The Bad Chinese Teacher Podcast

Katrina Perito has two degrees in French, but don’t ask her if she’s planning on becoming a French teacher anytime soon, because she’s living proof that being multilingual can open up far more career opportunities than just teaching language. Katrina currently works for the French government as a Trade Advisor for Sports, Culture, and Tourism with the trade mission of the French Embassy, where she uses French at her job every day.

I had a ton of fun recording this episode with Katrina, because we hit on just about every practical topic and question you could possibly have about living and learning and working as a multilingual person: choosing a language to study; studying, living, and working abroad; making friends (and choosing which language to communicate with them); angsting over accents; and also that one time Katrina had to interpret a speech on the spot and received some very unexpected feedback shortly afterwards.

There’s just too much to summarize here, so dive into this week’s episode for some heavily #relatable multilingual content.

Show notes at badchineseteacher.com.

If you enjoyed this episode, make sure to subscribe, leave a comment, and rate us on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, and YouTube.

On air March 16th, 2020. Recorded March 16th, 2020.

We’ve made it to the end of the first season! Times are weird, but hey — thanks for sticking around.

I’ve mentioned here and there that I was applying to master’s programs in education this year. The decision to apply was one largely defined by self-doubt and the legitimate fear that — given my unimpressive undergraduate record, basement-level GPA, and track record of being unceremoniously rejected from every post-grad fellowship I had applied to during my senior spring — I would be spending over $1,000 on application and testing fees just to be turned down from every school I applied to.

I applied to eight programs. I was accepted to all eight programs.

I’ll be attending an Ivy League school next fall.

This is what happened.

Show notes and links to past episodes at badchineseteacher.com.

If you enjoyed this episode, make sure to subscribe, leave a comment, and rate us on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, and YouTube.

On air March 9th, 2020. Recorded March 7th, 2020.

This week, I sat down with my good friend April Zhu to talk about her recent article for The Elephant on sinophobia and the coronavirus.

Both of these topics have been discussed to the point of exhaustion in recent months (including on this very podcast), but April’s unique position as a Chinese American, Nairobi-based journalist who fluently speaks three languages (English, Mandarin, and Swahili) brings to the table some new points to consider: namely, what does anti-Chinese sentiment actually mean when Chinese people are the ones in power? Where do localized and derogatory-but-maybe-not-actually-racist terms like chinkuu come from, and how do we reconcile with their actually-racist (and actually-Western) roots? And how is a person like April — a person with a Chinese face and name living in Kenya — supposed to feel about it all?

I had such a great time catching up. and picking the brain of one of the smartest people I know, and I hope you enjoy our conversation as much as I did. If you’ve ever wondered what anti-Asian racism looks like in a place where Asians are the oppressors, this episode is a must-listen.

April Zhu (朱萸) is a freelance journalist based in Nairobi, Kenya. Her work focuses on gender, urban inequality, and China-Kenya as seen from the margin. Her byline has appeared in the South China Morning Post Magazine, CS Monitor, African Arguments, The New Humanitarian, VICE, BRIGHT Magazine, The Elephant, and others. She reports in Swahili and Mandarin and has designed a curriculum for foreigners learning Kenyan Swahili called Swahii, available as an online course. She holds a B.A. in Environmental Studies and Studio Art from Wellesley College. Connect with her on Twitter (@aprzhu) and at her website (aprzhu.com).

Show notes and links to all previous episodes at badchineseteacher.com.

If you enjoyed this episode, make sure to subscribe, leave a comment, and rate us on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, and YouTube.

On air March 2nd, 2020. Recorded March 1st, 2020.  

You had questions, and I answered them. This episode features some very unqualified responses to topics like:  

- What’s the best way to study Chinese when you’re stuck in a non-Chinese speaking environment?

here wasn’t enough time to cover the many, many questions that were submitted for this AMA, but keep the questions coming — I’ll be sure answer them over DM or feature them in a future episode. For now, join in on the continuing conversations on all these topics by connecting with us on social media! Follow us on Instagram @badchineseteacher or on Twitter @badchinesepod.  

Show notes at badchineseteacher.com.  If you enjoyed this episode, make sure to subscribe, leave a comment, and rate us on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, and YouTube.  

Connect with us on Instagram (@badchineseteacher), Twitter (@badchinesepod), and Facebook. Follow Patricia’s personal account on Instagram (@patricialiu), and check out her writing at blog.patricialiu.net.  New episodes of The Bad Chinese Teacher Podcast are posted every Monday at 8am Eastern.

On air February 25th, 2020. Recorded February 24th, 2020.

This week is an impromptu bonus episode because Patricia just got back from another Model Congress conference with 15 of her students, 10 of whom brought back awards, six of whom reminded her what it means to teach at a Christian school, and all of whom made her cry on the last night of the trip.

Patricia has a lot of feelings and is also very tired, but here’s a memory dump of the weekend’s events. CHS kiddos, this one’s for you.

Note: The AMA will be posted next week! Send your questions here.

Show notes at badchineseteacher.com.

If you enjoyed this episode, make sure to subscribe, leave a comment, and rate us on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, and YouTube.

On air February 17th, 2020. Recorded February 13th, 2020.  

Well, folks — it happened. This week, I hit one of the most important teaching milestones of my career: crying in my classroom for the first time.  

It’s been a hard week, but hard weeks rarely exist in vacuums. Like many other professions that deal in the business of vulnerable people, teaching often carries a moral weight that builds and builds over time — and it’s a weight that many teachers often find themselves bearing alone.  

What makes teaching hard is not delivering content and writing lessons; it’s being expected to take responsibility for the actions and circumstances of others as if they were your own. It’s looking at the crazy, uncontrollable circumstances swirling around you and thinking, “How am I supposed to fix all of this?”  

