Dr Yanhua Liu

Profile

I am a language educator and scholar with international teaching experience in China, Singapore, and the UK. I joined the University of Leeds as a Lecturer in English for Academic Purposes (EAP) at the Language Centre in December 2024.

From 2022 to 2024, I worked as Lecturer I at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (Guangzhou), teaching credit-bearing academic English courses at undergraduate and postgraduate levels. In my other roles, I served as the Academic Lead for two postgraduate English courses and chaired the Domain Expert Committee overseeing the recruitment of English language academic staff. I initiated and led two university-wide academic communication events—Three Minute Thesis (3MT), and an MPhil thesis writing competition. I also co-led an international language and culture exchange summer programme (PLACE), which involved about 300 students from over 20 countries. Additionally, I taught pre-sessional EAP at the University of Southampton during the summer of 2023.

During 2014-2022, I undertook fully funded studies at Nanyang Technological University (NTU), Singapore, earning a postgraduate diploma (with Distinction), followed by an MA (Top Graduate) and a PhD. My PhD thesis received the inaugural BALEAP Doctoral Studies Award for making a significant contribution to the field of EAP. Meanwhile, I worked as a part-time communication coach at NTU’s Language and Communication Centre, and as a student tutor and a guest lecturer at the National Institute of Education.

Earlier in my career, I spent nearly a decade teaching English at a university in China and a year teaching Chinese at a private school in Somerset, UK.

I have published research in the Journal of English for Academic Purposes, English for Specific Purposes, International Journal of Applied Linguistics, System, among other venues. I am the Principal Investigator and Co-Investigator of funded research projects in China and the UK (My colleague Michelle Evans and I discussed our project on EAP practitioners’ access to literature on the All Things EAP Podcast here).

I have delivered invited talks in Singapore, Indonesia, China, and the UK. I sit on the Editorial Board of Computers and Composition and regularly review manuscripts for top EAP and applied linguistics journals.

I serve on the Language Centre Summer Conference Organising Committee (2025-2027). I am the Socia Media Coordinator of the Technology Enhanced Learning Special Interest Group (TELSIG) of BALEAP (from September 2025).

Research interests

I welcome enquiries about PhD supervision in areas of my expertise and interests (please email me your research proposal, CV and transcripts, along with a plan outlining how you intend to secure funding for your full-time study). My research interests include all areas of English for Academic Purposes (EAP), generative AI in language education, science communication, multimodal discourse analysis, and scientometric reviews. I draw on quantitative, qualitative, as well as mixed methods to explore these areas.

Specifically, I currently work in two main areas:

1. Spoken Academic Genres for Non-Specialists
   I am interested in spoken academic discouse, particularly the Three Minute Thesis (3MT) genre, and the participatory practicies and perceptions of participants. My work has focused on:

• Organisational features: Analysing rhetorical moves and cross-disciplinary variations.
• Linguistic features: Exploring metadiscourse, importance markers, negation, as well as cross-genre and disciplinary variations.
• Multimodal features: Examining visual resources in the single slide and their relationship to the speech.
• Stakeholder experiences and attitudes: Understanding how presenters, judges, and audiences perceive their participation in the 3MT.

2. Integration of Generative AI Tools in Academic Communication
   I am exploring the integration of generative AI tools (e.g., ChatGPT) into the learning and teaching of academic writing and speaking. I currently work on:

• The experiences of students and teachers using generative AI tools.
• Perspectives on the role and impact of generative AI in academic contexts.
• The impact of generative AI on learning outcomes and assessment practices.

Through my research, I aim to bridge the gap between academic inquiry and practical application, offering insights and resources that enhance both the learning and teaching experiences in EAP and language learning contexts.

Qualifications

• PhD in Applied Linguistics (NTU Singapore)
• MA in Applied Linguistics (NTU Singapore)
• MA in Foreign Linguistics and Applied Linguistics (SCU China)
• Postgraduate Diploma in English Language Teaching (with Distinction) (NTU Singapore)
• CELTA (Cambridge)

Professional memberships

• BALEAP
• BAAL
• SAAL

Student education

My teaching is grounded in research-led practice, prioritising compassion, student agency, and collaborative learning. Through dialogic feedback and technology-enhanced approaches, I aim to foster reflective engagement and empower students to take ownership of their academic development. I teach in-sessional EAP modules for the School of Design, Masters pre-sessional EAP modules for international students, and General English for shorter-term students.

Research groups and institutes

• Language Centre