Alfred W. T. Lo

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

College 

Wolfson College 

Supervisors 

Professor Jieun Kiaer 

Professor Heath Rose 

Biography 

Alfred W. T. Lo is a DPhil candidate in Linguistics and East Asian (Korean) Studies in the Faculty of Asian and Middle Eastern Studies at the University of Oxford. He is the Founding Tutor of the first Korean programme at the Oxford University Language Centre, responsible for establishing the entire curriculum and directing its ongoing and future development. In addition, he serves as the Pronunciation Consultant of World Englishes (HKE) at the Oxford English Dictionary and as a Junior Board Member of TESOL Quarterly. He holds dual Qualified Teacher Status (QTS) from the UK Department for Education and the Hong Kong Education Bureau and is a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (FHEA). He is the Graduate Representative (DPhil) at the Faculty. 

Alfred’s teaching experience spans all levels. He began his teaching career as a full-time teacher in primary and secondary schools before moving into higher education. At Oxford, he teaches modern languages and East Asian Studies to both undergraduate and postgraduate students. He is closely involved in a range of outreach initiatives to promote modern foreign languages (MFL) in the UK through Oxford’s Undergraduate Admissions and Outreach (Oxplore, UNIQ, BeUNIQ programmes) and the Queen’s College Creative Translation Exchange, designing and leading workshops that support pupils in state schools across England.  

His research in linguistics centres on sociocultural perspectives on language, communication, and learning, with interests in transculturing and transcultural communication, Global Englishes, translanguaging, and Content and Language Integrated Learning. His work has appeared in leading peer-reviewed journals. He was awarded the Winner of the 2024 System Early Career Researcher Award (Elsevier) in recognition of his contribution to applied linguistics and educational technology. 

His research in East Asian (Korean) studies examines the transcultural and transmedial flows of East Asian popular cultures and the critical and cultural understanding of fandom communities, with particular emphasis on South Korea. His professional and academic interests are rooted in his long-standing personal interest with the Korean Peninsula since the early 2000s. He has been invited to serve as a linguist panellist by Seoul National University Asia Center, Yonsei University, K-Culture-Story Content Research Institute at Kyung Hee University, joining leading scholars in discussions on the present and future of the Korean Wave. In 2025, he was awarded ‘First Prize’ by the Embassy of the Republic of Korea in the UK for excellence in advancing the development of Korea–UK relations and partnership in its essay competition. 

His doctoral thesis develops a transdisciplinary concept of 'transculturing', grounded in Hallyu fandom communities in the UK, with its theoretical framework published in Applied Linguistics (OUP). His work has been supported by the Oxford-Wolfson-Marriott Graduate Scholarship, Young Bin Min Fund, Academy of Korean Studies, British Association of Applied Linguistics-Cambridge University Press, Digital Humanities@Oxford, Seoul National University Asia Center and Kyunghee University. 

Working Languages: English, Korean, Cantonese, Mandarin, Classical Chinese (文言文/한문)

Educational Background 

  • DPhil in Linguistics and East Asian (Korean) Studies, University of Oxford 
      - Visiting Student of AI Linguistics, Korea University (2025) 
 

  • M.Sc. Applied Linguistics and Second Language Acquisition (Distinction), University of Oxford 

  • B.A. Language Studies and B.Ed. English Language (First Class Honours), The Education University of Hong Kong 

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

      - Visiting Student of Language Teaching, University of Auckland (2019) 

Research interests 

  • Transculturing (as a transdisciplinary concept) 

  • Translanguaging and Transcultural Communication 

  • Global Englishes 

  • Hallyu (Korean Wave) 

  • Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) 

  • Transcultural fandom 

  • Traditional and modern Korean Cultures 

  • Inter-Korean relations 

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) 

  • Stage 1 Part 3, Korean: Languages for All (Founding Tutor) 

 

Regent’s Park College, University of Oxford 

  • Transnationalism in East Asian Literature and International Relations (Course Convenor and Examiner) 

 

Faculty of Asian and Middle Eastern Studies, University of Oxford 

  • Language of Pop Culture in East Asia (UNIQ Programme Course Convenor) 

 

School of English, The University of Hong Kong 

  • Introduction to Language and Communication (Postgraduate Course Tutor and Examiner) 

  • Gender, Discourse and Society (Postgraduate Course Tutor and Examiner) 

  • Writing Consultant of Linguistics (Postgraduate) 

 

Undergraduate Admissions and Outreach, University of Oxford 

  • Would It be better if we all spoke the same language? (Oxplore Programme Designer) 

  • Introduction to Phonetics (TCAT Programme Facilitator) 

  • Introduction to Higher Education (BeUNIQ Programme) 

Recent publications  

Monographs 

  • Kiaer, J. & Lo, A. W. T.* (2025). Fandom Language Learning: A Digital Transformation of Language Education in the AI Age. London: Bloomsbury Academic. (*corresponding author) https://doi.org/10.5040/9781350355439 

- Review: Han, Y., & Yu, D. (2025). Review of Kiaer & Lo (2025): Fandom language learning: A digital transformation of language education in the AI age. Functions of Language. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1075/fol.00074.han 

 

Peer-reviewed Journal Articles 

  • Lo, A. W. T. (2025). Culture Travellers: Theorizing Transculturing through Transcultural Fandom in the GenAI Age. Applied Linguistics. 1-26. https://doi.org/10.1093/applin/amaf060 

  • Lo, A. W. T. (2025). The educational affordances and challenges of generative AI in Global Englishes-oriented materials development and implementation: A critical ecological perspective. System, 130(10361), 1-17. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.system.2025.103610 (*Winner of System ECR Award) 

  • 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. https://doi.org/10.1080/13670050.2024.2384414. 

  • Lo, A. W. T. (2024). Unlock 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. https://doi.org/10.1080/09500782.2024.2314135 

 

Book Chapters 

  • Lo, A. (2026). 한국과 따로, 또 같이 만들어지자: 초경계적(trans) 관점을 통한 〈케이팝 데몬 헌터스〉 속 ‘한국성’의 재해석 [Made with(out) Korea: Refashioning Koreanness in K-pop Demon Hunters from a ‘Trans’ Perspective]. In S. Ahn (Ed.), 2026 K-콘텐츠: 한류를 읽는 안과 밖의 시선 [2026 K-Content: Eyes Inside and Outside Reading the Korean Wave]. Seoul: Kyung Hee University Press. [*written and published in Korean] 

  • 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. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-50698-7_7 

 

Textbook 

  • Lo, A. & Yoon, T. (2025). Annyeong? Korean 1 Workbook. Seoul: Hello Korean Inc. (Kyobo Mungo in South Korea) 

Media links