Research
Applied Linguistics & Motivation
Why do some learners of Chinese keep going — through plateaus, across years, past the point where a grade requires it — while others stop? My research follows that question into the psychology of second-language motivation.
Research focus
I work in applied linguistics on the development of language-learning motivation, with a particular interest in what makes motivation sustainable. Rather than treating motivation as a fixed trait, I study it as something that is built and rebuilt over time — shaped by a learner’s vision of a future self who uses the language, by socialization into communities where the language matters, and by a sense of progression that carries a learner from the classroom into real domains of use.
A recurring theme in my work is helping learners perform beyond proficiency: establishing domain expertise so that Chinese becomes a tool for doing meaningful things, not only a subject to be studied. This bridges applied-linguistics theory and the day-to-day design of teaching — the thread that connects this work to my language pedagogy.
Selected publications
- Envisioning a Successful Professional Self Through a Negotiation-Themed Advanced Chinese Course
- Chinese Language Learner Motivation: Vision, Socialization and Progression
- Creating Motivational Language Learning Experiences During the “Critical Period”
- Establishing Domain Expertise in the Third Space: Constructing Language Learning Motivation to Perform Beyond Proficiency
- Motivating Experiences in an Extended Chinese as a Foreign Language Learning Career: Identifying What Sustains Learners to Advanced-Skill Levels