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Dr Phoebe M. S. Lin
PolyU Scholars Hub

Dr Phoebe Lin

Assistant Professor

PolyU Scholars Hub
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Biography

As a linguist, I am fascinated by the acquisition, processing and use of formulaic language by first (L1) and second language (L2) learners of English. Formulaic language is key to the achievement of nativelike proficiency in the L2. Yet, mastery of it challenges even advanced level L2 learners. To tackle the problems with L2 formulaic language acquisition, I have been conducting controlled experiments and corpus analyses. My thesis is that spoken input and natural speech prosody play fundamental roles in both L1 and L2 formulaic language acquisition. Written input dominates in many English-as-a-Foreign-Language (EFL) syllabi, but spoken input may be more conducive to formulaic language acquisition. I believe that internet television and social media are great resources for maximising L2 learners’ exposure to spoken input. Therefore, I have been developing intelligent computer software programs which can facilitate formulaic language acquisition through the viewing of social media. The programs match L2 learners with YouTube videos that suit their L2 competence and auto-generate exercises based on the videos to facilitate formulaic language acquisition.

Research Overview

As a linguist, I am fascinated by the acquisition, processing and use of formulaic language by first (L1) and second language (L2) learners of English. Formulaic language is key to the achievement of nativelike proficiency in the L2. Yet, mastery of it challenges even advanced level L2 learners. To tackle the problems with L2 formulaic language acquisition, I have been conducting controlled experiments and corpus analyses. My thesis is that spoken input and natural speech prosody play fundamental roles in both L1 and L2 formulaic language acquisition. Written input dominates in many English-as-a-Foreign-Language (EFL) syllabi, but spoken input may be more conducive to formulaic language acquisition. I believe that internet television and social media are great resources for maximising L2 learners’ exposure to spoken input. Therefore, I have been developing intelligent computer software programs which can facilitate formulaic language acquisition through the viewing of social media. The programs match L2 learners with YouTube videos that suit their L2 competence and auto-generate exercises based on the videos to facilitate formulaic language acquisition.

Education and Academic Qualifications

  • PhD in Applied Linguistics, School of English, University of Nottingham, UK
  • MPhil in Applied English Linguistics, Department of English, CUHK
  • BA in English, Department of English, CUHK

Teaching Areas

  • Corpus linguistics
  • Phonetics & Phonology
  • Academic writing
  • Research methods

Research Interests

  • Phraseology/Formulaic language/Idioms
  • Corpus linguistics
  • Discourse analysis
  • English intonation and rhythm
  • English language teaching (ELT)
  • Computer-assisted language learning
  • Quantitative research methods
  • Statistics and R

Research Output

  1. Lin, P. (2022). Developing an intelligent tool for computer-assisted formulaic language learning from YouTube videos. ReCALL, 34(2), 185-200.
  2. Lin, P. (2021). In search of the optimal mode of input for the acquisition of formulaic expressions. TESOL Quarterly, 55, 1011-1023.
  3. Siyanova, A. & Lin, P. (2018). Production of ambiguous idioms in English: A reading aloud study. International Journal of Applied Linguistics, 28(1), 58-70.
  4. Lin, P. (2014). Investigating the validity of internet television as a resource for acquiring L2 formulaic sequences. System, 42(1), 164-176.
  5. Lin, P. (2013). The prosody of idiomatic expressions in the IBM-Lancaster Spoken English Corpus. International Journal of Corpus Linguistics, 18(4), 561-588.
  6. Lin, P. (2012). Sound Evidence: The missing piece of the jigsaw in formulaic language research. Applied Linguistics, 33(3), 342-347.
  1. Lin, P. (2023). Computer-assisted learning of English formulaic expressions from YouTube videos. In B. L. Reynolds (Ed.), Vocabulary learning in the wild (pp. 309-333). Singapore: Springer.
  2. Lin, P., & Chen, Y. (2020). Multimodality I: Speech prosody and gesture. In S. Adolphs, & D. Knight (eds), Routledge Handbook of English Language and Digital Humanities. London: Routledge.
  3. Lin, P. (2018). Formulaic language and speech prosody. In A. Siyanova-Chanturia, & A. Pellicer-Sánchez (eds), Understanding Formulaic Language: A Second Language Acquisition Perspective. London: Routledge. [Series editors: Susan Gass and Alison Mackey]
  4. Lin, P., & Siyanova, A. (2014). Internet television for L2 vocabulary acquisition. In D. Nunan & J. C. Richards (Eds.), Language Learning Beyond the Classroom (pp. 149-158). London: Routledge.
  5. Lin, P. (2013). More than music to our ears: the value of the phonological interface in a comprehensive understanding of vocabulary acquisition and knowledge. In Archibald A.N. (ed.), Multilingual theory and practice in applied linguistics (pp. 155-158). London: Scitsiugnil Press.
  6.  Adolphs, S. and Lin, P. (2011). Corpus Linguistics. In J. Simpson (ed.), The Routledge Handbook Of Applied Linguistics (pp. 591-610). London: Routledge.
  7. Lin, P. (2010). The phonology of formulaic sequences: A review. In D. Wood (ed.), Perspectives On Formulaic Language In Acquisition And Communication (pp. 174-193). London: Continuum.
  8. Lin, P. and Adolphs, S. (2009). Sound evidence: Phraseological units in spoken corpora. In A. Barfield and H. Gyllstad, (eds), Collocating In Another Language: Multiple Interpretations (pp. 34-48). Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.

