Weidan (Wendy) Zhang

wendy
Academic Visitor
Experimental Psychology

I am an Academic Visitor supervised by Prof. Kate Nation. Concurrently, I am pursuing a PhD at Beijing Language and Culture University. My research focuses on a specific subtype of children's metalinguistic awareness: constructional awareness. Constructional awareness serves as a crucial mechanism in children’s language acquisition, enabling them to grasp linguistic structures and meanings by perceiving and internalizing fixed patterns of word-grammar pairings, known as constructions.

During my doctoral studies, I conducted experimental research on Mandarin-speaking children aged 4 to 11, addressing four key questions: The features of form-meaning mapping across different age groups; How children process event structures; The impact of frequency on constructional learning; The role of contextual cues and emotional attitudes construction acquisition. My findings uncover key patterns in children’s language learning, offering valuable insights into their development. I hope my research will inspire new approaches to supporting children’s language growth in everyday family settings.

My favourite word

My favorite word is Dhyāna in Sanskrit, which means meditative concentration. I deeply enjoy the state of flow that arises during reading and writing. When I emerge from this state, I feel incredibly fulfilled and joyful!

My favourite childhood book

The book that left the deepest impression on me during my childhood was Gulliver’s Travels. Although my body couldn't travel to distant places back then, my spirit followed the book to Lilliput, Brobdingnag, Laputa, and the land of the Houyhnhnms. These strange scenes, which I had never seen in real life, felt so vivid in the pages of the book. I was deeply fascinated by the fantasy adventures! I often dreamt of arriving in Lilliput, where I was the tallest person, and I would feel so happy the whole day after waking up. These memories of the joy and innocence books brought me are truly precious!