About
Xinying (Alpha) Zhang, Ph.D., has been teaching second languages for 15 years in the United States and in China. She started her Chinese teaching in 2012 when a group of students from University of Oregon went to Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin, China to learn Chinese. After relocating to Tulsa, Oklahoma, she has worked as the Founder and Director at Oklahoma Chinese Language Institute, a Chinese instructor at Holland Hall Upper School, the East Asia Institute at Oklahoma University, Jenks Public Schools, and South Tulsa Chinese School.
She is the winner of Yeh Laoshi Memorial Scholarship from Chinese Language Association of Secondary-Elementary Schools (CLASS) and the winner of the Chinese Teacher Award in the US Heartland China (USHCA). Later she joined USHCA to contribute her knowledge and experience to the larger community. In her spare time, she translated and published a book “Train Your Brain” in 2011.
Right now, she volunteers as a reviewer of K-12 Chinese Language Teaching at the Chinese Language Teachers Association, USA, a Sitting President of Oklahoma Chinese Teachers Association, and the Chair of Beihai Partnership to serve as a liaison between the mayor of City of Tulsa and the mayor of Beihai, China. In 2023, the Chinese program at Holland Hall Upper School was selected as the 20 Most Distinguished Chinese Programs in the U.S.
Education
- Ph.D., Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin, China
- M.Ed., Harbin Normal University, Harbin, China
- B.A., Heilongjiang University, Harbin, China
Research interests and areas of expertise
- Chinese Language and Literature
- Translation and Interpretation
- Asian Folk Dances
- Stage Performing
- Gamification in Chinese Teaching and Learning
- AI in Chinese Teaching and Learning
- Chinese Language and Culture
- Asian Cultural Performances