Chinese Linguist to Join World Languages, Literatures and Cultures

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Yun Yao

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. - Yun Yao will join the Department of World Languages, Literatures and Cultures in the J. William Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences this fall as an assistant professor. She comes to the University of Arkansas as an experienced and decorated researcher of Chinese.

"Dr. Yao's cutting-edge linguistic research methods, together with her talent and passion for teaching Chinese, will make her a great addition to the department," said Steve Bell, department chair. "Her research and her teaching complement one another in synergistic ways that will impact and enrich the experience of our students."

Yao's research is focused on second-language acquisition and language processing in Chinese. Her dissertation was titled Chinese Character Recognition in Native and Second Language Readers. Yao has published an article in the journal Writing Systems Research, and she has another article in preparation for the journal Language Learning.

"I'm looking forward to the opportunity to work with the wonderful faculty and student body at the University of Arkansas," Yao said. "My hope is to help mold young minds and inspire passion for other cultures and languages."

Yao has received several significant grants in support of her research, including awards from the Chinese Language Teachers Association and the Chiang Chi-kuo Foundation for International Scholarly Exchange. She has also received substantial dissertation travel and completion grants from the University of Illinois.

She earned a Bachelor of Arts in teaching Chinese as a second language from Beijing Language and Culture University. She holds a Master of Arts in East Asian languages and cultures and doctorate in East Asian languages and cultures and second-language acquisition from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

About the Department: The Department of World Languages, Literatures and Cultures promotes J. William Fulbright's legacy of international understanding and global academic exchange. Through the Center for World Languages, courses in 13 languages and participation in many interdisciplinary programs across campus, faculty members empower students to become proficient communicators and acquire a working knowledge of cultures and literatures around the world.