About

Dr. Yawei Li is a full-time lecturer in the Department of Modern Languages and Literatures at Case Western Reserve University. Yawei received her Ph.D. in East Asian Languages and Literatures from The Ohio State University, specializing in Chinese Language Pedagogy. She has been teaching Mandarin Chinese to college-level students at various proficiency levels, in both regular and intensive formats. Before joining Case Western Reserve University in 2024, she was a Visiting Assistant Professor of Chinese at Berea College, KY. There, she oversaw and taught in the Chinese program, developed a new course on the topic of
Chinese Calligraphy, supervised Chinese language-teaching assistants, and served as the advisor to the Chinese Language and Culture Club for their culturally related events. She also has extensive Chinese language teaching experience at Sichuan University (mainland China), Arizona State University, The Ohio State University, and Hamilton College.

Yawei’s primary research focuses on establishing connections between intentions and expectations in communication within the target culture. She aims to facilitate language learners to confidently and appropriately engage in the target culture, both linguistically and non- linguistically. Her publications center on helping language learners develop effective unscripted daily-life conversations on the spot, a concept she refers to as “improvisation.” One of her contributions involves using video clips to introduce behavioral cultural nuances, encouraging learners to observe and discuss these cultural components in class. She has conducted a series of teaching demonstration videos that both learners and teachers have consistently found valuable.

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