Der-lin Chao

PI and Project Director

Dr. Chao is Professor and Head of Chinese Program at Hunter College since 1998. She holds a Ph.D. in Applied Linguistics from New York University. In addition to teaching and research, Dr. Chao has extensive experience in managing federally funded projects. She received a U.S. Department of Education Instructional Research Studies grant to develop multimedia Chinese literacy instructional materials in 2001. Dr. Chao has directed STARTALK summer student and teacher programs since 2007. In 2017 she received STARTALK infrastructure grants to develop curricula and materials to promote blended learning, and in 2018, grants to develop a Guide on how to ensure K16 curricular articulation. Dr. Chao has been the Director of the Chinese Flagship program since 2011 and received Flagship funding to implement projects including the teacher training workshops for Flagship and Project Go teachers (2014), the Flagship K-12 blended learning pilot project (2015 to 2017), and the Global Linkage project (2018 to 2020).

Ming-Ying Li

Assistant Project Director

Dr. Li holds a Ph.D. degree in Curriculum and Instruction with an emphasis in Language, Culture and Society from Pennsylvania State University. Before coming to Hunter College, she taught Chinese language courses at Pennsylvania State University and University of Colorado Boulder. At Hunter College since 2017, she co-designed and taught an innovative course Chinese for the Global Workforce funded by City University of New York (CUNY) to combine advanced-level language studies with internship opportunities. In addition to teaching, she serves as the outreach coordinator for the Hunter Chinese Flagship program. With a strong research background, Dr. Li is key in supervising undergraduate Flagship students’ honors theses and graduate-level research projects for M.A. students. Her primary research area is teaching and learning Chinese as a heritage language with a focus on literacy development. She collaborated with the National Language Resource Center at CUNY to study writing proficiency outcomes and characteristics of college-level Chinese heritage learners.

Bing Ying Hu

Academic Liaison

Ms. Hu has an M.A. in the Teaching of Chinese degree from Hunter College. She also holds a Grades 7-12 New York State Chinese Teacher Certification. Ms. Hu is a tenured lecturer at Hunter College and has been the curriculum coordinator for the Hunter Chinese Flagship since 2011. In addition to teaching undergraduate courses, she is the instructor for the teaching practicum course in the M.A. in the Teaching of Chinese program and serves as a field supervisor. Ms. Hu is active in the development and research in K-16 teaching and learning. She was the Assistant Director of the Flagship K-12 Blended Learning Pilot Project (2015-2017) and holds assistant directorship for the Global Linkage Project (2017-2018). In these projects, she focuses on using proficiency-based curriculum and the blended learning (combining face-to-face and online teaching) approach. In addition, she led the professional development workshops to provide one-on-one online instruction to Grades K-16 students.

Bo Hao

Assessment Liaison

Mr. Bo Hao has an M.A. in the Teaching of Chinese from Hunter College and holds a Grades 7-12 New York State Chinese Teacher Certification. He is a tenured lecturer at Hunter College. A certified OPI tester, Bo has served as the assessment coordinator for Hunter Chinese Flagship program since 2011. In addition, he is an adviser for the M.A. Teacher Education program. Bo is an expert in proficiency-based instruction to push students from intermediate level to advanced and superior levels. He conducted numerous professional development workshops at Hunter and other institutions. He frequently delivers presentations on this topic at national conferences. In addition to the undergraduate program, Bo teaches courses in the M.A. program and serves as a field supervisor for teaching practicum. Bo was the lead teacher for Hunter College's STARTALK student programs for three years and is currently the lead teacher for the teacher program.

Audrey Moore

Project Coordinator

Audrey Moore is the Project Coordinator for the Chinese Flagship Overseas Capstone Program in Taiwan. She is a Flagship alumna, having graduated from the Flagship program in the spring of 2021, and has also become Flagship certified. She has participated in and completed study abroad programs in both Taiwan (ICLP) and Beijing (PIB), and was awarded the Benjamin A. Gilman scholarship, the Panda Cares scholarship, and the Huayu Enrichment scholarship. She graduated from Queensborough Community College with an A.A in Liberal Arts for the Humanities and graduated from Hunter College with a B.A in Chinese language and History, along with a minor in Japanese language.

