ICLLS 2025: A Successful Gathering of Linguistic Scholars

Last November, the Department of English Language and Literature of Hong Kong Shue Yan University was honored to be invited by the Chartered Institute of Linguists Hong Kong Society (CIOLHKS) and the Faculty of Foreign Languages at Ningbo University to serve as one of the co-organizers for the Seventh International Conference on Linguistics and Language Studies (ICLLS 2025). From June 6 to 8, 2025, Dr. Jenny Wan and Dr. Thomas Chan, as departmental representatives, traveled to Ningbo University to co-host the conference, which welcomed around 250 presenters and participants.

Image: Group photo of the ICLLS 2025 Organizing Committee with Prof. Kam Cheong Li, Chairman of Chartered Institute of Linguists Hong Kong Society in Ningbo University

We were privileged to have Prof. Rodney H. Jones from University of Reading, a renowned scholar in the field, deliver a keynote speech on “Languaging Machines.” Prof. Jones specializes in discourse analysis, interactional sociolinguistics, and language in digital media.  

In this conference, our English department contributed three research papers reflecting the joint efforts of both faculty members and MPhil students:  

Paper 1. From Policy to Perception: Sentiment Analysis and Topic Modeling on Housing Issues in Hong Kong

Authors: Zeng, W., Guan, H. L., & Wan, Y. N. (2025)  -- This study, a collaboration between Dr. Winnie Zeng (Research Assistant Professor, CBS, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University), our MPhil candidate Yolanda Guan, and Dr. Jenny Wan, explores public discourse on housing issues using a natural language processing (NLP) big data approach.  

Paper 2: Analyzing Visitor Reviews of Heritage Tourism: A Case Study of the Overseas Chinese Museum

Authors: Wan, Y. N., & Forey, G. (2025)  -- A linguistic study examining community engagement and collective identity through social media discourse on heritage tourism, co-authored by Dr. Jenny Wan and Prof. Gail Forey from the University of Bath.  

Paper 3: Language Attitudes in Theme Park Reviews 

Main contributor: Jamie Tse  (Supervisor: Dr. Jenny Wan) -- This presentation showcased Jamie Tse’s MPhil dissertation, which investigates language attitudes in visitor reviews of theme parks.  

In addition, Dr. Thomas Chan and Dr. Winnie Zeng facilitated parallel sessions to have lively and engaging academic discussions throughout the event. 

The conference was met with highly positive feedback from participants for the scholarly exchange. 

Dr. Jenny Wan and Dr. Thomas Chan are very grateful for the opportunity to serve as part of the organizing committee for ICLLS 2025. 

And... we look forward to ICLLS 2026. See you next year!