Dr Yang Zhang, an associate member of the Centre for International Education Research (CIER), presented ongoing research at the 2026 British Association for Applied Linguistics Conference. The presentation, Plural Chinese, Singular Pedagogy: Rethinking Chinese Language Teaching in Global Contexts, examined how Chinese language teaching might respond to the varied settings in which the language is learned and used.
The research questions the assumption that Chinese can be taught through a single standard model. Instead, it considers the different linguistic, cultural and educational experiences that learners and teachers bring to Chinese language education.
Attending the conference for the first time gave Dr Zhang an opportunity to discuss these ideas with researchers working in applied linguistics, language education and teacher education. It also supported reflection on how research into Chinese language education can contribute to wider discussions across these fields.
Dr Zhang is continuing to develop the research, with particular attention to Chinese language education in Global South contexts, sociolinguistic approaches to language policy, and teacher development in response to multilingualism. The work also considers the changing role of teachers in language education.
Posted on Monday 28th September 2026