New joint paper on development and psychometric evaluation of the Aversion to Bowel Cancer Screening Scale

This new joint paper by our Prof. Stefano Occhipinti, published in a journal at Wiley, discusses using a newly-developed Aversion to Bowel Cancer Screening Scale (ABCSS) to assess people's reluctance to have bowel cancer screening. Based on extensive interviews with people in the target population for screening in Australia, the results show that ABCSS is a valid measure of aversion to colorectal cancer (CRC) screening for asymptomatic community members facing the decision to undertake CRC screening. This instrument may provide a more comprehensive understanding of the decision-making process for CRC screening. This paper is the first to assess affective responses across a wide range of emotions and to address the whole process of screening, rather than one single type of screening. Open access to the paper from HERE.

New blog on Long COVID: Understanding the legacy of the COVID-19 pandemic

Our Prof. Louise Cummings wrote a blog article discussing her study that used several discourse production tasks to examine the cognitive-communication difficulties of adults with Long COVID. The results showed the impacts of COVID-related communication problems on the lives of these adults. The findings revealed the cognitive-linguistics difficulties of immediate and delayed verbal recall, category fluency, and letter fluency had significantly poorer performance. In addition, the impacts on the lives and careers of adults of working age with Long COVID also need our attention. The article is published on the European Association of Language Teachers for Healthcare website.

New research article on spacing effects in task repetition research

In this new article published in a top-tier language learning journal at Wiley, our Dr John Rogers provides a conceptual review of the principles of input spacing as they might relate specifically to oral task repetition research. The article presents some of the common methodological considerations from the broader input spacing literature. The purpose of this review is to highlight how these methodological considerations have been overlooked by task repetition researchers, including in studies where input spacing has and has not been a direct focus, and to suggest ways of addressing these methodological shortcomings in future research. More information about the article can be found on the website HERE.  

New book on Data Analytics in Cognitive Linguistics

In this book published by De Gruyter Mouton , our Prof. Dennis Tay and PhD graduate Dr Molly Pan address two key aspects in data analytics for cognitive linguistic work. Firstly, it elaborates the bottom-up guiding role of data analytics in the research trajectory, and how it helps to formulate and refine questions. Secondly, it shows how data analytics can suggest concrete courses of research-based action, which is crucial for cognitive linguistics to be truly applied. The papers in this volume impart various data analytic methods and report empirical studies across different areas of research and application. They aim to benefit new and experienced researchers alike. More information about the book can be found on the website HERE.   

Dr Renia Lopez Awarded Research-Stay at the University of Alcalá, Spain

Dr Renia Lopez, our Associate Professor, has been awarded a one-month study-stay at the University of Alcalá, Spain, under their prestigious programme Giner de los Ríos, established in 2015. Under this programme, renowned scholars are invited to work with Alcalá’s researchers to explore new topics and develop international co-operations. This residency will also serve to strengthen existing cooperation. Dr Lopez has been working on with scholars and students at the Department of Philology, Communication and Documentation of the University of Alcalá for a few years now. With their help, she has led a project studying the benefits of online learning of Spanish as a foreign language when the input is presented in different modalities (video, audio or text). A second project, still ongoing, evaluates the benefits of online teaching when the teacher's grammatical explanations are presented with or without gestures. Among the new co-operations Dr Lopez will explore is a study on the affective elements of the foreign language teaching and learning process. Dr Lopez will also be giving talks to students and staff at Alcalá as well as exploring the opportunities for further collaborations and possible exchanges between the University of Alcalá and PolyU. The first University of Alcalá was founded in 1499, becoming one of Spain’s most prestigious universities during the 16th and 17th centuries. It was moved to Madrid, and renamed Madrid Complutense University, reopening a campus in Alcalá in 1975 that eventually became an independent public university. Today, Alcalá has about 28,000 students a year and just over 2,000 teachers on two campuses. Among their degrees, they offer English studies and Modern Languages and Translation.

New joint article on the influence of metaphor in news on foreign-policy support

Our Professor Kathleen Ahrens is co-author of this new joint paper published by the International Journal of Communication of the USC Annenberg Press under the USC Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism. The paper discussed the use of three between-subjects experiments to evaluate the influence of metaphor in news about foreign policies.  The results demonstrate that novel metaphors are helpful to readers processing texts about new topics as they draw attention to the language with their novelty, but remain familiar enough to generate positive affect.  More information of the article can be found on the website HERE.  

New book on navigating the realities of metaphor and psychotherapy research

This new short-form book published by the Cambridge University Press, written by our Professor Dennis Tay, discusses how to navigate the practical realities of applied metaphor research, using psychotherapy as an example. The three foundational components of psychotherapy - the therapist, the client, and the interactional setting - are discussed in turn, covering issues like ethically engaging therapists in research design and data analysis, dealing with underexplored variabilities in client responses, and managing the inherent tension between spontaneity and control in an interactional setting like psychotherapy. This book also offers some thoughts on how the lessons are transferable to other research contexts. More information about the book can be found on the website HERE.

Awardees for The Stephen Evans Best Thesis Award and Best Paper Award 2022

Dr Carol Yu, our PhD Graduate and Postdoctoral Fellow, received The Stephen Evans Best Thesis Award 2022. Her thesis's title is "Communication and Interpersonal Dynamics in Virtual Team Meetings: An Applied Linguistic Perspective". Our PhD student, Amy HAN, received The Stephen Evans Best Paper Award 2022. Her paper's title is "A Mixed-Method Comparison of Therapist and Client Language across Four Therapeutic Approaches". More about The Stephen Evans Awards can be found on the website HERE.

BA Graduate Employment Facts 2021

According to the 2021 PolyU Graduate Employment Survey, the average starting salary of graduates from our BA in English Studies for the Professions (BAESP) programme was HK$18,529, which is the highest among the three academic departments in the Faculty of Humanities. In addition, 93% of our graduates were employed full-time within their year of graduation or decided to pursue further studies. The Survey reported that our graduates were able to find jobs in over 10 employment sectors and the top 3 are: Education, Business Services/Real Estate, and Financial Institution/Insurance. This clearly shows they have a wide range of career paths. Our BA programme (the BAESP was retitled to the BA in English and Applied Linguistics (BAEAL) with September 2021 admissions) helps prepare students to become exemplary English language professionals ready for the demands of the 21st century. Our graduates are trained to be proficient and confident communicators and users of English, as preferred by many potential employers! Download leaflet

New book on Covid-19 and Speech-Language Pathology

This new book, edited by our Prof. Louise Cummings, examines the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the caseloads and clinical practice of speech-language pathologists. The volume synthesises existing data on the wide-ranging effects of COVID-19 on the communication, swallowing, and language skills of individuals with COVID infection. Featuring perspectives of scholars and practitioners from around the globe, the book examines the ways in which clinicians have had to modify their working practices to prioritise patient and clinician safety, including the significant increase in the use of telepractice during the pandemic. The volume also reflects on changes in training and education which have seen educators in the field redesign their clinical practicum in order to best prepare students for professional practice in an age of COVID-19 and beyond, as the field continues to grapple with the long-term effects of the pandemic. More information about the book can be found on the website HERE, and get 20% off for purchase with code ASM09.