Janet Tan

Project Assistant

Janet Tan is the Project Assistant for the Chinese Flagship Overseas Capstone Program at Hunter College. Her recent completion of Capstone in Taiwan in late 2022 marked her graduation from the Chinese Flagship Program at Hunter College, where she achieved Flagship certification with distinction. Throughout her academic journey at Hunter College, Janet distinguished herself as a Jenny Hunter Scholar and received the prestigious Benjamin A. Gilman Scholarship. Her academic journey has equipped her with a strong foundation, as she now holds a B.A. in Chinese Language and Literature and Economics with a minor in Mathematics.

Yi-Ning Chen

Project Director at NCCU

Yi-Ning Katherine Chen, a PhD from UT Austin, is a Distinguished Professor of Communication and Vice President for International Cooperation at National Chengchi University, Taiwan. She is also a Board Member of Meta's Oversight Board. Professor Chen served as Dean of the College of Communication at NCCU from 2022 to 2024 and as a Commissioner at Taiwan’s National Communications Commission from 2014 to 2018. She has spoken at various regulatory forums and international academic conferences on topics like internet user behavior and pay TV vs. OTT TV regulation. From 2010 to 2014, she was Associate Dean of the College of Communication and Vice Chair of the Chinese Communication Society. She has served on review committees for Taiwan’s Ministry of Science and Technology and Hong Kong’s Research Grants Council. Her award-winning research, published in top journals, focuses on media content effects, social media in elections, and mobile communication privacy.

Sherry Lee

Site Director

Sherry Lee is a dedicated education professional who earned her Master's degree in TESOL from Arkansas Tech University. From 2002 to 2009, she taught K-6th grade ESL programs at bilingual and local schools before moving to an international school as a Student Life Officer. She played an integral role in the development of the school system since its first year, and her expertise and experience were crucial to the success of numerous academic and non-academic events such as camps, design thinking workshops, MUN conferences, musical productions, and more. Sherry's commitment to education and her ability to foster positive relationships with students, teachers, and staff make her an asset to the institution.

Yu-Ting Hung

Student Affairs Coordinator

Yu-Ting Hung graduated from the Foreign Language Teaching Department of Providence University with a minor in Chinese language teaching. She has years of experience in school administration and activities. Her main responsibilities are taking care of student accommodation issues and local cultural learning activities such as homestays and language learning partners.

April (Tzu-Ling) Liu

Internship Coordinator

Liu Laoshi has an M.A. in Drama and Theatre Education from the University of Warwick, and she received her B.A. in Teaching Chinese as a Second Language from Chuong Yuan University. She holds a 2009 Certification of Proficiency in Teaching Chinese as a Second Language, and also in 2007 obtained Certification of Putonghua Proficiency. After Liu Laoshi completed her graduate degree, she undertook editing the achievement test for students at National Taiwan Normal University in the Mandarin Training Center, and then worked for six years at the Ministry of Education. At the Ministry, she was responsible for the support, administration, and organization of a wide variety of tasks for the overseas Mandarin education department, such as helping schools looking for cooperation opportunities, formulating a cooperation contract between schools, and implementing key performance metrics at work, and more. From her professional experiences, Liu Laoshi is now equipped with a strong teaching background and insight into the policies behind the Taiwanese educational system. She is familiar with labor regulations and the job market in Taiwan. Combining her background knowledge with her teaching and work experience, she will be an effective Resident Coordinator, capable of helping Capstone students with any issues that might arise.

Nora Torbett

Student Life Coordinator

Nora Torbett (吳蘇華) has a B.A. in Chinese Language and Culture and International Political Economy from the University of Puget Sound. Nora‘s own journey with Chinese language learning began in high school when she was able to take a gap year to study in Suzhou and Beijing, China through the U.S. Department of State’s NSLI-Y program. While completing her degree, she worked as a counselor at Concordia Language Villages: Chinese Language Village, where she facilitated Chinese classes and cultural activities to young language learners. Before joining the Taipei Flagship office, Nora spent the previous two years as an English Teaching Fellow with Fulbright Taiwan in Yilan and Kaohsiung. Nora is passionate about finding opportunities to build deeper cultural understanding through international education and exchange programs. She is eager to support Capstone students in helping them achieve their goals and have enriching experiences in Taiwan.

