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Teaching Beyond Language: A Pedagogical Commitment
As a language educator, I believe that my role extends beyond teaching a language. We also have a responsibility to empower students to care about the world, their communities, and one another. To cultivate this mindset, students must engage with real-world issues like climate change and sustainability, build meaningful connections with the communities around them, and collaborate actively with their peers. Guided by this belief, I’ve embraced experiential learning, community-based learning, and service learning as foundational elements of my teaching pedagogy. These approaches allow students to apply their language skills and cultural knowledge in meaningful, impactful ways—while contributing to the communities around them.
My journey of integrating climate change and sustainability into Chinese language education began with two courses I previously developed: “Voices in the Environment: Mandarin” (AMES 272T/ENV 269T), a CLAC (Cultures and Languages Across the Curriculum) course cross-listed with Environmental Studies, and “Understanding China & the U.S.: Stereotypes, Conflicts, and Common Challenges” (CHINESE 450S), a 400-level course designed for Chinese-speaking international students and advanced learners of Chinese at Duke. These initial efforts sparked my deeper reflections on the global significance of sustainability—particularly in relation to China and the United States, the world’s two superpowers and leading carbon emitters.
Course Spotlight: China and the U.S. in the Age of Climate Change
In Spring 2025, with support from the CAST (Climate and Sustainability Teaching) Fellowship Program, I launched a new course: “China and the U.S. in the Age of Climate Change” (CHINESE 451S). This course was designed to serve as a platform for students from diverse backgrounds to collaboratively explore climate challenges and solutions, while building cross-cultural understanding and communication skills. Organized into five modules, it begins by examining public perceptions of climate change, then explores its causes, impacts, as well as two countries’ responses, and concludes with a comparative analysis of China and the United States’ roles in addressing global climate issues.
Multimodal Materials, Diverse Perspectives, and Experiential Learning
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To foster students’ critical thinking, I incorporated authentic, multimodal materials offering diverse voices and perspectives. Students engaged in case study analyses, examining how each country approaches climate mitigation and adaptation. We were also fortunate to have four guest speakers, including two Chinese-speaking experts, a Duke professor, and a Duke alumna who served as Senior Advisor at the Office of the Special Presidential Envoy for Climate and now works as an Energy Policy Advisor in the U.S. Senate. These guests shared their insights in person or virtually, providing students with valuable perspectives and real-world language practice opportunities.
In addition, I organized field trips to Duke Campus Farm and Duke Gardens, where students learned firsthand about the university’s Climate Commitment, local sustainability practices, and climate mitigation efforts. These experiences connected course content to our local environment and illustrated the intersection of language, culture, and climate action.
Education for a Sustainable Future: Learning From the Community and With the Community
One of the course’s key themes was sustainability education. A central question guiding our discussions was: How can we motivate younger generations in both countries to care about climate change and sustainability—and to take meaningful action toward a greener, more sustainable future? To address this question, students conducted a case study on sustainability education and initiatives at Durham Academy (DA), where I have a decade-long community partnership. They interviewed DA students, teachers, and administrators to gather diverse perspectives on the school’s Sustainable Action Plan and campus initiatives. They also attended a panel discussion with DA students and parents, as well as a virtual dialogue between students at DA and a high school in Taiwan. Students then compared sustainability education and campus practices across the U.S., Taiwan, and Mainland China, reflecting on how education, culture, and politics shape climate awareness—and why cross-cultural dialogue is so essential.
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While I deeply value the many benefits that community-based learning brings to students, I also emphasize the importance of reciprocity—what students can give back. To that end, I organized a student research showcase where students presented their final projects to audiences from the university and the broader local community. The research topics spanned a wide range, including comparative analyses of climate policies, laws, and regulations in the U.S. and China; China’s clean energy transition, energy security, and pricing strategies; case studies on urban carbon emission reductions in cities like Beijing and San Francisco; U.S.–China cooperation and competition in green finance; climate-related public health policies; and agricultural impacts of climate change in both countries. The event was enthusiastically received, and students were proud to see their research heard and valued —while also contributing to public awareness around critical climate and sustainability issues.
Looking Ahead: Continuing the Work of Sustainability Education
Looking back, I’m deeply grateful for the opportunity to collaborate with the inspiring 2024–25 CAST Fellows and for the generous support from the fellowship program. Looking ahead, I’m excited to continue refining this course and finding new ways to integrate sustainability into Chinese language education—helping students grow not only as linguistically and culturally competent individuals, but also as engaged global citizens committed to building a more sustainable world.
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This blog was written by Yan Liu as part of a CAST Fellows' outreach effort to share resources and personal experiences in designing courses to engage Duke students across disciplines with topics of sustainability and climate change.