Yu (Joyce) Wu

Yu Wu
  • Associate Professor of Chinese, Chinese Flagship Director, Chinese Section Head
  • Phone: 401.874.4704
  • Email: yu_wu@uri.edu
  • Office Location: Swan Hall 129
  • Website

Biography

Dr. Yu (Joyce) Wu (吴瑜) is an Associate Professor and Chinese Section Head at the University of Rhode Island. She currently serves as the Vice President of the Chinese Language Teachers Association (CLTA-USA), a board member of NECLTA, and is the incoming high education Co-Chair for the College Board AP Chinese Development Committee. Her research focuses on second language acquisition, proficiency-based teaching and assessment, individual differences, and proficiency and intercultural communicative competence development in immersion contexts. She has won the URI College of Arts and Sciences Teaching Excellence Award, and the Rhode Island Foreign Language Association Mary L. Borra Excellence Award. Dr. Wu regularly presents at national and international conferences, and has conducted teacher training for Middlebury College Chinese Summer School, NECLTA, Western Kentucky University, Beijing Language and Culture University, Shanxi University, etc. She is undergoing the ACTFL Workshop Facilitator-in-training program from 2023-2024, and upon completion will lead ACTFL teaching training workshops on foundations of developing language proficiency, World-Readiness Standards, etc.

Research

As a trained applied linguist and language educator, Dr. Wu believes that best research informs classroom practice and vice versa. Her research focuses on classroom-based empirical research and best practices, proficiency development and assessment, learner factors in cognitive language development, computer-assisted learning and teaching, and linguistic and intercultural development in immersion and study-abroad contexts. Her recent publications include peer-reviewed articles and book chapters with reputable journals and book publishers, and a co-authored textbook series Progressive Chinese: An Intermediate Chinese Textbook《前进中文：中级课程》.

 

See Dr. Wu’s published work on her personal website: https://yujoycewu.wordpress.com/

Education

Ed.D. in Development Studies, Language Education Concentration, Boston University

M.A. in Linguistics and Applied Linguistics, Guangdong University of Foreign Studies

B.A. in English & B.S. in Computer Science, Shanxi University

Awards

2022 Rhode Island Foreign Language Association Mary L. Borra Excellence Award

2020 Cengage Learning Award for Innovative Excellence in the Teaching of Chinese as a Foreign Language, Chinese Language Teachers Association (as a member of the URI Chinese Flagship Program)

2019 College of Arts and Sciences Tenure-track Teaching Excellence Award

2014 Chinese Language Teachers Association Walton Presentational Award

Selected Publications

  1. Wu, Y. (2024). Exploring oral proficiency profiles of Advanced L2 Chinese speakers: A mixed-methods study. In I. Kecskes & H. Zhang (Eds.), Chinese as a Second Language Research from Different Angles, pp.265-292. Leiden, Netherlands: Brill Publishers.
  2. Spino, L., Echevarria, M., & Wu, Y. (2022). Optimizing the OPIc test experience through assisted self-assessment. Foreign Language Annals, 55(3), 853-876.
  3. Berka, S. & Wu, Y.(2022). The Chinese International Engineering Program: History, development, and curriculum refinement. In C. Grosse & H. Wang (Eds.), Chinese for Business and Professionals in the Workplace: Reaching across Disciplines, pp.73-90. New York, NY: Routledge.
  4. Spino, L. & Wu, Y. (2021). Developing a growth mindset for language proficiency. Language Educator, Fall 2021 Issue, 26-29.
  5. Wu, Y. (2020). Using Technology to Enhance Interaction and Promote Development of Chinese Proficiency from the Intermediate to Advanced Level. Journal of International Chinese Teaching, 5(4), 35-49. Beijing: Beijing Language and Culture University Press. [Written in Chinese]
  6. Wu, Y. (2019). Analysis of teacher Talk: How to effectively scaffold and push learners to proceed to the next proficiency level? Journal of Chinese Language Globalization Studies, 10, p.64-78.
  7. Wu, Y. (2019). The differential effects of recasts and metalinguistic feedback on the acquisition of Chinese Wh-questions and Classifiers. In F. Yuan & S. Li (Eds.), Classroom Research on Chinese as a Second Language, pp.45-76. New York, NY: Routledge.
  8. Sama, C. & Wu, Y. (2019). Integrating “Talk Abroad” into intermediate foreign language courses: Building learner Autonomy and engagement through video conversations with native speakers. In M. Carrió-Pastor (Ed.), Teaching Language and Teaching Literature in Virtual Environments, pp.73-94. Singapore: Springer Publishing Company.

 

Research-based Textbooks (Authors are listed alphabetically; each makes an equal contribution.)

  1. Progressive Chinese Volume 1:
    1. Chiu, H., Wu, Y., Yang, Y. & Yeh, H. (2022). Progressive Chinese: An Intermediate Chinese Textbook I. Taiwan: Cheng Chung Book Group. (Ebook link: https://ebook.hyread.com.tw/bookDetail.jsp?id=295787)
    2. Chiu, H., Wu, Y., Yang, Y. & Yeh, H. (2022). Teachers’ Manual for Progressive Chinese Textbook 1. Taiwan: Cheng Chung Book Group. (Ebook link: https://ebook.hyread.com.tw/bookDetail.jsp?id=320588)
    3. Chiu, H., Wu, Y., Yang, Y. & Yeh, H. (2023). Progressive Chinese: An Intermediate Chinese Textbook I (Traditional Character). Taiwan: Cheng Chung Book Group. (Ebook link: https://ebook.hyread.com.tw/bookDetail.jsp?id=364740 )
  2. Progressive Chinese Volume 2: (Student book and teachers’ manual forthcoming)