Dr. Chen-Lin, recently named one of the best teachers in the U.S., teaches one of her many Chinese classes.

On Thursday, September 25th, Dr. Carol Chen-Lin received the U.S. Department of Education’s 2008 American Stars of Teaching Award along with four other teachers at a conference in Washington, D.C. The U.S. Department of Education cites the recipients of this award as teachers who are “improving student achievement, increasing opportunities for students, and using innovative strategies.”

Dr. Chen-Lin built Choate’s current 120-student Chinese education program from the ground up eleven years ago and was the only Chinese teacher at the school for eight years. She has worked with the College Board and other educational programs across the country. She established Choate’s academic term and summer abroad programs in China as well. Consistent themes in Dr. Chen-Lin’s philosophy are exposure to “target language [and] target culture,” and the importance of language to “extend your horizons [of] thinking, not just communication.”

Dr. Chen-Lin says, “I feel like I am representing [the work of] the whole department.” She is particularly proud of the international travel opportunities for students of Chinese. “Our programs not only help our students learn the language, but they also become aware of how different cultures and countries work together on the ever-smaller global stage,” she notes. As Charlie Long explains, “Dr. Chen-Lin’s programs have opened the eyes for many students to the world.” Both programs include several weeks during which students live with a Chinese host family, which is “[the] part we are really proud of,” because it is so “difficult to replace and [allows students to] experience first-hand the cultural differences and hopefully affect the way they see the world.” Not only does Dr. Chen-Lin help handpick the host families, but she also instructs them on how to allow guests to “witness everyday normal family life.”

Dr. Chen-Lin is an officer and former president of CLASS (Chinese Language Association for Secondary-Elementary Schools), a non-profit organization working to advance Chinese education in the United States. CLASS is part of the ACTFL (American Council on Teaching Foreign Languages), which has run some of the United States government-sponsored STARTALK intensive language programs. Choate’s STARTALK chapter, which Chen-Lin coordinates, gives students the opportunity to experience the Chinese language and culture. The Connecticut-area program provides forty scholarships for students to study Chinese at a summer camp at Choate. The camp incorporates elements of Chinese culture, such as dumpling making and calligraphy, and the instructors insist on heavy use of the target language. Gabrielle Siegel ’10, a STARTALK 2007 participant, said, “It opened up my eyes to the world of Chinese culture, and it was such a rewarding experience—both in learning the language [and] working with such great people.”

According to Language department head Katharine Jewett, “Ms. Chen-Lin’s presence in the department has been a boost to the teaching of all languages because she shares her knowledge of teaching trends at the national level in department discussions.” Dr. Chen-Lin has taught all six levels of Chinese: “I can see the whole picture. I return to teaching a level, and I know what has been taught [in the previous level] and what to foresee [in the next level].” This year, Dr. Chen-Lin teaches the 300, 350 Honors, and 550 AP levels. She enjoys the level three classes because students take the proficiency test that year, an “important juncture” in their education. Dr. Chen-Lin, an AP grader, also enjoys the AP class because of its nationwide curriculum and the fact that its advanced students have “almost unlimited [talks] about different topics.” Former student Matthew Cheng ’10 reminisces about his AP experience with Dr. Chen-Lin: “I’d always look forward to her class… I really miss it.”

Current level three student Chip Lebovitz ’10 states, “The fact that she forces us to always speak Chinese in all aspect[s] of class has been more helpful to my Chinese than my last two years combined.” Sabrina Shin ’10 says, “The great thing about her Chinese class is that not only does she teach us the language itself, but she incorporates the Chinese culture to enhance our understanding of the language.”