YANG Mei

YANG Mei is a professor of applied linguistics at South China University of Technology. She was once seconded as the Chinese director of the Confucius Institute at Lancaster University in the UK. She has been a visiting scholar at the University of Illinois, University of Hawaii, and Pennsylvania State University in the United States. She serves as a member of the Professional Committee of Second Language Acquisition Research in China, an expert in the evaluation and finalization of projects for the National Social Science Fund, a reviewer and disciplinary editor for multiple linguistic journals in China. She has published over 40 academic papers in authoritative journals such as Foreign Language Teaching and Research, Modern Foreign Languages, Chinese Teaching in the World, Chinese Learning, and the Chinese Journal of Applied Linguistics. She has published a book titled Second Language Acquisition Research on English Articles from the Perspective of Language Emergence by Science Press; edited the textbook titled Continuation Writing in English; participated in the edition of multiple textbooks. Her current research interests include GenAI-assisted foreign language education, the xu-based foreign language teaching theory construction and application research, the development and assessment of second language interaction competence, and the xu-based international Chinese education research.

Professional Appointments

1995-2004, Lecturer, Guizhou University 

2004-2006, Associate professor, Guizhou University

2009-present, Professor, South China University of Technology

2025-present, Director of SCUT Research Center of Foreign Language Education Innovation and Development

Visiting scholar experiences

2007-2008, Department of Linguistics, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

          (Cooperated with Dr. Tania Ionin)

2014-2015, Department of Linguistics, University of Hawai’i at Manoa

          (Cooperated with Prof. William O’Grady)

Awards and honors

2010, Award for Excellence in Graduate Advising, South China University of Technology

2011, the Second Award for Excellence in Teaching, South China University of Technology

2012, the First Award for Excellence in Teaching, South China University of Technology

2013, Nan Guang Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching, South China University of Technology

2014, Award for Excellence in Graduate Teaching, South China University of Technology

2016, Award for the Most-Welcomed Graduate Supervisor, South China University of Technology

2017, Award for Excellence in Graduate Teaching, South China University of Technology

2018, Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Advising, South China University of Technology

2019, Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Thesis Advising, South China University of Technology

2020, First Prize of Guangdong Provincial Outstanding Achievements in Education and Teaching

2024, Second Prize of Outstanding Achievements, Guangdong Association of Higher Education

2024, Second Prize of Outstanding Achievements in Degree and Postgraduate Education, Guangdong Province

Courses taught

2009-present, English Writing, Undergraduate course, SCUT.

2017-present, An Introduction to Linguistics, Undergraduate course, SCUT.

2016-present, Language and Language Learning, Undergraduate course, SCUT.

2011-present, Psycholinguistics, Graduate course, SCUT.

2013-2015, Research Methods, Graduate course, SCUT.

2014-2025, Second Language Acquisition : Theories and practices, Graduate course, SCUT

2016-2018, Statistics in Language Research, Graduate course, SCUT.

2025-present, Foreign Language Education, Graduate course, SCUT.

Publications (selected)

Yang, M., Guo Q. & Yan X.*, Learning by comparing: Effects of cues focusing on Chinese-speaking learners’ acquisition of English articles，Chinese Journal of Applied Linguistics, 2026 (1)

Yang, M., Guo Q. & Yan X.*, Effects of interaction intensity in L2 continuation writing on the acquisition of English relative clauses, Foreign Language Bimonthly, 2026 (1)

Feng, Y. & M. Yang*, Effects of practice types on the acquisition of English phrasal verbs，Languages, 2025(10)

Yan, X. M. & M. Yang*, Frontiers in implicit aptitude research, Foreign Language Teaching and Research, 2025(1)

Yang, M., He Z. & Guo Q.*, Investigating the resonance alignment in second language classroom interaction, Foreign Languages and Their Education, 2025(3)

Yang, M. Unlocking L2 learners’ xu-competence, Journal of Beijing International Studies University, 2024(3)

Yang, M. & X. Yan, The comprehension and production of Chinese relatives: An xu-argument perspective, Chinese Language Learning, 2023(4)

Yang, M. & Q. Guo, Cues focusing and the second language acquisition of English articles, Foreign Languages and Literature, 2022(5).

Yang, M. Investigating the interface of the xu-argument and L2 interactional competence, Foreign Language Teaching and Research, 2022(4). 

Yang, M. & M. Cai, Effects of cooperative continuation writing on second language vocabulary development, Journal of Jiewai, 2022(2).

Yang, M. & X. Lu, From xu to the development of interactional competence, Chinese Journal of Applied Linguistics, 2021 (3).

Yang, M. & J. Li, A review of second language interactional competence, Frontiers of Foreign Language Research, 2021(2).

Yang, M. & F. Xu, Second language acquisition of Chinese Reflexive ziji: A CASP perspective, Chinese Teaching in the World, 2019 (2).

Yang, M. & P. Dong, The conversation analytic approach to second language acquisition: A review, Foreign Language Learning Theory and Practice, 2019(2).