I found myself alone in the middle of a tornado this week, and I didn’t know how to fix it. Coming face to face with the very tangible, very costly consequences of my own inadequacy wasn’t just hard; it was excruciating. But through this, I also learned something important: how to ask for help.  

Show notes and additional links at badchineseteacher.com.  

If you enjoyed this episode, make sure to subscribe, leave a comment, and rate us on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, and YouTube.  Connect with us on Instagram (@badchineseteacher), Twitter (@badchinesepod), and Facebook.

 Follow Patricia’s personal account on Instagram (@patricialiu), and check out her writing at blog.patricialiu.net.  

New episodes of The Bad Chinese Teacher Podcast are posted every Monday at 8am Eastern.

On air February 3rd, 2020. Recorded February 2nd, 2020.

No news item has dominated international airwaves than the coronavirus outbreak that originated from Wuhan, China late last year. With more cases emerging outside of China each day, the world seems to be holding their breath — both literally and figuratively.

Adjacent to the media chatter about death tolls and rates of infection is an equally tense discussion regarding xenophobic reactions to the coronavirus outbreak. Having likely originated from a wet market in China, the coronavirus has spawned numerous alarmist hot takes that come at the expense of racism against Chinese people.

This is problematic, but it offers an interesting case study on how otherwise rational, non-bigoted people might begin showing (or tolerating) curious xenophobic tendencies when their personal health and safety appear to be threatened. After all, is there any real harm in moving to another subway car after seeing an Asian person wearing a face mask? One can never be too careful, after all.

This episode takes a critical look at this line of thinking, as well as the progressive reaction against so-called “widespread” xenophobia that, only one month into this pandemic, honestly isn’t really all that widespread — yet. Are we preaching to the right choirs? And how do we get people to listen?

Show notes at badchineseteacher.com

If you enjoyed this episode, make sure to subscribe, leave a comment, and rate us on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, and YouTube.

On air January 27th, 2020. Recorded January 26th, 2020.

I’m not gonna lie: if there was ever a Lunar New Year equivalent of the Grinch, I’d probably be it. It’s not something I like to admit, but I’ve come to terms with the fact that despite being ethnically Chinese, I don’t have much emotional attachment with a holiday that I didn’t really grow up celebrating — and truth be told, a big part of me just finds Chinese new year traditions to be incredibly hokey.

Becoming a Chinese teacher didn’t do much to help my Grinchiness towards the one holiday that all Chinese language classrooms seem to revolve around. Making dumplings and tangyuan? Cutting up red paper into indiscernible angular shapes? Singing this really annoying song? Not. Into. It.

Thankfully, in the past few years, I’ve figured out a way to teach Chinese New Year in a way that doesn’t grind my gears and also feels more culturally authentic and engaging than a random arts-and-crafts activity. But honestly, it doesn’t make teaching Chinese New Year feel any less awkward to me. How do you teach a culture that feels to be very much yours, and also very much not?

This episode is about Chinese New Year, but it’s really about being a part of the Chinese diaspora and how for us, home is not a country or a culture — it’s amidst people who are just as homeless as we are.

“Whenever I find someone who grew up in a different country than me but they’re speaking Mandarin with a Taiwanese accent, I’m just like — we are friends; we are family.”

Show notes at badchineseteacher.com.

If you enjoyed this episode, make sure to subscribe, leave a comment, and rate us on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, and YouTube.

On air January 20th, 2020. Recorded January 19th, 2020.

This week, schools all over the United States are honoring the life of Martin Luther King Jr. and his legacy of advancing civil rights and racial equity. Social justice has long been a centerpiece on discussions regarding teaching culture through authentic materials in the world language classroom. But has that discussion fully reached the Chinese teaching world yet? It’s hard to say. What does a lesson on Black history in Chinese class even look like?

In this episode, we discuss the language acquisition-based justifications for integrating social justice and ethnic studies into the language classroom, and how politically relevant authentic materials are key in keeping students engaged in language study.

But beyond that, we also take a look into the value of teaching politics and history in the Chinese language classroom. In today’s geopolitical climate, students don’t just associate mooncakes and dumplings with China — they’re also thinking about Hong Kong and human rights. How do we answer these questions ethically? Are “ethics” defined by political impartiality or an educational mission pointed towards justice?

Make no mistake: there are real risks involved that make political discussion very complicated in the Chinese classroom. But there are even more reasons that make it not just worthwhile, but absolutely necessary.

Show notes at badchineseteacher.com.

If you enjoyed this episode, make sure to subscribe, leave a comment, and rate us on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, and YouTube.

On air January 13th, 2020. Recorded December 23rd, 2019.

Katrina Perito has two degrees in French, but don’t ask her if she’s planning on becoming a French teacher anytime soon, because she’s living proof that being multilingual can open up far more career opportunities than just teaching language. Katrina currently works for the French government as a Trade Advisor for Sports, Culture, and Tourism with the trade mission of the French Embassy, where she uses French at her job every day.

I had a ton of fun recording this episode with Katrina, because we hit on just about every practical topic and question you could possibly have about living and learning and working as a multilingual person: choosing a language to study; studying, living, and working abroad; making friends (and choosing which language to communicate with them); angsting over accents; and also that one time Katrina had to interpret a speech on the spot and received some very unexpected feedback shortly afterwards.

There’s just too much to summarize here, so dive into this week’s episode for some heavily #relatable multilingual content.

Show notes at badchineseteacher.com.

If you enjoyed this episode, make sure to subscribe, leave a comment, and rate us on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, and YouTube.