Fuxiong Yang

General Affairs Coordinator

Yang Fuxiong, a graduate of WuFeng University's Department of Fire Science, previously held an executive role in general affairs at POU CHEN GROUP's Vietnam branch from 2016 to 2023. In this capacity, his responsibilities included the establishment and maintenance of the park surveillance system, security management, maintenance of fire systems and supervision of the fire brigade, management of foreign executive dormitories and daily living arrangements, oversight of the central kitchen for employees, management of outsourced services, maintenance of park greenery, operation of medical stations, and management of company and outsourced vehicle fleets, as well as procurement and contract acceptance for general affairs projects. He is currently employed at the U.S. Language Flagship Overseas Center in Taiwan, where he is responsible for students' on- and off-campus dormitories and general affairs.

Si-Ping Wang

Media and editorial staff

Si-Ping Wang holds a degree from the Department of Radio & Television at National Chengchi University (NCCU). Her professional journey includes several years of experience in film editing, which she gained during her tenure at an e-commerce company. There, she developed expertise in filming, editing, and photography. Currently, Si-Ping is responsible for various aspects of her role, which include filmmaking, design-related tasks, and assisting with student affairs. While actively contributing to student activities, she dedicates herself to the meticulous editing of pictures and videos to create meaningful records for students' benefit.

Sun-Li Chi

Full-time Faculty & Academic Coordinator

Chi Laoshi (Mr. Sun-Li Chi) has an M.A. in teaching Chinese as a Second Language from National Taiwan Normal University. His thesis focused on persuasive strategies in Chinese academic writing. He has taught in the Critical Language Scholarship and Taiwan Intensive Summer Language Program at National Cheng Kung University (2017-2018), the regular Chinese language program at Tamkang University (2018), and the regular and intensive program at the Mandarin Training Center at National Taiwan Normal University (2018-2021). Chi Laoshi received a Certificate of Qualification to teach Mandarin from the Taiwan Ministry of Education in 2016. He has experience in teaching teenagers, adults and online classes.

Shiang-Han Lin

Full-time Faculty & Assistant Academic Coordinator

Shiang-Han Lin has an M.A. in teaching Chinese as a Second Language from National Taiwan Normal University. She has taught at the Witten-Herdecke University in Germany (2016-2017), the regular Chinese language program at Shih-Chien University (2017-2020), and at the intensive Chinese language program Princeton in Beijing (2018/2019). She was also a visiting lecturer at the University of British Columbia in Canada (2021-2022).

Shu-Wan Chang

Full-time Faculty

Ms. Chang holds an M.A. from the School of Chinese as a Second Language at Peking University (2015). She has participated in several summer programs from the Overseas Community Affairs Council (2012 and 2019), worked as an elementary Mandarin/Homeroom/American Social Science teacher at Wesley International School in Thailand (2019-2021), taught cadets from the United States Military Academy (West Point) at National Chengchi University (2021-2022), and taught at the American Institute in Taiwan (2022-2023). She is confident that her experience working at the American Institute in Taiwan will be of great benefit to the students in the Language Flagship Program.

Cin-Hua Chen

Full-time Faculty

Ms. Chen holds an M.A. in Teaching Chinese as a Second Language from National Taiwan Normal University, along with a Certificate of Qualification to teach Mandarin issued by the Taiwan Ministry of Education. During the 2022-2023 academic year, she served as a Fulbright Foreign Language Teaching Assistant at the University of Notre Dame in the United States. She completed her internships in a Mandarin two-way immersion program at a public elementary school in San Francisco and Taipei American School, where she worked with children. She also provided one-on-one online instruction to adult students from Middlebury Summer Chinese School in 2021. Additionally, she taught in the American Councils’ Taiwan Intensive Summer Language Program at Tamkang University in 2024 and gained experience working with study groups from Sungkyunkwan University in 2023 and the University of Minnesota in 2024. Furthermore, she was a drill instructor at Harvard Taipei Academy’s Summer Intensive Program in both 2023 and 2024, where she was dedicated to improving pre-advanced and advanced-level students' Mandarin skills in all aspects.

