Qualifications:
B.A. (Hons) in English and Translation, The Chinese University of Hong Kong
M.Phil. in English (General/Applied Linguistics), The Chinese University of Hong Kong
Postgraduate Diploma in Education (English), The Chinese University of Hong Kong (with Distinction)
PhD in Language and Linguistics, University of Essex, UK
Telephone: 3411 5041
Email: mablechan@hkbu.edu.hk
Office: OEE1011
ORCID ID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6302-9431
ResearchGate: http://www.researchgate.net/profile/Mable_Chan/
Dr Chan obtained her B.A. (Hons) in English and Translation, MPhil in English (General/Applied Linguistics), Postgraduate Diploma in Education with Distinction (The Chinese University of Hong Kong) and a PhD in Language and Linguistics (University of Essex, UK). She is now studying in an MA programme in Educational Leadership (Practice) with the University of Manchester. Before joining Hong Kong Baptist University, Dr Chan had an extensive teaching experience of over 25 years in secondary schools and the Department of English of The Hong Kong Polytechnic University. Her main research interests include second language acquisition (SLA) at the interface with language education, and professional/workplace communication. In terms of the first area, her training as a generative grammarian under Roger Hawkins and Vivian Cook (at the University of Essex, where she did her PhD) has led her to develop work focusing on how instruction can support the second language development of English as a foreign language student. One of her recent attempts to bridge the gap between SLA research, theory and practice in language pedagogy is the edited book titled Challenges encountered by Chinese ESL learners in L2 acquisition: Problems and solutions from complementary perspectives published with Springer in 2022 (with Professor Alessandro Benati as the co-editor). In her second main area of research, which focuses on workplace/professional communication, she examines the communicative needs and communicative competence of Chinese professionals in the Hong Kong workplace. With the recent award of a grant of about $900,000 from the Standing Committee of Language Education and Research (SCOLAR) for a research project entitled Communicative Needs of Chinese professionals in Hong Kong, more exciting and significant findings have been obtained to better our understanding of workplace communicative needs. Dr Chan is the author/editor of two business communication books, titled English for Business Communication (January 2020) and Perspectives on teaching workplace English in the 21st century (July 2023). These books, published by Routledge, a prestigious international publisher, cater to the demand for research-oriented business communication resources.
Dr Chan received the Faculty Award for Outstanding Teaching twice (2004/2005; 2010/2011). She was honored as one of top 23 finalists for The TESOL 2016 Teacher of the Year Award. She has also secured significant grants, both internal and external, totaling $5,306,674.4 (over 5.3 million) for various research projects.
Journal Articles
Books
Book chapters
Book review
2022 | Special Grant for Strategic Development of Virtual Teaching and Learning (funded $1,700,000) by University Grants Committee (UGC) (Co-PI) |
2018 | Communicative needs of Chinese professionals in Hong Kong (funded $882,286.9 by Standing Committee on Language Education and Research (SCOLAR) (PI) |
2017 | Articles in Cantonese/English interlanguage (a GRF proposal, obtained a rating of 3.5 (i.e. fundable but not funded) and internally funded $105,000) (PI) |
2016 | Articles in Cantonese/English interlangauge (a 3.5 GRF proposal internally funded: $105,000) (PI) |
2016 | Reflective writing as an active learning tool: A case study of year 1 English major students of a university in Hong Kong ($49,087.5: Dean’s Reserve) (PI) |
2015 | Exploring structural moves and lexico-grammatical patterns of workplace texts: A corpus approach ($100,000: Dean’s Reserve) (PI) |
2013 | The role of pedagogical intervention: Acquisition of tense by Cantonese ESL learners in Hong Kong ($677,300: University Grants Committee (UGC), a General Research Fund (GRF) project) (PI) |
2013 | L2 acquisition of tense and aspect by Cantonese and Mandarin ESL learners of different proficiency levels ($80,000: PolyU-Tsinghua U Centre for Language Sciences) (PI) |
2012 | Grammar stories: Maximizing students’ learning outcomes in grammar courses ($80,000: Dean’s Reserve) (PI) |
2011 | Enhancing students’ professional competence and generic qualities through reading, discussing and writing in English across the curriculum ($940,000: Learning and Teaching Development Grants of the Hong Kong Special Administration Region) (CI) |
2011 | A diachronic analysis of temporal and modal constructions in Indo-European and Asian languages, with implications for L2 acquisition ($80,000: Departmental Research Grant (DRG)) (CI) |
2011 | From empirical findings to pedagogical implications: Diachronic perspectives to grammar stories ($80,000: Departmental Learning and Teaching Committee (DLTC)) (PI) |
2010 | Processing instruction and acquisition of tense by Cantonese ESL learners in Hong Kong ($105,000: a 3.5 GRF proposal internally funded) (PI) |
2010 | Doctor-patient communication in Hong Kong: Alignment, issues and implications ($83,000: Internal Competitive Research Grant) (PI) |
2010 | Dialogue with the workplace: Optimizing students’ learning outcomes in business English courses ($80,000: Learning and Teaching Committee (LTC) small-scale projects) (PI) |
2010 | What learning contract reveals about Cantonese ESL learners’ attitude towards English language learning and the pedagogical implications ($80,000: DLTC funding) (PI) |
2007 | Tertiary students’ perceptions on the importance and use of teacher feedback in Hong Kong ($80,000: DLTC funding) (PI) |
Total External Research Grants secured as PI: HK$3,259,586 .9 (over 3.2 million) Total Internal Research Grants secured as PI: HK$1,027,087.5 (over 1 million) |