Mei-yi Kuo

Profile

I teach Mandarin courses and I have been instructing undergraduate students since 2023. My expertise is in curriculum design. I place a particular emphasis on integrating language acquisition methodologies and pedagogical frameworks tailored to students of different age groups and learning backgrounds. My pedagogical approach emphasises an integration of the two primary writing systems of Mandarin, namely simplified and traditional characters. The course adopts a multifaceted teaching strategy that enhances both linguistic proficiency and cultural literacy. This draws upon a variety of evidence-based methodologies to facilitate deeper learner engagement and comprehension.

I have a BA in English Language and Literature from Taiwan and an MA in Japanese Studies from the University of Leeds. This was followed by a CertTESOL (Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages) from Trinity College London. I also earned professional teaching certificates in Mandarin: a TCYL (Teaching Chinese to Young Learners) and a TCSOL (Teaching Chinese to Speakers of Other Languages). I am an Associate Fellow of Advance HE (AFHEA).

Research interests

My research focuses on children’s literature, languages, and education in colonial Taiwan (1895–1945). My doctoral project examines children’s texts in Literary Sinitic, Taiwanese Minnan, and Japanese, analysing how colonial education, print culture, local knowledge, and paratextual practices shaped child authorship during this period.

Broader interests include childhood studies, Japanese imperial education, multilingual textual practices, nursery rhymes and children’s songs, folklore, and the relationship between language, literature, and colonial institutions.

I am also interested in both the past and present linguistic landscape of Hong Kong.

Publications:

• Kuo, Mei-yi. Review of Xiangjiang Shentan Fu Er, Zi Mosi 香江神探福邇，字摩斯 [The Great Hongkong Detective], by Trevor Morris. Writing Chinese: A Journal of Contemporary Sinophone Literature, vol. 2, no. 1, 2023.
• Kuo, Mei-yi. ‘Translingual Bodies: Constructing the Modern Child in Early Colonial Taiwan’s National Language (Kokugo) Readers (1900–1913)’. Children's Literature in Education, 2026, pp. 1-19.
• Kuo, Mei-yi. ‘Reimagining Sinophone Children’s Literature Through Translingual Practice: Encounters with Sinitic Scripts and the Emergence of Modern Childhood in Early Colonial Taiwan’. Writing Chinese: A Journal of Contemporary Sinophone Literature, 2026 (Forthcoming).
• Kuo, Mei-yi. ‘Child Authorship and the Author Function: Japanese-Language Nursery Rhymes in Colonial Taiwan and the 2018 Republication’. International Research in Children's Literature, vol. 21, no. 1, 2028 (Forthcoming).

Qualifications

• PhD candidate, University of Leeds
• MA Japanese Studies, University of Leeds

Professional memberships

• Higher Education Academy
• The Leeds Centre for New Chinese Writing
• Youth in Chinese History Network