
I specialised in linguistics and education studies. Before joining HKUST, I taught language and teacher education courses at various other higher education institutions. At HKUST, I teach EAP/ESP courses to undergraduate and postgraduate students. I also teach on the MA program in International Language Education. My teaching interests include discipline-specific language instruction and materials development, and I have co-developed task-based materials for a suite of courses for senior year engineering students majoring in different engineering disciplines. My academic interests are technical communication and academic writing, areas in which I have published. I am an invited reviewer for journal manuscripts. My previous projects included publishing two practice books on writing skills for upper secondary school students, and co-leading a UGC-funded project on Mastering the Technical Vocabulary of STEM. A forthcoming publication explores the role of classroom instruction in analytical writing performance.
Professional Interests
- Academic writing
- Genres in higher education
- Language pedagogy
- Academic and specialized vocabulary
- Materials development
Scholarship
Cross-faculty cooperation in an ESP course: Issues arising in the COVID pandemic
Carmichael, S., Wu, K. Y., & Anita, C. H. A.
This paper reports on a small-scale study which investigates the effect of the disruption caused by the COVID 19 pandemic on the effectiveness of language instruction and cross-faculty cooperation for two cohorts of undergraduate students in Spring 2020 and Spring 2021. We used textual analysis, subject faculty interviews and student interviews as our instruments. The study found no significant impact on student performance from the increased time gap between language instruction in report writing and the application of those skills in a lab report written for a course in the students’ major. However the disruption of the pandemic exacerbated gaps in cooperation between the language teachers and the subject faculty. The paper concludes with some practical recommendations and observations about collaboration between subject departments and language educators.
Book review of "Grammar: A linguists' guide for language teachers"
Wu, K.Y.
Wu, K.Y. (2022). [Review of the book Grammar: A linguist’s guide for language teachers, by T. Rankin & M. Whong]. JALT Journal, 44(1), 198-201. https://jalt-publications.org/sites/default/files/pdf-article/jj44.1-reviews.pdf
Syntactic complexity and writing quality in students’ technical writing
Lee, J., Wu, K.Y., & Lee, E.
With Joyce Lee and Eric Lee.
Paper presented at the 41st Thailand TESOL International Virtual Conference, Khon Kaen University, Khon Kaen, Online & Thailand, 21-22 January 2022.
Syntactic complexity and writing quality in students’ technical writing [Journal article]
Lee, J., Wu, K.Y., & Lee, E.P.C.
Lee, J., Wu, K.Y., & Lee, E.P.C. (2022). Syntactic complexity and writing quality in students’ technical writing. THAITESOL Journal, 35(2), 22-35. https://so05.tci-thaijo.org/index.php/thaitesoljournal/article/view/261827/176041
STEM vocabulary resources: Giving technical words the attention they deserve
Wu, K. Y., Ng, I., Har, F., Lee, J., Wong, J., & Yu, A.
Colloquium presented at the HKCPD Hub Virtual International Conference, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, 8-10 January 2021.
Remote teaching during the pandemic: The case of an ESP course for engineering students
Au, A., Wu, K.Y., & Carmichael, S.
Paper presented at the Third International Conference on English Across the Curriculum, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong, 20-21 May 2021
Exploring the effect of task-based language teaching on students’ analytical writing.
Wu, K.Y.
Developing materials for learning STEM vocabulary
KY Wu
Wu, K.Y. (2021). Developing materials for learning STEM vocabulary. Paper presented at the JALT CUE 2021 Conference, JALT CUE SIG, Japan, 11 September 2021.
Helping science and engineering undergraduates to master technical vocabulary
Wu, K. Y., Ng, I., Fung, J., Yu, A., Tse, A., Lai, Hannah, & Har, F.
Colloquium presented at the HKCPD Hub Continuing Professional Development Symposium, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Hong Kong, 5 June 2019.
Impacts of discipline-specific language instruction on the academic writing of civil engineering students
Wu, K.Y., & Carmichael, S.
Wu, K.Y., & Carmichael, S. (2018). Impacts of discipline-specific language instruction on the academic writing of civil engineering students. Asian Journal of Applied Linguistics, 5(1), 19-35.
Effects of task-based instruction on undergraduates' analytical writing assignments: An exploratory study
Wu, K.Y.
Paper presented at the Second English Across the Curriculum Conference, Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong, 5 December 2018.
Teaching analytical writing: A scaffolded approach
Wu, K.Y.
Academic writing: Impacts of discipline-specific language instruction
Carmichael, S., & Wu, K. Y.
Paper presented at the Faces of English Conference, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, 2 June 2017.
Evaluating the impact of discipline-specific instruction on student academic writing in Civil Engineering
Wu Kam Yin and Sarah Carmichael
Language curriculum design for engineering students: How specific can it be? International Conference on the Development of English across the Curriculum
Sarah Carmichael, Wu Kam Yin and Joyce Lee
Designing and evaluating a genre-based technical communication course, incorporating a task-based model of instruction.
Carmichael, S. Wu, KY & Lee, J.
Designing a technical communication course: From conceptualization to evaluation. Symposium: Research into Practice in the Four-year Curriculum
Sarah Carmichael, Wu Kam Yin and Joyce Lee
Issues in Course Design and Materials Development for a Technical Communication Course
CARMICHAEL, Sarah with K. Y. Wu
Skill Smart: Writing. Vol. 2.
Lee, I., Wu, K. Y., & Curtis, A.
Lee, I., Wu, K. Y., & Curtis, A. (2010). Skill Smart: Writing. Vol. 2. Hong Kong: Educational Publishing House.
Skill Smart: Writing. Vol. 1.
Lee, I., Wu, K. Y., & Curtis, A.
Lee, I., Wu, K. Y., & Curtis, A. (2009). Skill Smart: Writing. Vol. 1. Hong Kong: Educational Publishing House.
Language Acquisition and Development: Studies of Learners of First and Other Languages: Book Review
Wu, K.Y.
Wu, K. Y. (2009). Book review of “Language Acquisition and Development: Studies of Learners of First and Other Languages”. ELT Journal, 63(1), 84-86.