Vision
To become the number one virtual hub for language HDR students’ professional development dedicated to HDR research in the Asia-Pacific region in 2026.
Mission
- To support HDR students in researching language education or language in education
- To provide a networking platform for HDR students within these specific fields
- To provide a platform for HDR research ideas and knowledge sharing
Values
- supportive
- collaborative
- connected
- constructive
Activities:
- Organise professional development webinars focusing on research methodologies, open to members and the public
- share open-accessed resources
Launching Event
HDR CARE Forum: Connecting Asia-Pacific Language Research & Exchange (LinguaLab, School of Education)
On Friday, November 15, 2024, we launched the HDR CARE Forum with a special presentation by Prof. Luke Plonsky from Northern Arizona University.
Prof. Plonsky introduced his proposed framework for evaluating study quality, offering insights into academic rigor, research methodologies, and more.
For those of you who missed the event, you can watch the recorded presentation here.
Meet Our Advisory Board and Team Members
Dr. Andy Bown (Co-Lead)
Andy leads LinguaLab alongside Dr Stephanie Richey. His current research focuses on the role of technology in language learning and teaching, with a particular emphasis on supporting learners from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds.
Andy has been involved in language teaching for over 30 years as a teacher, program manager, teacher trainer, and researcher. He sits on the state council of the Modern Language Teachers Association of Tasmania and is a member of TasTESOL.
Dr. Stephanie Richey (Co-Lead)
Stephanie currently leads Lingua Lab with Dr Andy Bown, replacing the previous co-leader, Mairin, who has moved to another university.
Stephanie is a Lecturer in Curriculum Studies (Primary). Stephanie is interested in the provision of second language learning in schools, including students’ motivation for learning a language, and stakeholder and public perception of the Languages subject.
Her expertise/experience includes: Second language learning motivation, L2 Motivational Self System theory, Enrolment factors and barriers, and Elective subject enrolment.
Dr Nita Novianti
Nita has just recently graduated with a PhD from UTAS, focusing her research on critical literacy in EFL education. She also serves as a research assistant at LinguaLab. Her other roles at UTAS include a tutor and researcher in language-related projects. Nita is also an editor for the International Journal of Education and the Indonesian Journal of Applied Linguistics. Before her PhD, she worked as an English lecturer in Indonesia. Her research interests include EFL language and literature learning, critical literacy, and children's literature. Nita has also translated and published children's books and teen fiction.
David Gutteridge
David is an education professional who has worked as a TESOL teacher in Europe and Australia. In more recent times, he has worked in international education, training and management roles in vocational education and the libraries and archives sector.
David has now returned to international education in a destination marketing role. He holds a Bachelor of Education (Applied Learning) and Bachelor of Education with Professional Honours from the University of Tasmania. David also completed his Master of Education degree at the University of Tasmania in 2022 with a research project about the relative prestige of Australian English and other varieties of English in ELICOS classrooms. He has a strong interest in socio-linguistics and the different varieties of English. David is planning to undertake his PhD at UTAS in the near future.
Minh Tien Mai
Tien is a PhD candidate at the University of Tasmania thanks to the College of Arts, Law, and Education's Research Training Program. Under the supervision of Dr Mairin Hennebry-Leung, Dr Andy Bown, and Dr Zi Sang See, he has been exploring the pedagogical use of technology to motivate second/foreign language learners. His research interests include language learning motivation, teacher education and development, and computer-assisted language learning.
Lan Thi Huynh
Thi is currently a PhD Candidate at the School of Education, College of Arts, Law and Education, the University of Tasmania. Her project focuses on the use of technology to support self-regulated learning of learners from culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) backgrounds. She has a strong research interest in self-regulated learning, TESOL, educational technologies, computer-assisted language learning (CALL).
Xinrui Song (Bella)
Bella's research interest centres around heritage language maintenance. Her research interest in heritage language maintenance, particularly within the Chinese diaspora communities in English-speaking countries, developed during her four years of experience in childcare services. As she interacted with parents from various cultural and linguistic backgrounds, she became increasingly fascinated by their attitudes towards preserving heritage languages and the strategies they employed in this endeavour.
Currently, Bella is pursuing an honours degree in this field, building upon the solid foundation she gained through her Bachelor of Education (Early Childhood) at UTAS, which she completed in 2020.
Hu Xiao, Amy
Amy is an assistant professor from the City University of Macau. She obtained her PhD from the University of Hong Kong, under the guidance of Dr. Mairin Hennebry-Leung, Dr. Lo Yuenyi, and Dr. Gary Harfitt. She is a passionate teacher and researcher on language education.
Since 2020, she has also served as an academic advisor to students pursuing their MA(TESOL) from the University of Hong Kong. She is also actively involved in various research programs on topics including language learning motivation, special education, teacher development, computer-assisted language learning, and English as a medium of instruction for non-language subjects.
Amy welcomes any opportunity to work with others in any of the above fields, and is always happy to share her ideas and expertise with others in the academic community.
Our partners
We value our partnerships with these organisations:
If you are interested in partnering with us, please contact us at lingualab@utas.edu.au.