  1. Lin, P. (2015). Review of Lu (2014) ‘Computational methods for corpus annotation and analysis’ for The LINGUIST List.

  2. Lin, P. M. S. (2014). Review of Götz (2013): “Fluency in Native and Nonnative English Speech”. In J. Romero-Trillo (Ed.), Yearbook of Corpus Linguistics and Pragmatics 2014. Dordrecht: Springer.

  3. Lin, P. (2012). Review of Tsang (2009) (ed.): ‘Linguistics patterns in spontaneous speech’. Chinese Language and Discourse, 3(2), 295-300.

  4. Lin, P. (2012). Review of Cohn, Fougeron and Huffman (2012): ‘The Oxford Handbook of Laboratory Phonology’ for The LINGUIST List.

  5. Lin, P. (2012). Review of Herbst et al. (2011) (eds): ‘The phraseological view of language’ for The LINGUIST List.

  6. Lin, P. (2009). Review of Wulff (2008): ‘Rethinking idiomaticity: A usage-based approach’. International Journal of Corpus Linguistics, 14(3), 388-393.

  7. Lin, P. (2009). Recent developments in research on phraseology in foreign language teaching and learning: Meunier, F. & Granger, S. (2008) (eds): ‘Phraseology in foreign language learning and teaching’. International Journal of Corpus Linguistics, 14(2), 255-269.

  8. Lin, P.M.S. (2008). Review of Hughes (2006) (ed.): ‘Spoken English, TESOL and Applied Linguistics: Challenges for Theory and Practice’ for The LINGUIST List.

