Faculty Publications and Conference Presentations

A phrasal verb (PV) is a type of formulaic language, which is ubiquitous in informal English discourse but notoriously challenging for English language learners. With many learners struggling to develop knowledge of formulaic language, this study investigated whether they make measurable PV gains over time and which factors in a study-abroad environment facilitated the development of PVs. Seventy-five mixed-L1 foundation students in the UK were tracked over the first two terms in an academic year. They completed a productive PV test, a receptive PV test, an Updated Vocabulary Levels Test, a language contact questionnaire, and a social network survey when studying abroad. Using descriptive statistics, paired-samples t-tests, and mixed-effects modelling, the findings indicate that the participants made only small gains in PV knowledge in two terms of study abroad. Interestingly, they made larger gains in productive knowledge than receptive knowledge, suggesting that they consolidated existing knowledge more than acquiring new PVs. Overall vocabulary knowledge, PV corpus frequency, and language contact significantly predicted PV knowledge, while semantic transparency and L2 social networks did not. Overall vocabulary knowledge and L2 social networks predicted PV gains. This study reveals that the developmenet of PV knowledge is relatively slow and incremental during study abroad. Thus, high-quality L2 interaction may be necessary for international students to develop PV knowledge in such contexts.

This essay examines the potential impact of paid-for or premium language models, where some students may be able to afford advanced models generating superior outputs while others could face inequities due to financial constraints. It explores how this dynamic can exacerbate the digital divide, challenge traditional as well as more recent assessment methods in language education, and discusses strategies that hold promise in navigating these complexities in the era of Generative AI within the context of higher education.

The current research is an extension and partial replication of Köylü (2018. Comprehension of conversational implicatures in L2 English. Intercultural Pragmatics 15(3). 373–408.) and it investigates the development of conversational implicatures in third language (L3) Mandarin. More specifically, this study explores whether learners with a first language (L1) Cantonese and second language (L2) English background are able to comprehend implied meaning in L3 Mandarin. 14 L1 Cantonese L2 English L3 Mandarin participants with a high intermediate level of Mandarin proficiency took part in the study. There was also a control group of 11 native speakers of Mandarin. Quantitative results based on a 20-item audiovisual interpretation task demonstrate that the L3 learners of Mandarin were not on a par with native speakers of Mandarin in arriving at an intended implicature for the test items. A qualitative analysis of learner responses indicates that the learners’ interpretation of conversational implicatures in L3 Mandarin, although usually successful, was also characterized by repetitions, literal comprehension, and recognition of a gap between the literal and the implied meaning, as well as unintended implicatures.

This article aims to bridge the research gap in understanding the dynamic and discursive nature of translanguaging spaces. It does so through exploring the temporal and interactional qualities of translanguaging spaces using a newly proposed space-centred systematic observation approach to analyze two cases from Kongish Daily, a Hong Kong Facebook page with 75,000 subscribers. By examining initial social media posts, responses, and related discourses at the core of the interaction and in surrounding events, we describe how spaces expand over time through incorporation of new sociocultural references. Results demonstrate how new networks of meaning are created through the expansion and interconnectedness of multiple spaces. Case 1 shows the expansion of the translanguaging space during engagement with a Kongish poem. Case 2 reveals how the expression “loong” and its network of significations developed across sociopolitical and temporal contexts. By observing translanguaging spaces longitudinally across timescales, this novel approach effectively captures their context-dependent dynamic qualities beyond static language and space constructs. It also shows the creative and critical potential of translanguaging to circumvent more powerful state discourses while camouflaging resistance. The study thus offers theoretical and methodological contributions regarding translanguaging spaces’ interactional properties. It has implications for more adequately researching complex linguistic repertoires and translanguaging in diverse communities today.

Teacher emotions are vitally important for the classroom environment and students’ language attainment; however, studies concerning foreign language teaching anxiety remain scarce. This study examined foreign language teaching anxiety through administering questionnaires to 235 in-service teachers to investigate the impacts of educational stages and teaching experience on foreign language teaching anxiety. The statistical results show that secondary school teachers exhibit significantly higher levels of foreign language teaching anxiety than their primary counterparts, especially in ‘lack of student interest’ and ‘fear of negative evaluation’. Novice teachers are significantly more anxious than experienced teachers in the dimension of ‘teaching inexperience’, whereas no other differences are shown in other aspects. No interaction effects are observed between the two variables. Pedagogical implications for understanding foreign language teaching anxiety in different educational and experiential stages and corresponding anxiety-reducing strategies are discussed. © The Author(s) 2025.