Yi Chen

Full-time Faculty

Yi (Norris) Chen has an M.A. in Teaching Chinese as a Second Language from National Cheng-chi University in Taipei, Taiwan. As a Foreign Language Teaching Assistant of Fulbright, he went to Western Kentucky University in the United States to teach Chinese during the academic year of 2016-17. He also headed for Thailand to teach Chinese heritage students at Jian-Hua Comprehensive High School (2018-19). His teaching experience is not confined to Chinese as a Foreign Language (CFL), as he has taught Chinese at Feng Chia University in Taichung, Taiwan (2017-18, 2019-21). Before joining the Chinese Flagship Overseas Capstone Program in Taiwan, he taught non-heritage and heritage Chinese courses as visiting lecturer at the Chinese Language Program in the Department of Asian Studies at the University of British Columbia in Canada (2021-23).

Chao-Yi Hu

Full-time Faculty

Chao-Yi Hu holds an M.A. in Chinese literature at National Tsing Hua University (Hsinchu, Taiwan) and a Certification of Proficiency in teaching Chinese as a second language. Her master’s thesis focused on the relationship between language and thoughts. She worked as a visiting Chinese instructor in the United States Military Academy at West Point (2020) and taught cadets from the U.S. army, navy, and air force academy at National Tsing Hua University (2020-2023). With her academic and working backgrounds, she is competent to improve advanced-level students’ written language proficiency by emphasizing coherence in sentences and article structure, enhancing students’ skills of advanced written language and oral expression regarding complex concepts, and connecting the classic language and culture in literature.

Shih Yi Hua

Full-time Faculty

Shih Yi Hua obtained a Master's degree in Chinese literature from National Chengchi University in Taiwan. During her undergraduate studies, she majored in Chinese literature and minored in Japanese, while also completing programs in Teaching Chinese as a Second Language and Secondary Education. After graduation, she obtained certifications in Teaching Chinese as a Foreign Language and a secondary school teaching license. She was a Fulbright Foreign Language Teaching Assistant (FLTA) at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles for the 2022-2023 academic year. In the 2023-2024 academic year, she served as a Chinese instructor in Fulbright CLEA (The Critical Language Enhancement Award), teaching American scholarship students who have come to Taiwan to pursue graduate studies. She also teaches Chinese at Ming Chuan University and National Taipei University of Education, with students ranging from high school to university level. In the summer of 2024, she served as a Chinese teacher at Harvard Taipei Academy.

Yu-Ting Jian

Full-time Faculty

Ms. Jian holds an M.A. in Teaching Chinese as a Second Language from Chung Yuan Christian University, as well as a Certificate of Proficiency for Teaching Chinese as a Second/Foreign Language issued by the Ministry of Education in Taiwan. She also holds a teaching certificate in junior high and senior secondary schools. Her master's thesis focused on teaching Chinese for content and language-integrated learning. She has worked as a tutor for the Chinese Flagship Program at Indiana University (2021-2022) and as a drill instructor and skills trainer at the Hamilton Lugar School's 2022 Summer Language Workshop. Additionally, she has taught at Tamkang University's OCAC Language Study Program (2021), Chung Yuan Christian University's Chinese Language and Culture Experience Program (2021), and served as a language tutor at Dan Kook University (2019–2020).

Min Lee

Full-time Faculty

Min Lee received her M.A. in Teaching Chinese as a Second Language from the National Taiwan Normal University. Her research focused on how topics can be introduced naturally in Chinese dialogues and how teachers can improve their questioning skills with it. She has taught students of different levels and backgrounds in Taiwan and overseas. Her recent experiences include teaching graduate students as an online Chinese teacher at Palacky University (2020) and Duke University (2021). She has also worked at the Middlebury Chinese Summer School (2021-2024), teaching various types of courses to intermediate and advanced learners, and received OPI training while working there. Min Lee has also worked as a visiting scholar at the University of Edinburgh, UK (2022-2024). During her visit, she taught spoken Chinese, reading, traditional Chinese, and Chinese literature to students from beginner to advanced levels and managed a study abroad program in Taiwan.

