Dr. WAN Yau Ni Jenny 
Assistant Professor
PhD in Applied Linguistics, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU)
B.A. (Hons) Language Studies with Business, PolyU
 
Visiting Scholar, Department of Education, University of Technology, Sydney, Australia
Visiting Student, Centre for Teacher Education, The University of Warwick, UK
 
View ORCiD, Scopus Author, Google Scholar, ResearchGate Profile

Course(s) Taught
  • Undergraduate Level
Interdisciplinary Approach to English Studies
Language of the Mass and Social Media
Discourse Analysis
English Writing I & II
English Usage I & II
 
  • Graduate Level

Guided Readings in English Studies 

Research Interests
Digital Institutional Discourse
Systemic Functional Linguistics (SFL)
Corpus Linguistics
Natural Language Processing (NLP)
  • Topic Modeling
  • Sentiment Analysis
Research Grant

2026-2027 (Principal Investigator) "Anticipatory grief in digital communication: Narratives in hospice care center websites and support group forums", Faculty Development Scheme, Research Grant Council Hong Kong (HK$ 512,476)

2024-2026 (Principal Investigator) "E-care support: Comparing the communication strategies of Hong Kong and UK public hospice care center websites", University Research Grant – Hong Kong Shue Yan University (HK$12,352.5)

Selected Peer-reviewed Journal(s)
Digital Institutional Discourse (Healthcare and Public Contexts)
Wan, Y. N., & Zeng, W. H. (under 2nd revision). Meanings on healthcare websites. (SSCI)
Wan, Y. N., Forey, G. & Zeng, W. H. (under review). Exploring hospice texts across regions. (SSCI)
Wan, Y. N. (under review). Digital hospice narratives. (SSCI)
Zeng, W., Wan, Y. N., & Guan, Y. L. (under review). Public discourse analysis. (SSCI). 
Zeng, W., & Wan, Y. N. (under review). Public text analysis. (SSCI).
Wan, Y. N. & Li, W. O. (in prep.). Healthcare research ethics.
 
Wan, Y. N. (under review). Appraising visitor evaluations in tourism context. (ESCI)
Wan, Y. N., & Li, W. O. (under review). Tourism discourse: Integrating linguistic and psychological approaches. (ESCI)
 
1. Wan, Y. N. (2025). The evaluative language of dark tourism: exploring visitors’ attitudinal meanings of holocaust memorials. Current Issues in Tourism, 1–21. https://doi.org/10.1080/13683500.2025.2541063 
(SSCI, JCR - Q1 Social Sciences, 5 year IF 6.3)
 
2. Wan, Y. N. (2024). Language differences in online complaint responses between generative artificial intelligence and hotel managers. Informatics, 11(3), 66. https://doi.org/10.3390/informatics1103006 
(ESCI,  JCR - Q1 Communication, 5 year IF 3.1)
 
3. Wan, Y. N. (2024). Framing negative eWOM via conjunctions: The language of customer communication in the luxury hotel sector on social media. Training, Language and Culture, 8(2), 76-93. https://doi.org/10.22363/2521-442X-2024-8-2-76-93 (SCOPUS, SJR: Q1 Linguistics and Language 0.4)
 
Selected Conference Presentation(s)

Wan, Y. N. (forthcoming). “Grieving in the digital space: A Systemic Functional Linguistic study of anticipatory grief in hospice narratives”. Paper at International Systemic Functional Congress 2026: Global Voices and Local Impacts: Advancing Language Education through Systemic Functional Linguistics, Hong Kong Metropolitan University, Hong Kong CHINA, 11-16 July 2026.
 
Wan, Y. N. & Li, W. O. (forthcoming). “Ethical considerations in healthcare research”. Paper at International Systemic Functional Congress 2026: Global Voices and Local Impacts: Advancing Language Education through Systemic Functional Linguistics, Hong Kong Metropolitan University, Hong Kong CHINA, 11-16 July 2026.
 

Wan, Y. N. & Li, W. O. (forthcoming). “Research ethics in scientific writing”. Paper at Innovations in Language Education: Advancing Pedagogy, Practice, and Research, The Centre for Applied English Studies (CAES), The University of Hong Kong (HKU), and the Association of Hong Kong Language Centres (AHKLC), Hong Kong CHINA, 2-3 June, 2026. 

Wan, Y. N. (forthcoming). "Grief in words: Exploring emotional resilience in digital hospice narratives”. Paper at the International Conference on Human Resilience: Navigating Life Changes & Challenges (HRCONF2026). Hong Kong Shue Yan University, Hong Kong CHINA, May 27 – 30, 2026.

Wan, Y. N., & Zeng, W. H. (forthcoming). “Digital healthcare discourse: A comparative study of public hospice websites across cultures”. Paper at Symposium on Language Science (ISLS) 2026: Interdisciplinary Research and the Legacy of Yuen Ren Chao, Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong CHINA, 8-9 May 2026. 

Selected Seminar(s)

Wan, Y. N. & Tse, T. P. J. (2026). “Anticipatory grief in digital narratives: Developing corpus and identifying linguistic features in hospice discourse.” Presentation at the 2nd Lunchtime Research Seminar, Language Center of Hong Kong Shue Yan University, Hong Kong, CHINA, Feb 6, 2026.

Wan, Y. N. (2025). “From Seed to Fruit: Language Features and Cross-Sectional Linkages in the Objective, Impact Statement, and Budget of FDS Grant Proposal”. Presentation at Preparing Impact Statement and Budget for RGC’s CRFS for the 2026/27 Exercise, Research Office of the Hong Kong Shue Yan University, Hong Kong, CHINA, Nov 21, 2025. 

Academic Service (SSCI, AHCI and SCOPUS  indexed journals)
  • Editorial Board
International Journal of Language Studies (2024 - 2027) SCOPUS (Q1 Language and Linguistics)
Journal of Language Teaching and Research (2024 - ) SCOPUS  (Q1 Literature and Literary Theory)
Journal of Intercultural Communication (2024 - ) SCOPUS (Q1 Cultural Studies)
 
  • Ad Hoc Reviewer 
International Journal of Tourism Research (2025 - ) SSCI (Tourism, Leisure and Hospitality)
Cultural Trends (2025 - ) SSCI & AHCI (Communication & Cultural Studies)
Healthcare (2024 - ) SSCI (Health Informatics Leadership and Management)
Cogent Arts & Humanities (2025 - ) ESCI (Arts and Humanities)