Alfred W. T. Lo

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DPhil Asian and Middle Eastern Studies (Applied Linguistics and East Asian Studies)
Wolfson College
alfred.lo@ames.ox.ac.uk

Biography

Alfred W. T. Lo is an Oxford-Wolfson-Marriott doctoral student in Applied Linguistics and East Asian Studies at the University of Oxford, where he serves as Tutor of Modern Languages and Founding Tutor of Korean at the Oxford University Language Centre. He is an Honorary China Oxford Scholar and currently a Junior Visiting Scholar at the Faculty of Humanities, the Education University of Hong Kong. As a holder of Qualified Teacher Status in both England and Hong Kong, Alfred has diverse teaching experience spanning primary, secondary, and tertiary education across the UK, New Zealand, South Korea, North Korea, mainland China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Sri Lanka. Formerly, he served as Tutor of Sociolinguistics and Writing Consultant for Linguistics at the School of English, The University of Hong Kong. His accomplishments have been recognised with several awards and fellowships, including Oxford-Wolfson-Marriott Graduate Scholarship (Wolfson College), Young Bin Min (YBM) Fund (Faculty of Asian and Middle Eastern Studies), China Oxford Scholarship Fund (COSF), support from the Academy of Korean Studies (AKS), and a Junior Visiting Fellowship from the Education University of Hong Kong.

Trained as an applied linguist, Alfred’s research centres on sociolinguistics and linguistics-in-education, with particular emphasis on Global Englishes, translanguaging and transcultural communication, Content and Language Integrated Learning, and self-regulated learning. His work has been published in international peer-reviewed journals, including International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism, Language and Education, System and ELT Journal, as well as with publishers including Bloomsbury Academic and Springer Nature. He is also the co-author of Fandom Language Learning (Bloomsbury, 2025 with Jieun Kiaer), the first comprehensive book-length exploration of the relationship between fandom and language learning in digital contexts.

Introduced to Korean culture during the first Korean Wave (Hallyu) in the early 2000s through the historical drama Dae Jang Geum, he developed a deep interest in the Korean Peninsula’s language, history, culture and later, the inter-Korean relations. This personal interest has since evolved into an academic passion for exploring the second Korean Wave and the future of Hallyu, which he seeks to integrate with his expertise in language communication and learning. Drawing on theories from sociocultural linguistics, educational linguistics, cultural studies, and media studies, his doctoral research examines the communicative processes within Hallyu fandom communities in the context of English as a global language.

Educational Background

2025                       Visiting Student of AI Linguistics, Korea University

2022                       MSc Applied Linguistics and Second Language Acquisition (Distinction), University of Oxford

2019                       Visiting Student of Korean Language and Culture, Seoul National University

2019                       Visiting Student of Language Teaching, University of Auckland

2021                       BA Language Studies and BEd English Language (1st Hons, valedictorian), the Education University of Hong Kong

Qualifications

  • Associate Fellowship of Higher Education Academy (AFHEA) (2025 – Present)
  • Qualified Teacher Status (England), UK Department for Education (2024 – Present)
  • Qualified Teacher Status, Hong Kong Education Bureau (2021 – Present)

Research interests

  • Global Englishes (with particular interests in East Asian Englishes and pedagogical implications)
  • Fandom Language Learning and Communicative Practice
  • Translanguaging and Transcultural Communication in Digital Contexts
  • Content and Language Integrated Learning
  • Language Education and Policy in East Asia
  • Traditional and Modern Culture of Korea
  • Inter-Korean relations

 

Projects Involved

  • Theorising Plurilingual Assessment (the Education University of Hong Kong, 2024- )
  • UNIQ Programme (Faculty of Asian and Middle Eastern Studies, University of Oxford, 2024-)
  • TCAT Project (Undergraduate Admissions and Outreach, University of Oxford, 2024- )
  • Oxplore Project (Undergraduate Admissions and Outreach, University of Oxford, 2023- )
  • BeUNIQ (Undergraduate Admissions and Outreach, University of Oxford, 2023- )
  • Queen’s Creative Translation Exchange (Queen’s College, University of Oxford, 2023- )

Courses Taught

Oxford University Language Centre

  • Stage 1 Part 1, Korean: Languages for All (Founding Tutor)
  • Stage 1 Part 2, Korean: Languages for All (Founding Tutor)

School of English, The University of Hong Kong

  • ENGL7101 Introduction to Language and Communication (Postgraduate)
  • ENGL7110 Gender, Discourse and Society (Postgraduate)
  • ENGL7000 Writing Consultant for Linguistics (Postgraduate)

Faculty of Asian and Middle Eastern Studies, University of Oxford

  • The Language of Pop Culture in East Asia, UNIQ Programme

Undergraduate Admissions and Outreach, University of Oxford

  • Introduction to Phonetics (TCAT Programme)
  • Would It be better if we all spoke the same language? (Oxplore Programme)
  • Introduction to Higher Education (BeUNIQ Programme)

Supervisors

Professor Jieun Kiaer (Young Bin Min-KF Professor of Korean Linguistics, Faculty of AMES)

Professor Heath Rose (Professor of Applied Linguistics, Department of Education)

Recent publications

Monograph

Kiaer, J. & A. W. T. Lo* (2025). Fandom Language Learning: A Digital Transformation of Language Education in the AI Age . London: Bloomsbury Academic. (*corresponding author)

Journal Articles

Lo, A. W. T. (2025). A Digital Pedagogy for Transcultural ELT through Global Englishes. ELT Journal.

Lo, A. W. T. (2025). The Educational Affordances of Generative AI in Global Englishes-oriented Materials Development and Implementation: A Critical Ecological Perspective. System.

Lo, A. W. T. (2024). Students’ self-regulatory processes in content and language integrated learning: a vignette-based microanalytic study . International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism, 28(1), 19–35.

Lo, A. W. T. (2024). Unlocking CLIL success: exploring the interplay between students’ self-regulation levels, linguistic challenges and learning outcomes in Hong Kong secondary education . Language and Education, 1–19.

Book Chapter

Kiaer, J., Kim, L., Lo, A. W. T. (2024). “Koreans Are Always Nodding or Bowing”: K-Wave Fandom’s Perception and Learning of Non-verbal Politeness. In: Kim, M.S. (Ed.) Exploring Korean Politeness Across Online and Offline Interactions. Advances in (Im)politeness Studies. Springer, Cham.

Professional Community Service

Pronunciation Consultant (Hong Kong English), Oxford English Dictionary, Oxford University Press (2024 – Present)

Student Editor (Behind the Scenes Scheme), Review of Education (British Education Research Association, Wiley) (2024 – Present)

Academic Officer (Arts, Humanities and Social Science), Oxford University Hong Kong Scholars Association (2023-24)

Year Convenor, China Oxford Scholarship Fund (2023-24)

Ad-hoc Peer Reviewer of:

  • International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism (T&F)
  • Language and Education (T&F)
  • Computers and Education: X-Reality (Elsevier)
  • The Language Learning Journal (T&F)
  • System (Elsevier)
  • Review of Education (Wiley)
  • Semiotics in Education (SIG), American Education Research Association (AREA)
  • Bloomsbury Academic (Linguistics, Language Education and Research Methods)
  • Springer Nature (Publisher for Linguistics)