Staff Profile

Introduction

I am a senior lecturer, teaching at the MA in Applied Linguistics and TESOL (Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages) programme. Prior to joining the TESOL team at Newcastle, I taught English as a foreign language (EFL) at a secondary school and universities in China for 10 years, and worked on national research projects on educational policies and thinking skills in England. My current research interest is on integrating teaching thinking, esp. higher order or critical and creative thinking, into second language classrooms as well as in its positive impact on learners, learning outcome and professional development. I have been supervising PhD projects on experimenting different teaching pedagogy of embedding teaching thinking into EFL curriculum.

Background

I was Degree Programme Director of the MA in Applied Linguistics and TESOL (Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages) for more than 10 years. In addition to the teaching at the MA programme, I have been a consultant for a number of research projects on teaching innovations and professional development.

Roles and Responsibilities

Admission tutor

Personal tutor
Senior tutor 
Chair of Board of Examiners 
ECLS rep for HASS INTO Liaison Group
Chair of PEC Committee for MA in Applied Linguistics and TESOL and CCC programmes

Qualifications

BA in English
MA in English Linguistics and English Language Teaching
PhD in Education

FHEA

Memberships

IATEFL (International Association of Teaching of English as a Foreign Language)
Asia TEFL
BAAL (The British Association for Applied Linguistics)

Research Interests

My research interests are centred around integrating teaching higher order thinking into English as a second or foreign language curriculum. These can be broken down into several foci: 1) innovative pedagogy in teaching English as a foreign language and impacts on learning outcomes;  2) professional development of second language teachers (esp. on mediation and classroom discourse); 3) impact of teaching thinking and overall development of learners. Other related research interests include language and thinking, code-switching and creativity, bilingual education, and teaching Chinese as a foreign language.

Other Expertise

Mandarin Chinese, educational policies, systems and foreign language teaching and learning in China
From 1997-2006 I was secretary of Chinese Centre of North East of England.
I set up a Sunday Mandarin Chinese school in Newcastle and was head teacher from 1998-2004.

I have provided a number of professional development workshops on how to integrate teaching thinking into second language education programme.

Current Work

Co-researcher on a comparative study examining different learners' development of critical learning skills in postgraduate taught programmes in Accounting and Finance and in Applied Linguistic and TESOL in Newcastle University, funded by University Education Development Fund, 2018-2019.

Critical Skills for Life and Work, an Erasmus funded project on developing the professional intercultural communicative competence of highly-skilled refugees.

Researching into feasibilities of integrating teaching thinking into the EFL curriculum, and impacts on teaching pedagogy, learning motivation and English in use (e.g. developing L2 speaking, reading and writing competence and proficiency

Research Roles

Co-researcher on ‘Transition: International Postgraduate Students’ Transitions: linguistic, academic and engagement in learning’, 2011-
Co-researcher on ‘Transition: International Postgraduate Students’ Transitions: linguistic, academic and intercultural’, 2009.
Co-researcher on ‘Six Thinking Hats and Developing Thinking Skills of English Major Students at Fuzhou University’ 2009-2012, Fuzhou, China.
Consultant for a project on ‘Curriculum Design and College English’, Hohai University, Changzhou, China. 2009-
Co-Principal Investigator with Sue Robson on ‘Developing and Evaluating a Model for Thinking Skills Intervention in the Asian Context’, funded by the British Council China Studies Grant. 2000- 2004.
Project team for ‘An Evaluation of Thinking Skills Taxonomies for Post-16 Learners’ funded by LSDA 2002-3 led by David Moseley.

Postgraduate Supervision

I am currently supervising 6 PhD students researching on EFL teacher development, higher order thinking of postgraduates in writing, and integrating teaching thinking into L2 classes at different levels. I am interested in supervising research projects that investigate processes of developing a critical voice in L2 (using reflective tools, e.g. Think Aloud), reciprocal roles of critical reading and writing in L2, or ways to help teachers generate higher order thinking talk to improve L2 speaking, reading and writing skills.

Jing Jiang (PhD) - Integrating critical thinking into English flipped classrooms: a case study in a Chinese university.

Ngoc Thinh Pham (PhD)- The learning Journey of Confucian heritage culture students to be critical thinkers during the the Masters programmes in the UK: a cross investigation of Chinese and Vietnamese students.  

Maaly Jarrah (PhD) -  Exploring experience of learning to be reflective practitioners of English language teachers in Kuwait 

Yuqi Xiao (IphD) - Collaborative writing on Chinese university students' critical thinking.

Abdul Almashy (PhD) - An investigation into the impact of extensive reading on the development of Saudi university students' speaking skills

Vanlee Siriganjanavong (IphD) - Evaluation of English Language Teacher Education Programme, Thailand

Successful PhDs:

2019- Woralak Bancha (IphD) - Impact of oral group reflection on beliefs and practice of Thai university teachers of English relating to vocabulary teaching in reading.

2018- Rungsima Jeanjaroonsri (IphD) - Thai university students' perceptions of the learner-centred approach

2017- Rezon Alharbi (IphD) - Acquisition of lexical collocations: a corpus-assisted contrastive analysis and translation approach

2016- Abdulaziz Al-Qahtani (PhD)- Can creative circles improve reading comprehension and creative thinking of Saudi third-grade middle school EFL learners?

2015- Sandra Morales Rios (IPhD) - How in-service language teachers become effective users of CALL for online teaching and learning: a case study of their development processes in a transformative online teacher training and development course.

