Overview
My research interests are experimental approaches to grammars, L2 acquisition and heritage languages. My research projects so far include Japanese, Chinese, Korean, Tibetan, Thai and Nuosu Yi. I am also interested in how to teach/learn foreign languages effectively with meaning-based approaches.
Current Appointments & Affiliations
Assistant Professor of the Practice of Asian and Middle Eastern Studies
·
2019 - Present
Asian & Middle Eastern Studies,
Trinity College of Arts & Sciences
Director of Undergraduate Studies
·
2025 - Present
Asian & Middle Eastern Studies,
Trinity College of Arts & Sciences
Assistant Professor of the Practice of Linguistics
·
2025 - Present
Linguistics,
Trinity College of Arts & Sciences
Faculty Network Member of the Duke Institute for Brain Sciences
·
2020 - Present
Duke Institute for Brain Sciences,
University Institutes and Centers
Recent Publications
Input-induced inter-speaker variation: evidence from Thai, Chinese and Japanese quantifier-negation sentences
Journal Article Lingua · January 1, 2026 This study investigates inter-speaker variation in the interpretation of Quantifier–Negation (Q-Neg) sentences in Thai, with comparative evidence from Japanese and Chinese. Challenging the view that such variation stems from a lack of cues in the input, th ... Full text Open Access CiteDecoding case markers: L1 Chinese L2 Japanese learners’ comprehension of Japanese OSV sentences
Journal Article Linguistics · September 25, 2025 AbstractIt is widely acknowledged that L2 learners whose native language lacks case markers often encounter difficulties when trying to acquire the usage of case markers in a second language. This article in ... Full text Open Access CiteScope assignment in Quantifier-Negation sentences in Tibetan as a heritage language in China
Journal Article Second Language Research · July 1, 2024 Quantifier-Negation sentences allow an inverse scope reading in Tibetan but not in Chinese. This difference can be attributed to the underlying syntactic difference: the negation word can be raised at Logical Form in Tibetan but not in Chinese. This study ... Full text Open Access CiteEducation
University of Hawaii, Manoa ·
2019
Ph.D.
University of Hawaii, Manoa ·
2012
M.A.