Dr Tian Yan
Department: Graduate School of Education
Discipline: Education
Research Centre/Unit: Language and Education Network
Project Summary
My PhD research project mainly focus on Chinese English learners and teachers perceptions and practice of language awareness, translation and translanguaging.
This study aims is to explore the nature of the discrepancy that might exist between monolingual policy and multilingual reality in south China. This study is conducted in a local public school in south China, so it can provide a close investigation of challenges that teachers and learners currently face in relation to this discrepancy. In addition, examining the current multilingual situation in the participating school could present a picture of linguistic diversity in public school settings in south China. A better understanding of the current linguistic situation in public school settings could provide an insightful implication to language policymakers on national language planning as well as institutional language planning.
In addition, my research also aim is to develop a step towards context-sensitive bi-/multilingual pedagogy based on teachers’ and students’ perceptions and experiences of current bi-/multilingual learning approaches namely using Mandarin in English learning, translation and translanguaging. The results of this study lead to recommendations for the policymakers in developing feasible teacher guidance in terms of language usage.
Supervisory Team
1st Supervisor - Dr Gabriela Meier
2nd Supervisor - Professor Dongbo Zhang
Wider Research Interests
Applied linguistics
Identity in language learning
Bi-/multilingual learning strategies
Language planning and language policy
Language in social cohesion
