Overview
Chen has been teaching and tutoring Mandarin Chinese at the university level since 2011. She earned a Bachelor of Arts in teaching Chinese to speakers of other languages in 2012 and a Master of Arts in linguistics and applied linguistics in 2015 from Beijing Language and Culture University. She got her Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) in second language acquisition in 2020 from the University of Iowa, USA, specializing in speech processing and psycholinguistics. Chen shows great passion for interdisciplinary research, particularly the psychological mechanisms of spoken language processing such as chunking and statistical learning. She earned a certificate named Cognitive Science of Language from the University of Iowa in 2020, focusing on the study of language along with a strong theoretical grounding in the disciplines of psychology, neuroscience, formal linguistics, and computational modeling. Recently, her research interests have expanded into phonetics, computer-assisted language learning, and multilingual identities of learners. She went through two certificate programs--Engaging Across Cultures and Bridging Domestic and Global Diversity--at the University of Iowa during 2019-2020 to enhance intercultural awareness and leadership skills needed for a diverse campus community.
Current Appointments & Affiliations
Assistant Professor of Applied Linguistics at Duke Kunshan University
·
2024 - Present
DKU Faculty
Recent Publications
Out-of-class support for the flipped language classroom: using VoiceThread microlectures to boost active teaching and learning
Journal Article System · August 1, 2025 Microlectures have been extensively applied in flipped second language (L2) classrooms, but most of them stand alone as self-study materials with loose connection to classroom activities. Little is known about how teachers guide student learning before and ... Full text CiteComputer-aided feedback on the pronunciation of Mandarin Chinese tones: using Praat to promote multimedia foreign language learning
Journal Article Computer Assisted Language Learning · January 1, 2024 This article discusses whether digital visual and audio feedback in learners’ own voices improves their perception and production of lexical tones in Chinese as a foreign language. Forty-four beginners participated in a four-week training focused on the pr ... Full text CiteLeveraging affordances in an ecological stance: Reflective language teaching for professional development during COVID-19.
Journal Article Heliyon · May 2023 The COVID-19 pandemic has made a prominent impact of social contexts on teachers' professional development in remote classroom teaching. To explore how the change has altered human-environment relationships in university language classes, this qualitative ... Full text CiteEducation, Training & Certifications
University of Iowa ·
2020
Ph.D.