Hi, I’m Linglong Chen. I am a Chinese teacher, entrepreneur, and content creator. I got my master’s degree in language education from Carnegie Mellon University and used to teach Chinese at top American universities including Middlebury Chinese School & Vassar College.

I started Linglong Mandarin in February 2021 to provide online Chinese courses and learning resources to learners around the world. My social media platforms Instagram (170K+), TikTok (190K+), YouTube (20K+) & WeChat (100K+) that focus on fun, educational, and engaging Chinese learning content have empowered over 300,000 followers in their language education.

You might have some questions about me, like how did I get into teaching or, as a native Chinese, how did I get so good at English? Well, before I talk about teaching, I’d like to share with you my own learning experience. 

I started learning English as a second language in middle school. In the traditional school that I attended, classes were taught as teacher-centered lectures with most of the learning process happening through rote memorization, and learning results were frequently assessed by dictations and written tests. The missing element was that we never actually got to use the language in real, meaningful contexts.

It wasn’t until the ninth grade when I had the opportunity to travel to a foreign country, that I experienced the thrill of “using English” for the first time. It was when I needed some change for a ride in a subway station. I still remember how I stood on that platform, searching frantically for the right words to construct a sentence in my head, then nervously repeating it to myself until I finally mustered the courage to go up to an officer and say, “Can I have some change please?” It was my first successful communication in a foreign language, and I will never forget that exhilarating sense of accomplishment.

For me, language encompasses much more than linguistic knowledge. It is the means through which we make contact with people, access information, and construct the world. My own learning experiences have led me to believe the essential goal of language education is to cultivate communicative competence in our learners so that when they walk out of the classroom, they will be able to perform tasks, solve problems, build relationships, and experience a broader life through their second language.

That’s why I approach teaching by creating meaningful communicative activities, scaffolding each step to help students achieve the learning goals, and considering individual differences in lesson planning in order to create an inclusive and supportive environment. The language points presented in the textbook are just tools. A teacher’s job is to utilize the tools to have real communication with our students, to ask personalized, meaningful questions, to give them real-life contexts where they can actually use the target language to accomplish various tasks.

In addition to my teaching skills, I also have a competitive edge in educational technology and content creation. I am well-versed in a wide range of online teaching tools and know how to effectively apply them to make my classes super fun, engaging, and interactive. I enjoy creating video content to help people learn Chinese because I have a deep passion for sharing languages and cultures.

I believe language classes can be very fulfilling because they are built upon real communication and relationships. In the end, we all desire connection with the world. We all have the essential need to be seen and heard. If our language classes serve the purpose of communication and make students feel what they’re learning is truly useful, they will be more than willing to work with you and succeed.

Hope to see you in class very soon! ❤️