Na Li has been a devoted Chinese language teacher at Columbus Academy’s middle school since 2010. She’s had the privilege of teaching many wonderful students who have achieved success in various Chinese competitions at the state, regional, and national levels. She has also played an active role in the summer STARTALK programs as a Lead Instructor since 2013.
Throughout her career, she served two terms as President of the Ohio Association of Teachers of Chinese (OATC) and received the Outstanding Leadership Award from the Confucius Institute at Cleveland State University and OATC. Her passion for supporting the world language teaching community extends to her involvement as a board member at the Ohio Foreign Language Association (OFLA). Currently, she holds the position of President at the national Chinese Language Association of Secondary-Elementary Schools (CLASS).
In response to the educational challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic, Na Li, in collaboration with her core team, took the initiative to design and host more than 80 episodes of webinars focused on "Remote Teaching First-Aid Tools" and "CLASS Frontline 热点谈." These webinars played a pivotal role in assisting Chinese teachers as they transitioned to remote teaching and exchanged effective classroom strategies during this challenging period. Since the summer of 2020, Na Li and her team have consistently organized annual back-to-school webinars, drawing the active participation of over 500 educators from around the world. Na Li is not only a dedicated educator but also a lifelong learner and a passionate advocate for world languages. She has attended numerous teacher training workshop and summer institutions, consistently striving to improve her teaching methodologies.
Her commitment to promoting language proficiency and assessment is reflected in her certifications as an ACTFL Chinese Oral Proficiency Interview (OPI) Tester and an ACTFL Assessment of Performance toward Proficiency in Languages (AAPPL) Rater from the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages. These qualifications demonstrate her expertise in evaluating language proficiency and performance, contributing to her students’ growth and success. In 2021, she was selected as a Fellow of Leadership Initiative of Language Learning (LILL) Cohort 4 by ACTFL. On October 2023, she joined over 100 world language leaders in advocating for the World Language Education Assistance Program on Capitol Hill.
Furthermore, Na Li has been a frequent presenter at Chinese language workshops and national conferences. She has led sessions and participated in panels at events such as ACTFL, STARTALK, NCLC, and NFLC Virtual Summit. She is eagerly anticipating the addition of new students to the Columbus Academy family, as they embark on the exciting journey of world language learning.
- B.A. Shaanxi Normal University, China
- M.A. The Ohio State University