Shaowei Liao

Full-time Faculty

Mr. Liao has an M.A. in Teaching Chinese as a Second Language from National Taiwan Normal University, and a Certification of Proficiency in teaching Chinese as a second language. His master’s thesis focused on teaching Chinese for specific purposes and corpus analysis. He has taught at National Taiwan Normal University OCAC Language Study Program (2021), and Shih Chien University OCAC Language Study Program (2018). Prior to that, Mr. Liao studied at the Department of Chinese Literature and did teaching internships at National Cheng Kung University (2017). While obtaining his B.A., Mr. Liao taught in the Taiwan-United States Sister Relations Alliance program (2016), and at the Nanzan University Chinese Language and Culture Immersion Program (2016) as a one-on-one tutor.

Chien-Yu Lin

Full-time Faculty

Chien-Yu Lin received her M.A. in Teaching Chinese as a Second Language from National Chengchi University in Taipei, Taiwan, with a research focus on psycholinguistics, particularly in the processing of Chinese nominal metaphors. She also holds the Certificate of Qualification to teach Mandarin Chinese as a foreign language.

Chien-Yu served as a Chinese teaching assistant at the Chinese Flagship Program at Western Kentucky University (2022-2023) and at Asbury University for the KACLT Chinese STARTALK Camp (2023).

Additionally, she taught online classes for masters and undergraduate students at Masaryk University (2022) and at Brown University (2021) and worked as an assessment teacher at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) (2021). She has also taught at Tamkang University OCAC Language Study Program (2021) and Chung Yuan Christian OCAC Language Study Program (2021) for compatriot youth.

Jui-Ting Shih

Full-time Faculty

Jui-Ting Shih received her B.A. in Teaching Chinese as a Second Language from National Taiwan Normal University and her M.A. in Teaching Chinese as a Second Language from National Taiwan University. Her master's thesis is a corpus-based study focusing on the pedagogical suggestions of a Chinese counterfactual marker, which is a commonly made grammar error by advanced students. Jui-Ting was a Chinese teaching assistant at Temple University (2022-2023), instructor of an intensive summer program, and taught in National Cheng Kung University’s CLS & TISLP programs (2021). Aside from classes in person, she also has experience teaching online, having taught at Nazarbayev University, the University of Virginia, and Masaryk University (2018-2020).

Jo Han Tseng

Full-time Faculty

Jo-Han Tseng has an M.A. in Teaching Chinese as a Second Language from Chung Yuan Christian University. Her master's thesis focuses on digitalized Chinese characters' typing and digital teaching methodology.

She was a Chinese teaching assistant at the Chinese Flagship Program at Indiana University (2022-2023), a drill instructor and skills trainer at Hamilton Lugar School's 2023 Summer Language Workshop, a regular Chinese language program teacher and an online program teacher at Chung Yuan Christian University (2019-2023). Besides teaching adults, she also has experience teaching teenagers and children, having taught at Chung Yuan Christian University's OCAC Language Study Program and American Chiao Hsin Chinese Language School.

Hsiao-Ching Wang

Full-time Faculty

Hsiao-Ching Wang holds an M.A. in Teaching Chinese as a Second Language from Cleveland State University. She completed her internship in the UK and in the USA. After graduating, she gained teaching experience at the University in Indonesia (2015-2016) and the University in Vietnam (2016-2018). She also worked as a coordinator and Chinese instructor in Japan (2019-2022). Upon returning to Taiwan, she taught at the American Institute in Taiwan (2022-2024).

Yuan-Chia Yang

Full-time Faculty

Yuan-Chia Yang received both her B.A. in Japanese Language and Literature and her M.A. in Teaching Chinese as a Second Language from National Taiwan University. Her master's thesis focuses on the influence of Japanese moraic structure on the acquisition of Mandarin tones. She was a Huayu BEST Program Chinese teaching assistant at Indiana University (2022-2023) and was also a drill instructor of second-year Chinese and skills trainer at Hamilton Lugar School's 2023 Summer Language Workshop. In addition, she was an online tutor of the Chinese Language Program at Harvard University (2021-2024), which taught students from first-year to fourth-year Chinese within 3 semesters.

Cing-Yu Yu

Full-time Faculty

Cing-Yu Yu has an M.A. in Teaching Chinese as a Second Language from National Taiwan University, with a research focus on conversation analysis, particularly in Chinese tutoring sessions. She was selected by the Ministry of Education as a Teaching Assistant at the University of Regensburg (2021/2022) and joined the Harvard Taipei Academy Summer Intensive Program in 2023.