Xiaohong Sharon Wen, Associate Professor; Director of Chinese & Japanese Programs
Office: 453AH
Telephone: 713-743-3072
Web page:
http://www.class.uh.edu/mcl/mcl_fac_wen.asp
Email address: Xwen@uh.edu
Xiaohong (Sharon) Wen, the Director of Chinese Studies, has built the program from one elementary Chinese course into an interdisciplinary B.A. degree and a Minor in Chinese Studies.
Her research interests are in three areas: 1) studies of affective factors, 2) acquisition of Chinese as a foreign language (CFL), 3) research-based curriculum design and instruction. Theoretically, she utilizes CFL learners’ language production, and survey /interview methods to conduct empirical studies to test hypotheses and construct theories of CFL acquisition. Practically, her research findings bear on issues such as learner factors, learning strategies, and how to connect research with classroom pedagogy. Her articles present substantial studies appearing in refereed journals such as Foreign Language Annals, I.T.L. Review of Applied Linguistics, International Journal of Applied Linguistics, Journal of Chinese Linguistics, International Journal of Psycholinguistics, Journal of Chinese Teachers Association, etc. Her recent book 汉语作为外语的习得研究—理论基础与课堂实践 (Studies of Chinese Language Acquisition by English Speakers: from Theories to Practice) is published by the Peking University Press. Her research instrument has been adapted and used in other foreign language studies such as Spanish and Arabic.
She is an Honorable Guest Professor (客座教授) of two key universities in China: Beijing Language and Culture University, and Hainan Normal University. She is an AP Chinese Consultant for the College Board. She has served on the Board of Directors of CLTA for two terms and the Board of Directors of 世界汉语教学学会 for one term, in addition to other boards and committees at the national and international levels.
Jing Zhang (M.A. Peking University)
Instructional Assistant Professor. Ms. Zhang was schooled in Beijing, PR China. She majored in Literature and minored in Language and Educational Administration.
Office: 608AH
Telephone: 713-743-0926
Email address: jzhang5@uh.edu
Marshall McArthur (Ph.D)
Dr. McArthur teaches classes in Chinese language and culture. Prior to teaching at the University of Houston, Dr. McArthur taught Chinese at Rice University from 1998-2006.
Dr. McArthur earned his Ph.D. in the Center of Asian Studies at the University of Texas at Austin. He has translated short fiction and articles published in Positions, the Taiwan Literature English Translation Series, and for Rice University's Transnational China Project. He has served on the advisory board of the HSK Test [Hanyu Shuiping Kaoshi] for the Houston area, and has recently been elected as a board member for the Texas branch of the Chinese Language Teacher's Association. Dr. McArthur's current research interest is the use of subtitled videos for Chinese language acquisition, and has written a self-study manual for the 1000 most commonly used Chinese characters.
Instructional Assistant Professor
Office: 608AH
Telephone: 713-743-0926
E-mail: cmmcarthur@uh.edu