The rapid emergence and integration of generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) in higher education present both challenges and opportunities. There is a critical need to consolidate empirical evidence, existing practices, assessments, and normative discussions to reflect on the recent advancement and inform adaptation in higher education policies. Asia presents a compelling context in which to explore the impact of GenAI on higher education due to its diverse educational landscape, rapid technological advancements, and unique socio-cultural dynamics. This Special Issue examines the inclusion of GenAI in higher education in Asia and reflects on the challenges and opportunities brought about by this sweeping revolution. Ten articles in this special issue examine GenAI and its application in higher education from diverse perspectives. Synthesizing these fresh findings based in Asia, this introductory article proposes a framework of actionable strategies for integrating GenAI into higher education that may inform education policymaking and administration in the years to come.

The rapid advancement of Generative Artificial Intelligence (AI) has ushered in both unprecedented opportunities and challenges within the realm of higher education, particularly in the context of English language teaching. This article delineates seven foundational principles that aim to optimize the integration of Generative AI in teaching and learning environments. Developed from the practical experiences of frontline language teachers at Hong Kong universities, these principles advocate for a paradigm shift in the perception and utilization of AI—from viewing it merely as a tool for information retrieval to recognizing it as a robust collaborator capable of enhancing cognitive development and interaction. These principles emphasize the importance of leveraging AI's capabilities to foster a more interactive and dynamic educational experience. They address the need to prioritize AI as a reasoning engine, ensure the quality of data inputs, customize AI interactions, actively harness AI to simulate human textual interactions, and focus on ethical AI usage, among others. By implementing these principles, educators can transform AI into a powerful ally that not only streamlines educational processes but also significantly enriches learning outcomes. This approach prepares students to adeptly navigate and analyze the complex information landscapes of their academic and professional futures, thus making AI an essential partner in education. The article serves as a call to action for educators to engage deeply with AI technologies, proposing a thoughtful framework that fosters enhanced educational practices and prepares students for a digitally integrated world.

Kongish Daily, a Facebook page promoting Kongish-a creative, critical, and colloquial form of Hong Kong English with Cantonese inflections-has attracted a following in social media over the past decade. It has also sparked interest among sociolinguists interested in (post-)multilingual developments in East Asia. This study is built on Hansen Edwards's (2016) premise that Hong Kong English would gain wider acceptance in Hong Kong as the cultural identity of local language users shifted amidst sociocultural transformations. We first provide an overview of the Kongish phenomenon, followed by a qualitative study involving 30 active Kongish users from diverse age groups, genders and occupations. Through semi-structured interviews, we explore users' perceptions of language and identity. Our findings support Hansen Edwards's prediction regarding the strengthening of Hong Kongers' cultural identification, while revealing an evolving, counter-stereotypical Hong Kong culture as well as an opinion divide on the future trajectory of Kongish. © The Author(s), 2025.

This study explores the transformative impact of participatory research on the conceptualization of Kongish. A hybridized written form comprising a creative blend of Cantonese and English, Kongish is a grassroots media-linguistic phenomenon within the vibrant sociocultural ecology of Hong Kong. Our research aims to evaluate how a participatory methodology—as opposed to traditional researcher-oriented approaches where researchers remain at arm's length with their research subjects—reshapes the understanding of Kongish as well as Hong Kong English (HKE). Using a participatory linguistics framework, this study triangulates data from focus group interviews, individual interviews, and online surveys to explore the reciprocal influences between researchers and participants. The study is organized into two tiers: first, the transformation of participants, and second, the transformation of researchers. Each tier draws on personal narratives to offer distinct insights into real-life encounters with Hong Kong's written vernacular. By integrating the “lived experiences” of both researchers and participants, the study reveals how our interactions continuously influence each other's perceptions of language, language practices, and personal identities.

The present study investigates whether congruency facilitation and figurative interference—two counteractive effects—persist in L2 collocational processing when both congruency and figurativeness are present. A primed lexical decision task was administered to 44 L1-Chinese L2-English learners and 40 L1-English speakers to assess response times for figurative congruent collocations, along with their matched literal congruent and figurative incongruent collocations. Results showed that while collocational priming was absent, both congruency facilitation and figurative interference emerged, with their effects modulated by L2 proficiency. Specifically, in low-proficiency learners, congruency facilitation appeared to outweigh figurative interference, whereas in high-proficiency learners, figurative interference became more pronounced as L1-based facilitation was suppressed. These findings suggest that L2 learners initially rely on their activated L1 semantic network but gradually shift toward developing L2 collocational representations as proficiency increases, though these representations may remain weak and insufficient to facilitate collocate access.