As a published author and the creator of the Mandarin curriculum at PHS, Shwu-Fen Lin has taught Mandarin for over 30 years. Growing up in Taiwan, Lin dreamed of becoming a Mandarin teacher ever since she was a young girl.

“I think [being] a teacher is a powerful job. You can teach somebody something new,” said Lin. “I think [it is important that] you teach a student [so that] they can see, they can read, they can speak, they can talk.”

Lin’s journey as an educator began in Taiwan, where she taught high school Mandarin for 3 years before moving to the United States. She initially taught elementary and middle schoolers in the Highland Park School District. She ultimately found herself drawn to PHS because of the students and the quality of the district.

“I’m here because Princeton High School [is in] a very good school district ... they have very nice students ... I love to teach here,” said Lin.

Lin employs a number of teaching methods that involve simulating real-world situations to help students become more confident with their Mandarin.

“We can ‘shop’ in the classroom. So some students become the vendor, some students become the buyer ... [this is] very practical, how to shop in the real world,” said Lin. “[I also use the] bicycle-chain [method] every day. So all the students [stand] ... in the center of the classroom [and talk about] different topics every day [with a] friend [until] they rotate like a bicycle chain.”

Another particularly unique method she uses is called “ban zhang,” which means class captain. Being ban zhang allows students to model the lesson for the day, setting an example for their peers.

“All the students can become a ban zhang for one week ... to help ... the student’s self-confidence,” said Lin. Outside the classroom, Lin has also co-authored books on Mandarin, from basic levels all the way to AP. Her effective teaching style has led her to give talks at multiple large teacher conferences.

“The past 19 years ... I [gave] a lot of good [speeches] in very huge teacher [conferences], like [the] National Chinese Language Conference, and ACTFL, a very big World Language teacher conference,” said Lin. Thomas Basso ’27, who has been taking Mandarin for three and a half years, appreciates Lin’s energetic teaching style and the enthusiasm she brings to class.

“She ... tries her very best to get everyone to participate and will often cold-call on people who she thinks aren’t participating enough, which in a way forces everyone to pay attention and stay engaged ... I’ve been learning Spanish since kindergarten, and I still feel like I know more Mandarin than Spanish,” said Basso. “Mrs. Lin sometimes makes jokes in class to make us laugh and is happy to answer any questions that we have.”

Lin believes that the end goal of learning Mandarin is to connect with Chinese culture. To help spread and showcase Asian culture throughout the Princeton community, Lin established the annual Asian Festival at PHS in 2007, an event featuring performances and booths from several Asian culture clubs.

“Every year, we have around 500 people that come together to celebrate [and] learn Asian culture. This is very important [as] people need to talk to people, [because] if I understand your culture, I will respect your culture,” said Lin. “So I say language is communication, the tool, but most important that you use this tool in real life, and be able to use language not only as regular conversation, but also as a skill to develop.

Lin believes that learning a new language is not something that can happen in a classroom alone, but requires skillful practice throughout one’s life.

“I like to help my [students] become life [learners], not only in my classroom ... so they can continue to learn, even in society,” said Lin. “When you graduate, you will continue to learn your whole life. I think that’s very important.