Educational Background:
2014 – 2017: The University of Edinburgh (UK)
PhD Linguistics & English Language
Research: The Position of Putonghua in Contemporary Hong Kong.
Additional Courses: Sociolinguistics, Applied Linguistics, Foundational Theoretical Linguistics, Italian, Scottish Gaelic, Classical Chinese, and Korean.
2011 – 2013: The University of Edinburgh (UK)
MChS Master of Chinese Studies (Distinction)
Modules include: Advanced Chinese, International Trade Strategy, Corporate Responsibility in an International Setting, Product Development and Innovation, Chinese Media and Chinese Politics. Dissertation: An examination of Hong Kong’s medium-of-education policy with specific emphasis on the policy of biliteracy and trilingualism.
2012: Nankai University (PRC)
Mandarin Chinese
A six-month approved residence at Nankai University in Tianjin, China. This exchange involved intensive Mandarin classes alongside other international students. The Confucius Institute provided me with a scholarship for this period of study.
2007 – 2011: University of Edinburgh (UK)
MA (Hons) Japanese (Distinction in Spoken Japanese)
Modules include: International Law, East Asian History, Japanese Literature, Academic Japanese and Translation.
Dissertation: A Comparative Study of Two of Japan and Scotland’s Minority Languages.
2009 – 2010: Waseda University (Japan)
Diploma in Japanese
This was an international exchange as part of my undergraduate studies. I successfully completed Waseda University’s Japanese Language Programme and also passed Level 2 of the Japanese Language Proficiency Test.
Conference Presentations & Participation:
June 2016
University of Jyväskylä, Finland: CoDesigns. Envisioning Multi-sited Language Education Policies
Presented Work: A Corpus Linguistic Approach to Policy and the Implications of Putonghua in Job Adverts in Hong Kong
June 2016
The University of Edinburgh, UK: Linguistics & English Language Postgraduate Conference
Presented Work: A Corpus Linguistic Approach to Policy and the Implications of Putonghua in Job Adverts in Hong Kong
July 2015
The University of Lancaster, UK: 10th International Postgraduate Conference in Linguistics & Language Teaching
Presented Work: The Role of SCOLAR in the Promotion of Putonghua in Hong Kong
June 2015
University of Göttingen, Germany: Language Diversity in the Sinophone World Symposium
June 2015
The University of Edinburgh, UK: Linguistics & English Language Postgraduate Conference
Presented Work: The Role of SCOLAR in the Promotion of Putonghua in Hong Kong
February 2015
The University of St. Andrews (Scottish Graduate School for the Arts & Humanities), UK:
Workshop: Conducting Archival Research from a Distance
August 2013
The British Association for Teaching Japanese as a Foreign Language
Presented Work: Digital Learning Approaches to Kanji
Funding Received:
June 2015 – May 2016
The University of Edinburgh PPLS Research Grant
£1500.00
August 2013
Hanban Confucius Institute Scholarship
£1500.00
June 2010
Aranmore Memorial Scholarship
£400.00
Certifications:
2016: 150 Hour TEFL Masters Course – TEFL UK
2015: Language Revival: Securing the Future of Endangered Languages, University of Adelaide.
2015: The Jewish Diaspora in Modern China, Nanjing University.
2015: Korean Language Proficiency Test Level 1
2013: Chinese Language Proficiency Test Level 5
2009: Japanese Language Proficiency Test Level N2
Teaching:
2015 – Present: ‘Japanese Language 1’ – The University of Edinburgh
Language Instructor: Responsible for tutorials for undergraduate students undertaking degrees in Japanese. Classes covered Japanese grammar, conversation and listening comprehension. Also responsible for marking coursework administered throughout the academic year.
2015: ‘Issues in Applied Linguistics’ – The University of Edinburgh
Guest lecture: Lecture introducing basic theories and concepts of language policy with a particular focus on language policy in the Sinosphere world.
2013 – 2015: ‘Kanji Workshop’ – The University of Edinburgh
Tutor: Compulsory course for intending honors students on the use of Chinese characters in Japanese. Also responsible for marking coursework administered throughout the academic year.
2009: Elementary English – Happy English School, Tokyo
Teacher: Proofreading of school materials and basic English instruction to children aged 4-14.
Translation:
2010: Camera Obscura & World of Illusions, Edinburgh, UK
(English -> Japanese) (English -> Chinese)
Translation of ticketing and visitor information signage.
2013 – 16: Rabbie’s Trail Burners Ltd, Edinburgh, UK
(English -> Chinese) (Chinese -> English) (English -> Japanese) (Japanese -> English)
Translation of website pages, documents for external use and email correspondence.
2016: Hotel Merkur Interlaken, Interlaken, Switzerland
(English -> Chinese)
Translation of guest services information.
Memberships
BAAL (British Association of Applied Linguistics)
CLiS (Corpus Linguistics in Scotland)