Yang, M. Grounding and L2 interpretation of Chinese noun phrases, Chinese Language Learning, 2019(2).

Yang, M. How does processing drive language development? — Introducing Processing Determinism, Journal of Beijing International Studies University, 2019(3).

Yang, M. L1 transfer and Chinese-speaking learners’ comprehension of English generic plurals, Foreign Language Teaching and Research, 2014 (1)

Yang, M. An empirical study of the conceptual transfer effect as reflected in the L2 acquisition of English articles, Chinese Journal of Applied Linguistics, 2013 (3).

Yang, M. Chinese-speaking English learners’ production of articles — Testing Prosodic Transfer Hypothesis, Foreign Language Teaching and Research, 2012(1).

Yang, M. & T. Ionin. L2 English Articles and the Computation of Uniqueness.  In J. Crawford, K. Otaki & M. Takahashi (eds.), Proceedings of the 3rd Conference on Generative Approaches to Language Acquisition North America (GALANA 2008). MA: Cascadilla Press. 2009

Yang, M. The Processor-based emergentism: Interviewing William O’Grady, Modern Foreign Languages, 2009 (4).

Yang, M. SLA studies of English articles: history and current situation, Journal of Beijing International Studies University, 2009 (10)。

Grants (selected)

Recipient of a government grant from National Social Science Program, 20BYY106 (2020), The Xu-argument Approach to Foreign Language Teaching and Learning.

Recipient of a government grant from Chinese Education Bureau (2017), A Study of Chinese EFL learners’ creativity in English writing.

Recipient of a government grant from National Social Science Program, 2015BYY065 (2015), A Study of the Chinese L1 and L2 Development: Processing Determinism Perspective.

Recipient of faculty grants from Central University Social Science Research Program at South China University of Technology, 2013XZD23(2013), Investigating into the Semantics of Interlanguage Noun Phrases.

Recipient of faculty grants from Faculty Teaching Research Program at South China University of Technology, 2016, To Explore the Effectiveness of Learning-by-CEC Research.

Recipient of faculty grants from Faculty Teaching Research Program at South China University of Technology, 2013, A Teaching Research of English Writing Courses.

Recipient of a government grant from the Social Science Program of Guangdong Province, GD11YWW04 (2011), A Bidirectional Study of the Acquisition of English and Chinese Determiner Phrases.

Recipient of faculty grants from Central University Social Science Research Program at South China University of Technology, x2wyD210636w (2010), A Study of Multi-faceted Language Input.

Conference Talks (selected)

Effects of Task Complexity and Language Aptitude on Chinese L2 Continuation Writing Performance, Talks at the 11th National Symposium on SLA (Shanghai, China), 2025

Xu-based Chinese Instruction: Opportunities and Challengies, Keynote speech at the 6th Xu-argument Conference (Lanzhou, China), 2024

Unlocking the competence of xu, Keynote speech at the 3^rd Xu-argument Conference (Qingdao, China), 2021

From Xu to L2 Interactional Competence Development: The Construction of Intersubjectivity in Continuation Talks, Talks at the 2019 China English Language Education Association (CELEA) Symposium (Wuhan, China), 2019

The Second Language Processing and Production of Chinese Relative Clauses, Talks at the 4th International Symposium on Second Language Processing (Guiyang, China), 2019

Alignment-based Communicative Strategies in Continuation Talks: A Conversation Analytic Perspective, Talks at the 8th National Symposium on SLA (Qingdao, China), 2018

Maximize Positive Transfer and the L2 Acquisition of Chinese Reflexive ziji, Talks at the International Symposium of SLA, 2016

Verb Semantic Binding of Chinese Reflexive ziji: Evidence from L1 acquisition of Chinese, Talks at the 3rd International Symposium on Chinese psycholinguistics (Nanjing, China), 2015

Conceptual Transfer at the Domain of Object and Number and Its Effect on Chinese-speaking Learners’ Comprehension of English Articles, Talks at the International Symposium of Conceptual Transfer and SLA (Shanghai, China), 2014

Production/comprehension Asymmetries in L2-English Article Acquisition，Talks at the Fifth National Symposium on SLA (Wuhan, China), 2012

The Comprehension of Chinese Generics, Talks at the GDUFS Second Symposium on Applied Linguistics (Guangzhou, China), 2012.

Chinese-speaking Learners’ Acquisition of English Plural Generics，Talks at the 16^th World Congress of Applied Linguistics (Beijing, China), 2011

Cognitive environment and L2 acquisition of English articles, Talks at SLA Graduate Symposium of America (Madison, USA), 2008.

The computation of uniqueness and L2 acquisition of English articles, Talks at Generative Approach to Language Acquisition, North America 2008

The L1 Transfer Effect as Reflected in Chinese-speaking Learners’ Acquisition of English Articles—A Prosodic Transfer Perspective, Talks at the 7^th Pan Asia-Pacific Symposium on Applied Linguistics (Guangzhou, China), 2008