the Performed Culture Approach]. 汉语教学研究-美国中文教师学会学报 [Chinese as a Second Language: The Journal of the Chinese Language Teachers Association, USA], 59(1), 26-45.
Chai, Donglin. 柴冬临 (2025). 体演文化之课堂演练设计 [ACT class design in the Performed Culture Classroom]. 国际中文教育（中英文） [International Chinese Language Education].
Book Chapters and Reviews
Chai, Donglin. (2015). [Review of the book Excellent Business Chinese, by Zhongqi Shi, Lingjun Hu, & Xiaodan Wang]. Journal of the Chinese Language Teachers Association (U.S.), 50(1), 109-113.
Chai, Donglin. (2023b). Adapting and supplementing Integrated Chinese for PCA-informed instruction. In Jianfen Wang, & Junqing jia (Eds.), Performed Culture in Action to Teach Chinese as a Foreign Language (pp. 101-111). London: Routledge.
Textbooks
Chai, Donglin, Crista Cornelius, & Bing Mu. (2018). Action! China: A field guide to using Chinese in the community. Routledge.
Tao, Jiajun, Donglin Chai, & Wenli Yuan. (2021). Perform transit rail: A course in beginner to intermediate Mandarin Chinese for Korean speakers (Vols. 1-3). South Korea: Jungmun Press.
Tao, Jiajun, Donglin Chai, & Pengfei Ma. (2021). Don’t be shy–A multimedia Chinese course for intermediate and advanced learners (Vol. 1). Beijing: Peking University Press.
Tao, Jiajun, Donglin Chai, & Pengfei Ma. (2023). Don’t be shy–A multimedia Chinese course for intermediate and advanced learners (Vol. 2). Beijing: Peking University Press.
Invited Talks
Chai, Donglin. (2021, March). Using Integrated Chinese in beginning and intermediate level Chinese courses. In Li Yu (Chair), Chinese language pedagogy workshop: Performed culture approach. Paper presented at the meeting of Association for Asian Studies (AAS). In English, 15 minutes
Chai, Donglin. (2021, April). Communicating in Chinese culture at the beginning and intermediate levels. Invited talk conducted at the meeting of Chinese Language Teachers Association–National Capital Region. In Chinese, 30 minutes
Chai, Donglin. (2021, July). How to help students step out of classroom and immerse into local community? Invited talk conducted at the performed culture approach 2021 summer webinar series. In Chinese, 45 minutes
Chai, Donglin. (2021, August). The cognitive science background of the performed culture approach and beginner and intermediate levels course design. Invited talk conducted at the Mala Mandarin Chinese online lecture series. In Chinese, 3-minute highlight
Chai, Donglin. (2023, November). Developing multimedia Chinese course for intermediate and advanced learners. Talk invited by Wuhan University. In Chinese, 15 minutes.
Chai, Donglin. (2023, December). Developing multimedia Chinese course for intermediate and advanced learners. Talk invited by the Foreign Language Teaching and Research Press. In Chinese, 80 minutes.
Chai, Donglin. (2024, August). Individualized instruction and online course design. Talk invited by the Beijing Language and Culture University Press. In Chinese, 60 minutes.
Teacher Training Projects
Yu, Li, Donglin Chai, & Nan Meng. (2020a). Zhenshi ketang zhong de tiyan wenhua: Ceshi pinggu 真实课堂中的体演文化：测试评估 [PCA assessment at the beginning and intermediate levels]. Columbus, OH: National East Asian Languages Resource Center at the Ohio State University.
Yu, Li, Donglin Chai, & Nan Meng. (2020b). Zhenshi ketang zhong de tiyan wenhua: Chuji zhongji ketang jiaoxue jiqiao 真实课堂中的体演文化：初级、中级课堂教学技巧 [PCA basic teaching techniques at the beginning and intermediate levels]. Columbus, OH: National East Asian Languages Resource Center at the Ohio State University.
Walker, Galal, Li Yu, Nan Meng, Donglin Chai, Junqing Jia, & Shaun Newcomer. (2019). Wu laoshi shuo tiyan: Lilun kuangjia 吴老师说体演：理论框架 [The Performed Culture Approach: Theoretical concepts]. Columbus, OH: National East Asian Languages Resource Center at the Ohio State University.
Chai, Donglin, & Hanning Chen. (2017). Performed culture in the classroom. Columbus, OH: National East Asian Languages Resource Center at the Ohio State University.