By Isabella Genovese
When UC Santa Barbara students sign up for Chinese class with Shu-Chuan (Bella) Chen, it’s not just the language they get—it’s a taste of Chinese culture, too. From a tea time celebration of the Moon Festival to calligraphy class for Chinese New Year to eating tang yuan—sweet rice balls—in honor of the Lantern Festival, Chen strives to immerse her students in the culture.
After graduating from Taiwan’s National Open University in her early 20s, Chen started teaching Mandarin to foreign businessmen staying in her hometown: Taipei. Captivated by the job, she expanded her clientele to include Japanese and French students, showing them around the city and introducing its culture.
Seeking a higher education, she applied for National Taiwan Normal University’s graduate program for teaching Chinese as a foreign language. Just a few years later, she was selected for an opening at UCSB’s Department of East Asian Language and Cultural Studies to teach Chinese.
Shu-Chuan (Bella) Chen at her office desk.
Chen has now lectured at UCSB for 18 years, and is the coordinator for the East Asian Studies department’s Chinese Program. She receives praise from students for her ability to make learning Mandarin exciting, interactive, and culturally immersive. In a recent interview she spoke about drawing on past city explorations with students in Taipei and other experiences that enable her students to access Chinese culture from afar.
Q: What do you enjoy most about teaching Chinese?
Shu-Chuan (Bella) Chen with her students at a 2023 Chinese New Year event
A: Language teachers are unique. [Language] is different from the content courses. Language is not only a tool, but it also serves as communication. There’s also the cultural aspect: knowing about how people think is a good way to connect with them.
Q: Why do you emphasize cultural immersion beyond the language curriculum?
A: Because learning hours constrict, we cannot do much in classrooms. That’s why I put us out of the classroom. Especially in the U.S., we need to create that kind of environment so that students immerse in [Chinese] culture. That’s part of the challenge of teaching Chinese abroad versus in Taiwan.
We focus on authentic materials and an authentic cultural experience. I think it’s important to bring the culture and have students experience it. That’s why I organize all of these cultural events, especially for the festivals and holidays and, of course, a focus on food.
Q: In what ways do you bring Chinese culture to students outside of the classroom?
A: I started organizing a hotpot dinner maybe 10 years ago. Students loved it and it became a tradition. Another event this quarter will be students playing Chinese board games such as mahjong and Chinese chess.
Shu-Chuan (Bella) Chen’s students making scallion pancakes.
In Fall Quarter, we have a tea time party to welcome students. We also have a Chinese New Year celebration, where students can do a performance, which is a special experience for them. We organize the Lantern Festival at the end of February where we do lantern paintings. The most recent event was scallion pancake making.
We also have a biweekly Chinese corner to let the Chinese learners chat with native speakers. I recruit volunteers—international students from China—to come and talk to learners. I think it’s a good way to have an exchange; we need [Chinese language students] to have the chance to talk, practice, and have fun.
Q: What hopes do you have for the future of UCSB’s East Asian Language and Cultural Studies?
A: We hope that our program will continue to grow so that students can enrich their lives with various Chinese elements. Now, it’s a little bit downsized because of the relationship between China and the U.S. Our enrollment has been affected a lot. I hope we can build a bridge by having more students know Chinese, learn more about China, and help make peace with two countries.
Isabella Genovese is a third year UC Santa Barbara student majoring in Global Studies and Environmental Studies.