· Position: Lecturer
· Department: Linguistics
· Research areas: Second Language Acquisition, Cognitive Linguistics, Cross-cultural Communication, Foreign Language Education.
· Office: Room 531, Building No.1 (North)
· Email: zhuyuaileens@163.com
BIO
Xinqing (Aileen) Wang is a lecturer of the Faculty of English Language and Culture at Guangdong University of Foreign Studies (GDUFS). She received her PhD at Victoria University of Wellington. Xinqing does research in second language acquisition, cognitive linguistics, cross-cultural communication, foreign language education. With a growing interest in language teaching and assessment, she is currently teaching a series of Public Speaking courses and Communicative English for Chinese Learners. She is also a translator and personal essayist, with a keen interest in creativity and leadership education.
DEGREES
Ph.D. in Applied Linguistics, Victoria University of Wellington (VUW)
M.A. in Linguistics (‘Distinguished Graduate’, Class of 2015), Shandong University,
B.A. in English & B.E. in International Economics and Trade, Shandong University
TEACHING & RESEARCH EXPERIENCE
2020.09-Present Lecturer, Faculty of English Language and Culture, GDUFS
2021.10-Present Part-time researcher, Centre for Linguistics and Applied Linguistics, GDUFS
2020.03-06 Teaching assistant, School of Linguistics and Applied Language Studies, VUW
2018/2020.03-06 Teaching assistant, School of Languages and Cultures, VUW
PUBLICATIONS
Journal articles
Wang, X., Boers, F., Wang, X., & Eckmans, J. (2026). Does information about the origins of figurative idioms help learners to remember them? A multi-site study. Modern Language Journal. https://doi.org/10.1111/modl.70074
Wang, X., Boers, F., & Warren, P. (2024). Prompting language learners to guess the meaning of idioms: do wrong guesses linger? Language Awareness, 33(1), 94–116. https://doi.org/10.1080/09658416.2022. 2153859
Wang, X. (2014). On the metaphor of Chinese verb 吃 (chi in pinyin, ‘eat’) from a cultural and cognitive perspective. Journal of Hunan Radio and Television University, 2, 22-25.
Book chapter
Wang, X., Boers, F., & Warren, P. (2020) Using literal underpinnings to help learners remember figurative idioms: Does the connection need to be crystal clear? In A. Piquer-Píriz & R. Alejo (Eds.) Metaphor in foreign language instruction (the Applications of Cognitive Linguistics series) (pp. 219-237). Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter.
Digital textbook
Digital course content for the textbook Understanding Contemporary China: A Public Speaking Course on u.unipus.cn, published by Foreign Language Teaching and Research Press (FLTRP).
Translated work
王新清 (2025) 玛塔里基 (新西兰短篇小说Matariki英译)《世界文学》第1期: 232-243.
王新清 (2023)《如是》《让我做我的丈夫》(Malachi E. Vethamani诗歌英译)《诗界》总第三期：6.
RESEARCH PROJECTS
1. Digital-Empowered Blended Teaching Innovation in Understanding Contemporary China: English Public Speaking Course, Principal Investigator
This is a government-funded project, one of Guangdong Provincial Undergraduate Teaching Reform Projects (2024–2027).
2. Research on the Cognitive Mechanism and Acquisition Patterns of Second Language Idioms by Chinese Learners, Principal Investigator.
This is a government-funded project, one of the Guangdong Province Educational Science Planning Projects for Higher Education (2022-2025).
3. Vocabulary coverage for adequate reading comprehension in L2 English, Member of an international research project based in Japan (Principal Investigator: Tim Stoeckel)
COURES TAUGHT
Communicative English for Chinese Learners (I & II)
English Public Speaking and Debating Skills
English Public Speaking for Academic Purposes
Understanding Contemporary China: English Public Speaking Course
AWARDS
l ‘Outstanding Undergraduate Mentor of the Year’ at GDUFS (2025-2026)
l ‘Outstanding Teacher of the Year’ at GDUFS (2023-2024)
l Undergraduate Teaching Excellence Award, 2nd Prize at GDUFS (2023-2024)
l First Prize in the 3rd Annual Teaching Innovation Competition for Teachers at GDUFS (2023)
l ‘Distinguished Graduate of Shandong Province in 2015’, awarded by the Department of Human Resources and Social Security of Shandong Province.
ENGAGEMENT
l Manuscript Reviewer for TESOL Quarterly, International Review of Applied Linguistics (IRAL), etc.
l Vocabulary Group Coordinator (2018-2019), LALS, Victoria University of Wellington
l Editorial Member for the Bilingual Annual Issue of the Magazine Poetry World'
Coach for GDUFS Public Speaking Team