  1. Lin, P. (2022). Developing a test of comprehension of non-literal language in medical context. Paper presented at the 20th International and Interdisciplinary Conference on Communication, Medicine and Ethics (COMET 2022). The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, 13-15 July 2022.
  2. Lin, P. (2019). Internet media as a resource for independent EFL vocabulary learning. Invited paper presented to Tokyo Discourse Group, University of Tokyo, 6 December 2019.
  3. Lin, P. (2019). Investigating the optimal mode of input for the acquisition of L2 formulaic sequences. Paper presented at Vocab@Leuven conference, University of Leuven, 1-3 July 2019.
  4. Lin, P. (2019). Self‐directed English vocabulary learning through YouTube videos. Paper presented at the ELTU conference 2019. The Chinese University of Hong Kong, 27-28 May 2019.
  5. Lin, P. (2019). Developing an intelligent tool for computer-assisted formulaic sequence learning from YouTube videos. Paper presented at the Research and Development Project Dissemination Conference of the Standing Committee on Language and Research (SCOLAR), Hong Kong Science Park, 9 May 2019.
  6. Lin, P. (2019). Vocabulary learning in the age of internet television. Paper presented at the 54th RELC International Conference & 5th Asia-Pacific LSP & Professional Communication Association Conference, Southeast Asian Ministers of Education Organisation (SAMEO), Singapore, 11-13 March 2019.
  7. Lin, P. (2018). Evaluating the potential of Liberal Studies textbooks for the acquisition of L2 English vocabulary. Paper presented at the 2nd International Conference on English Across the Curriculum (EAC2018). Hong Kong Polytechnic University, 4-5 December 2018.
  8. Lin, P. (2017). A new tool for concordancing the Web as a multimodal corpus. Poster presented at Corpus Linguistics 2017 conference. University of Birmingham, UK, 24-28 July 2017.
  9. Lin, P. & Suen, A. (2017). Mining a corpus of online hotel reviews: A pilot study. Poster presented at Corpus Linguistics 2017 conference. University of Birmingham, UK, 24-28 July 2017.
  10. Suen, A. & Lin, P. (2017).A corpus-driven analysis of luxury hotels’ responses to online reviews. Paper presented at the 4th Asia-Pacific LSP and Professional Communication Association Conference. Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand, 26-28 April 2017.
  11. Lin, P. (2016). Second language vocabulary acquisition in the age of Internet television and social media. Paper presented at Department of English Seminar, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, 7 November, 2016.
  12. Lin, P. (2016). How many exposures do learners need to learn an English phrase? A big data approach. Paper presented at the 20th Workshop on Linguistics and Language Processing. Kyung Hee Institute for the Study of Language and Information (ISLI), Kyung Hee University, Seoul, Korea, 29 May 2016.
  13. Lin, P. (2016). Internet social media as a multimodal corpus for profiling the prosodic patterns of formulaic speech. Paper presented at Joint conference of the English Linguistics Society of Korea and the Korea Society of Language and Information, Kyung Hee University, Seoul, Korea, 28 May 2016.
  14. Lin, P. (2015). Spoken input and the acquisition of L2 formulaic expressions. Paper presented at fourth combined conference of the Applied Linguistics Association of Australia (ALAA), the Applied Linguistics Association of New Zealand (ALANZ) and Association for Language Testing and Assessment of Australia and New Zealand (ALTAANZ), University of South Australia, 30 November - 2 December, 2016.
  15. Lin, P. (2015). Idioms and phraseology in learner dictionaries. Paper presented at fourth combined conference of the Applied Linguistics Association of Australia (ALAA), the Applied Linguistics Association of New Zealand (ALANZ) and Association for Language Testing and Assessment of Australia and New Zealand (ALTAANZ), University of South Australia, 30 November - 2 December, 2016.
  16. Lin, P. (2015). It’s not what you say; it is the way that you say it: The need to specify the intonation of idioms and phraseology in learner dictionaries. Paper presented at The Asian Association for Lexicography (ASIALEX) conference, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong, 25-27 June, 2015.
  17. Lin, P. (2012). The potential of English television programmes for the learning of formulaic language in an EFL context: A corpus-driven investigation. Paper presented at the Subtitles and Learning Conference, University of Pavia, Italy, 13-14 September, 2012.
  18. Lin, P. (2012). More than music to our ears: The role of prosody in the use, validation, learning and memory of formulaic language. Paper presented at the 45th British Association for Applied Linguistics (BAAL) Conference, University of Southampton, UK, 6-8 September, 2012.
  19. Lin, P. (2011). What you say and how you say it: An investigation into the sound of multiword units. Paper presented at the 16th World Congress of Applied Linguistics (AILA 2011), Beijing, 23-28 August, 2011.
  20. Siyanova-Chanturia, A. and Lin, P. (2011). On-line processing of idiomatic expressions: Evidence from articulation rate. Paper presented at the 16th World Congress of Applied Linguistics (AILA 2011), Beijing, 23-28 August, 2011.
  21. Lin, P. (2011). A multimodal analysis of multiword units in university lectures. Paper presented at Corpus Linguistics 2011, Birmingham, UK, 20-22 July, 2011.
  22. Lin, P. and Siyanova-Chanturia, A. (2011). Evidence for a processing advantage for frequent idioms: A production study. Paper presented at the American Association for Applied Linguistics (AAAL) Conference, Chicago, Illinois, 26-29 March, 2011.
  23. Lin, P. (2010). It's not what you say, it's the way you say it: The sounds of formulaic language. Paper presented at the British Association for Applied Linguistics (BAAL) Conference, University of Aberdeen, UK, 9-11 September, 2010.
  24. Lin, P. (2010). Increasing the robustness of native speaker judgement as a formulaic language identification method. Paper presented at the Formulaic Language Research Network (FLaRN) Interdisciplinary Conference on Formulaic Language, University of Paderborn, Germany, 23-26 March, 2010.
  25. Lin, P. and Dahlmann, I. (2008). The role of prosodic features in the identification of formulaic sequences, Paper presented at the British Association of Applied Linguistics (BAAL) Conference, University of Swansea, 11-13 September 2008.
  26. Lin, P. (2008). Are formulaic sequences phonologically coherent as we assumed? Paper presented at the Formulaic Language Research Network (FLaRN) Postgraduate Symposium, The University of Nottingham, 19-20 June 2008.
  27. Lin, P. (2006). The effect of task types on the use of formulaic language by native speakers and EFL learners of English. Paper presented at the Applied Linguistics Association of Australia (ALAA) 2006 Congress, The University of Queensland, 5-8 July 2006.
  28. Lin, P. and Wang, Z. (2006). Measuring EFL learners’ knowledge of formulaic sequences: Investigating the effect of the testing method. Paper presented at the Applied Linguistics Association of Australia (ALAA) 2006 Congress, The University of Queensland, 5-8 July 2006.
  29. Lin, P. (2006). The use of formulaic language by native speakers and learners of English in their spoken performance. Paper presented at the First Pearl River Delta English Studies Graduate Student Conference, University of Macau, 26-29 June 2006.
  1. Lin, P. (2022). The optimal mode of input in second language vocabulary acquisition. Invited workshop at Yokohama City University, Japan, 14 November 2022.
  2. Lin, P. (2022). Research methods in applied linguistics. Invited workshop at Yokohama City University, Japan, 11 November 2022.
  3. Lin, P. (2022). The prosody of formulaic language: Multimodal discourse perspectives. Invited workshop at the Tokyo Pragmatics and Discourse Special Interest Group, University of Tokyo, 9 November, 2022.
  4. Lin, P. (2022). Boosting your English vocabulary: Some practical tips. Invited workshop at the Graduate School of Engineering, University of Tokyo, 9 November 2022.
  5. Lin, P. (2022). Computer-assisted learning of English pronunciation and speaking. Invited workshop at Faculty of Engineering, Information and Systems University of Tsukuba, Japan, 1 November 2022.
  6. Lin, P. (2022). Research-informed L2 English vocabulary learning strategies. Invited workshop at the Faculty of Education, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, 23 March 2022.
  7. Lin, P. (2022). What are formulaic expressions and how do we master them? Seminar jointly organised by ENGL and RCPCE, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, 17 January 2022.
  8. Lin, P. (2019). Research-informed L2 vocabulary learning strategies. Invited seminar presented at the School of International Liberal Arts, Yokohama City University, 9 December 2019.
  9. Lin, P. (2019). How do you expand your English vocabulary? Invited talk at Pao Yue-kong Library Event 2019, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, 7 March 2019.

