My research and teaching expertise lies in the areas of language learner strategies, second language vocabulary learning and teaching, intercultural communication, and language learner/teacher psychology.

I joined the University of Edinburgh as Teaching Fellow in August 2021. Previously, I was Senior Research Fellow at the University of Graz (Austria) and undertook teacher training. I had also lectured in Applied Linguistics at the University of Nankai (China). Regarding my experience in English language teaching, I have taught English as a foreign or second language in China and Canada.

I have a longstanding interest in international students’ intercultural experiences and strategy use for building vocabulary. My book (2018), Learning Vocabulary Strategically in a Study Abroad Context (published by Palgrave Macmillan) applies a close-up lens to the process of strategic vocabulary learning in study abroad contexts and offers novel insights into the flexibility and adaptability of strategy use within and across situations. I work with my colleague Andrew Cohen on a series of projects on the functions of language learner strategies, strategies for vocabulary fine-tuning, and vocabulary strategy instruction for academic writing.

I am currently developing new interests in the psychological dimension of language learning and teaching, especially learner engagement, self-regulation, and teacher wellbeing. Additionally, working with my colleagues at the University of Graz and partners in the UK, Netherlands, Italy and Germany, I was involved in an Erasmus⁺-funded project about the integration of global citizenship and plurilingual pedagogies. I have been invited to review book proposals for Routledge and Springer and articles for journals, such as System, Language and Intercultural Communication, and Teaching and Teacher Education.