Postgraduate tutor community café - Language diversity and teaching in UK

Join us for the next session of the Postgraduate Tutor Community Café, a relaxed and reflective space for postgraduate tutors to share practices and learn from one another.

In this session, Dr Yifang Xu (MHSES) will reflect on language diversity and teaching in UK higher education.

Each session of the Community Café will begin with a short sharing from the speaker, followed by open discussion. There will be ample space for postgraduate tutors, teaching assistants, and demonstrators to exchange experiences, ask questions, and learn from one another. Each participant can have a free drink.

Whether you are new to tutoring or simply interested in university teaching, we warmly invite you to join us. We hope this series will create connections across Schools, Colleges, and disciplines.

We look forward to seeing you there!

For any questions, please contact Yuemiao at [email protected], or through Eventbrite.

Speaker Bio

Dr Yifang Xu is an Associate Tutor at the Institute for Language Education and the Institute for Education, Community and Society, where she contributes to postgraduate teaching and dissertation supervision. She has previously supervised dissertations at the University of Leeds. Alongside her teaching, she also works as a Research Assistant on projects exploring equity, inclusiveness, and internationalisation in higher education. Her research focuses on Global Englishes, language attitudes, and inclusive internationalisation, examining linguistic diversity's implications for teaching, learning, and policy. Using mixed-methods and qualitative approaches, she has published in and reviewed for peer-reviewed journals in applied linguistics and education.

Abstract

In this sharing and discussion session, Yifang will reflect on her experiences of navigating perceived linguistic tensions and power dynamics as a non-native English-speaking teacher in UK higher education. Drawing on a Global Englishes perspective, the session will invite participants to consider how language is often positioned as a problem, but can also be understood as a right and a resource. Through examples from teaching both international and native English-speaking students, the session will open up discussion on academic language, multilingual teaching experiences, knowledge construction, inclusion, and pedagogical authority.

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