Others

 

External Research Grants as Principal investigator (PI)

  • 2022-2025
    The learnability of 41,973 English formulaic expressions: A predictive model and a normative database (HK$966,274)
    General Research Fund (GRF),
    Research Grants Council (RGC), Hong Kong

  • 2018-2020
    Investigating the effects of speech rate and word knowledge on L2 listening comprehension (HK$487,500)
    General Research Fund (GRF),
    Research Grants Council (RGC), Hong Kong

  • 2017-2019
    Investigating the optimal mode of input for the acquisition of second language formulaic sequences (HK$517,885)
    Early Career Scheme (ECS),
    Research Grants Council (RGC), Hong Kong

  • 2015-2018
    Deveping an intelligent tool for computer-assisted formulaic sequence learning from YouTube Videos (HK$994,980)
    Research and Development Projects,
    Standing Committee on Language Education and Research (SCOLAR), HKSAR Government

Internal Research Grants as Principal investigator (PI)

  • 2018-2019
    Identifying comprehensible input for English learning in the age of internet television: A pilot study (Top-up)
    Departmental General Research (DRG) Funds, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University

  • 2017-2019
    Responding to online reviews: A corpus investigation
    Departmental Research Grant (DRG),
    Department of English, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University
  • 2017-2019
    Investigating the optimal mode of input for the acquisition of second language formulaic sequences
    University Matching Fund for 2016/17 GRF/ECS Projects,
    The Hong Kong Polytechnic University
  • 2016-2018
    Identifying comprehensible input for English learning in the age of internet television: A pilot study
    Departmental Research Grant (DRG),
    Department of English, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University
  • 2016-2018
    Assessing English-as-a-foreign-language (EFL) learners’ prosodic sensitivity and verbal processing ability
    University Internal Grant,
    The Hong Kong Polytechnic University
  • 2015-2018
    Internet social media as a multimodal corpus for investigating the tonicity of semi-fixed formulaic sequences
    Departmental Research Grant (DRG),
    Department of English, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University
  • 2012-2013
    Analysing spoken discourse: The alignment of intonation units with formulaic expressions
    Small-scale research grant (SSRG), City University of Hong Kong
  • 2011-2012
    The intonation of multiword units
    Small-scale research grant (SSRG), City University of Hong Kong
  • 2010-2011
    Phraseology on demand: A description of patterns of phraseology use in English television programmes
    Small-scale research grant (SSRG), City University of Hong Kong

Internal Research Grants as Co-investigator (CO-I)

  • 2020-2021
    English speech prosody usage in statements and questions by ASD and TD children and robots development in improving acquisition of English speech prosody
    Dean’s Reserve for Interdepartmental Collaboration, Faculty of Humanities, Hong Kong Polytechnic University

Internal Teaching Grants as Principal investigator (PI)

  • 2020-2021
    Effects of teaching styles on students’ online learning experience
    Online Teaching Development and Educational Research Grant, Hong Kong Polytechnic University

Esteem Measures

 

  • Treasurer & Early Career Fellow, The Hong Kong Academy of the Humanities
  • Member, American Psychological Association
  • Member, Speech Prosody Special Interest Group, International Speech Communication Association (ISCA)
  • Member, Special Interest Group on the Lexicon (SIGLEX), Association for Computational Linguistics (ACL)
  • Member, Formulaic Language and Research Network (FLaRN), UK

 

  • Japan Society for the Promotion of Science Invitational Research Fellowship (2022-2023)
  • TESOL Quarterly Top-cited Article 2021-22 (2023)

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