2015- Chia-Lin Kuo (IPhD)- A quasi-experimental study of formative peer assessment in an EFL writing classroom.

2014- Yue Lin (IPhD)- Infusing higher order thinking skills in secondary school in China on reading and writing.

2013- Darrett Naruemon (IPhD)- Evaluation of English Language Teacher Education Programme, Thailand.

2010- Mamour Turuk (PhD) - Developing Critical Thinking Skills through Integrative Teaching of Reading and Writing in ESL Writing Classroom, Sudan.
2010- Mei-hui Chen (IPhD) -Infusing thinking skills into speaking an L2 classroom, Taiwan.

Esteem Indicators

Consultant for Chinese BAYU project which aimed to recruit distinguished Overseas scholars to help improve the quality of higher education through introduce teaching thinking (2016), and building up an international thinking community between overseas experts and university teachers, pre- and in-service school teachers (2016-2018).

A visiting professor, Fu Zhou University, China, 2010-2013.
A successful bid for a thinking skill research project in L2 classes, and received national recognition in China in the Fifth round of Chinese National Grants for Foreign Language Education, 2010
Consultant for Curriculum Reform and College English Teaching, a 11th 5 Year Plan project in Jiangsu Province, China by Hohai University, 2009-2011

Reviewer for British Journal of Educational Studies, Curriculum Journal

Article editor for SAGE Open.
External examiner for PhD students

Postgraduate Teaching

Module leader:
English Language Teaching Methods
Thinking Skills in English Language Teaching

Contributor:
Research Methods in Applied Linguistics

Dissertations

• Lin M, Preston A, Kharrufa A, Kong ZR. Making L2 learners' reasoning skills visible: The potential of Computer Supported Collaborative Learning Environments. Thinking Skills and Creativity 2016, 22, 303-322.
• Al-Qahtani AA, Lin M. The impact of creative circles on EFL learners' reading comprehension. Theory and Practice in Language Studies 2016, 6(8), 1519-1530.
• Lin M, Preston A, Kharrufa A, Kong Z. Collaborative enquiry through the tabletop for second/foreign language learners. In: EUROCALL 2014: CALL Design: Principles and Practice. 2014, Groningen, Netherlands: Research-publishing.net.
• Preston A, Kharrufa A, Lin M, Kong Z. Enhancing language learning around the digital tabletop: do actions speak louder than words?. In: Innovative Language Teaching at University: Enhancing student performance. 2014, Leeds: University of Leeds.
• Lin M. Teaching Thinking skills in foreign language learning. In: House, S, ed. English: Investigation, Innovation and Best Practice - Teacher Development. Barcelona: Grao Ediciones, 2011, pp.79-100.
• Zhao S, Robson S, Lin M. Teaching thinking: theories and practice in China. Tianjin: Tianjin Science and Technology Translation Publisher, 2006.
• Robson S, Lin M. Teacher Professional Development for Quality Education in China British Council China Study Grant: Final Report. Newcastle upon Tyne: Centre for Learning and Teaching, University of Newcastle upon Tyne, 2004.
• Moseley D, Baumfield V, Elliott J, Gregson S, Higgins S, Lin M, Miller J, Newton D, Robson S. Thinking Skills Frameworks for Post-16 Learners: an Evaluation. Guildford, UK: Learning and Skills Research Centre, 2004.
• Lin M, Mackay C. Thinking Through Modern Foreign Languages. Cambridge: Chris Kington Publishing, 2004.
• Leat D, Lin M. Developing a pedagogy of metacognition and transfer: Some signposts for the generation and use of knowledge and the creation of research partnerships. British Educational Research Journal 2003, 29(3), 383-415.
• Baumfield VM, Lin M, Clark J, Hall IR. An Evaluation of EDP Priority 5: Key Stage 2/3 Transition - Final Report. Newcastle upon Tyne: Department of Education, University of Newcastle upon Tyne, 2002.
• Robson S, Lin M. Teacher Change and Student Autonomy: Thinking Skills Interventions and Young People with Disabilities in China. The International Journal of Learning 2002, 9(1), 447-459.
• Baumfield VM, Higgins SE, Lin M. Thinking Through Teaching: professional development for innovation and autonomy. Education Review 2002, 16(1), 61-67.
• Baumfield V, Lin M, Todd L. A Comparison of Different Approaches to Funding and Supporting Teacher Research. University of Newcastle upon Tyne: Department of Education, 2001.
• Taverner S, Baumfield V, Clark J, Fisher P, Hall I, Lin M, Smith P, Todd L. Transition between Key Stages in Schools. University of Newcastle upon Tyne and DTTR: Department of Education, 2001.
• Lin M, Robson S. Current economic, social and educational policies in China and their impact on people with disabilities. University of Newcastle upon Tyne: Department of Education, 2000.
• Lin M, Dyson A, Millward A. Effective communication between schools, LEAs and Health and Social Services in the field of special educational needs. Norwich: DfEE and Department of Health, 1998.
• Lin M, Dyson A, Millward A. Inter-agency cooperation for children with special educational needs: an analytical framework. In: van Veen, D; Day, C; Walraven, G, ed. Multi-service Schools: Integrated Services for Children and Youth at Risk. Leuven: Garant Publishers, 1998, pp.75-87.
• Lin M, Dyson A, Millward A, Crowther D. The Role of the Special Educational Needs Co-ordinator in Schools. University of Newcastle: Department of Education, 1997.