Na-Young Ryu

Na-Young Ryu is an Associate Teaching Professor of Korean in the Department of Asian Studies at Penn State University, part of the College of the Liberal Arts. She holds an M.A. in English Linguistics from Hankuk University of Foreign Studies (South Korea) and a Ph.D. in Linguistics from the University of Toronto (Canada). Her research focuses on Korean linguistics, phonology, and innovative language education methods, particularly integrating AI and web-based tools to enhance L2 learners' perception and pronunciation skills.

Dr. Ryu’s work emphasizes perceptual training programs using audio-visual techniques and AI-driven conversational chatbots. She explores cross-linguistic perception challenges faced by English and Mandarin learners of Korean, as well as phonological adaptation in heritage Korean communities. Her contributions include developing reliable web-based language tests and mobile-assisted phonetic training tools.

Her publications span topics like loanword phonology, vowel harmony in heritage Korean, and the impact of L1 inventory size on L2 perception. She actively promotes Korean culture through campus events like 'Krazy about Korea' and organizes conferences for language educators. Her interdisciplinary approach bridges linguistics, technology, and pedagogy to advance language education methodologies.