Statement

     Hi, this is Yi. I am currently studying for my doctoral degree at University of Arizona. Before that, I spent two years teaching Chinese students of English in Shanghai. It has been a wonderful memory.
     I am not completely enjoying the weather in Tucson. Having come from a hometown with lakes and crowds of people everywhere, I am still not very accustomed to the desert. But I completely enjoy studying here.

Research
    Most of my graduate work up to date is concerned with syntactic analysis. Personally, I like Government & Binding Theory much better than the Minimalist Program. I am also beginning to learn corpus linguistics and computational linguistics through Prolog.  
   My other interest includes CALL, esp. the impact of Internet in language learning/teaching. Currently, the questions intrigue me most are: how does CMC differ from traditional classroom interaction in the learners' language development? Is ZPD equally 'visible' in both modes? Do the learners use different 'strategies' of scaffolding when the mode of communication changes?

Teaching
    This is my 5th semester of teaching Freshmen Composition at University of Arizona. Up till now, I have had 6 sections of American students and 5 sections of ESLs.  I have done a little renovation on my old ENGL101 curriculum this year. The most fun/hefty part of the course is the second unit, in which we would read a complete novel and watch two movies. Frankenstein, written by Mary Shelley when she was 18 years old, is sometimes considered the 'first science fiction' in the world. However it is also described as a gothic story, a feminist writing, or a psychological horror. See my Teaching Resources for a list of secondary sources of this novel.
    The Man Who Knew Too Much 1934 and 1956 are movies by one of my favorite directors, Alfred Hitchcock. After you watch them, you will see how the concepts of family, women, war, horror and cinema changed as the time evolved and the context differed.

Hobbies
* Traveling. The two places I want to go most are Hawaii and Egypt.
* Cats and dogs. I have a kitty at home in China. My father takes care of her.
* Movies, esp. suspense, science fiction, and romantic comedies.
* Music. I have a YAMAHA keyboard.