Recently, Professor Yang Mei's team from our school published another paper in Foreign Language Teaching and Research, a top-tier CSSCI journal. This marks another significant achievement under the National Social Science Fund project Theoretical Construction and Applied Research of Foreign Language Teaching Methods Based on the Xu-Argument, led by Professor Yang Mei. The article, titled Frontiers in Implicit Aptitude Research, features Yan Xiaomeng, a second-year doctoral candidate from our school, as the first author, and Professor Yang Mei as the corresponding author.
The Xu-Argument was proposed in 2016 by the renowned Chinese linguist Professor Wang Chuming. It aims to explain the mechanisms and patterns of language learning and to guide the innovation of foreign language teaching theory and practice, earning recognition as one of the representative theories of applied linguistics in New China that integrates Chinese and international perspectives. In 2022, Professor Yang Mei published the article Interaction Facilitated by Continuation, Learning Facilitated by Interaction in Foreign Language Teaching and Research, in which she innovatively introduced the concept of Xu-Neng (continuation ability). This concept advocates for research into second language learners' ability to learn through continuation, further advancing the development and refinement of the theoretical system of foreign language teaching methods based on the Xu-Argument. Since the introduction of the Xu-Neng concept, Professor Yang Mei and her team members, including graduate students Guo Qiying, He Zhiling, Yan Xiaomeng, and Yin Ziwei, have actively engaged in innovation, conducting theoretical and empirical research in areas such as the construct of Xu-Neng, implicit aptitude, interaction ability, and continuation strategies. The publication of Frontiers in Implicit Aptitude Research represents a crucial step in integrating Xu-Argument research with aptitude studies, laying a solid foundation for the innovative development of Xu-Neng research.
In recent years, the School of Foreign Languages has closely aligned with national strategic development needs, vigorously promoting disciplinary advancement and organizing research initiatives. Significant progress and achievements have been made in four key disciplinary areas: Foreign Linguistics and Applied Linguistics, Foreign Literature, Cross-Cultural and Translation Studies, and Country and Regional Studies. The Applied Linguistics team has contributed to the development of the Foreign Language Education and Teaching System Based on the Xu-Argument, fully demonstrating the School of Foreign Languages' commitment and capability to persistently and diligently build China's autonomous knowledge system for foreign language education.
Author's Biography:
Yang Mei is a professor, doctoral supervisor, and postdoctoral supervisor at the School of Foreign Languages, South China University of Technology. She has been a visiting scholar at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, the University of Hawaii, and Pennsylvania State University in the United States. She also serves as a council member of the China Second Language Acquisition Research Professional Committee, a researcher at the Xu-Argument Research Laboratory of Guangdong University of Foreign Studies, an external industry mentor for the Chinese Department at Sun Yat-sen University, and a peer review expert for National Social Science Fund projects, including project appraisal and evaluation. She previously served as the Chinese Dean of the Confucius Institute at Lancaster University in the United Kingdom. Professor Yang Mei has led two National Social Science Fund projects, one sub-project of the Ministry of Education's Major Philosophy and Social Science Research Project, one Ministry of Education International Chinese Language Education Project, three provincial and ministerial-level projects, and several other projects. Her awards include the National Second Prize for Teaching Achievement, the Guangdong Provincial Second Prize for Higher Education Research Excellence, the Guangdong Provincial Second Prize for Outstanding Achievements in Degree and Graduate Education, and South China University of Technology's Nanguang Award for teaching and the Most Popular Graduate Supervisor Award. She has published over 40 academic papers in journals such as Foreign Language Teaching and Research, Modern Foreign Languages, World Chinese Teaching, Foreign Language Teaching Theory and Practice, Foreign Language Education Research Frontiers, Foreign Language Review, Chinese Applied Linguistics, Contemporary Foreign Languages Studies, and Chinese Language Learning. She is the author of the monograph A Study on the Second Language Acquisition of English Articles from the Perspective of Language Emergence, published by Science Press. She also served as the chief editor of the textbook A Coursebook on English Continuation Writing and contributed to multiple other textbooks.
