Lin Zheng

Dr Lin Zheng is Principal Lecturer in Linguistics at the University of Portsmouth’s School of Education, Languages and Linguistics, and an active member of the Centre for European and International Studies Research. She currently supervises PhD students and leads research on applied linguistics, intercultural communication, and the internationalisation of higher education.

Education:

• PhD, University of Portsmouth (2004-2008) – Thesis: The responses of Chinese universities on transnational higher education and internationalisation of Chinese universities

Research Interests:

Her work centres on the intersection of language policy, intercultural communication, and higher education internationalisation. She explores how global Englishes mediate educational experiences, how Chinese students negotiate employability in the UK, and how transnational education partnerships evolve.

Recent strands include cosmopolitan agency in intercultural friendships, affective dimensions of English-medium instruction, and longitudinal analyses of UK-China articulation programmes.

Publication Trends:

Across more than a decade, Zheng’s publications have traced the shifting landscapes of English in Chinese higher education, the lived experiences of Chinese international students, and methodological debates in teaching English as a lingua franca. Her 2024 and 2025 outputs foreground cosmopolitanism and employability, signalling a maturing research agenda that links micro-level student agency to macro-level policy frameworks.

Awards:

• Best Presentation Award, 9th International Conference on Culture, Language and Literature, Xi’an, July 2023

Supervision & Grants:

Dr Zheng is currently accepting PhD students whose interests align with applied linguistics, intercultural education, and internationalisation. She has successfully mentored students examining transnational education dynamics and continues to seek funding for comparative policy studies.

Affiliated Labs & Networks:

She is embedded within the University of Portsmouth’s Centre for European and International Studies Research, collaborating on projects that map global Englishes and educational mobility. Her ORCID (0000-0002-4738-0501) links to an active profile with open-access datasets and presentation slides.