Meet The Experts: An Interview with Dr. Qian Du

Qian Du, University of California, Irvine, CA, USA

Interview conducted by Svetlana Koltovskaia, Northeastern State University, Tahlequah, OK, USA

We are honored to showcase an interview with Dr. Qian Du in our SLW News. Dr. Du is an Associate Professor of Teaching and Associate Director of Academic English within the Program in Global Languages and Communication at the University of California, Irvine. Please enjoy this enlightening interview with Dr. Du!

Svetlana: Could you tell us when and how you got into the field of SLW?

Qian: When I first got into TESOL pursuing a master’s degree at the Ohio State University, I didn’t have much background in the field. During my master’s studies, I was exposed to a wide range of research topics in TESOL, and I got especially interested in the skill of writing, its connections with other skills, and the cultural elements inherent in learning to write. After completing my master’s degree, I decided to delve deeper into the field of SLW by pursuing a Ph.D. degree in Foreign, Second, and Multilingual Language Education at the Ohio State University. Besides taking courses and conducting research on writing, I also got the opportunity to teach undergraduate and graduate academic writing courses for international students as a Teaching Assistant (TA). I truly enjoyed working with students from diverse language and cultural backgrounds and the opportunities to explore with them what it meant to learn to write for a new context, how to negotiate multiple literacy/cultural repertories, and how to make practical and flexible writing decisions. My Ph.D. coursework, my research projects, and my teaching were tightly connected, all enriching my understanding of SLW. Since my graduation in 2013, I have been teaching a wide range of writing courses for multilingual students and continued doing research along the way (it’s been 10 years already!).

Svetlana: Could you tell us what kind of research you do?

Qian: My research areas encompass intersections between writing, culture, and technology. One of my primary research interests focuses on the rhetorical and cultural interactions that students engage in as they learn to write for new contexts. I am fascinated by how students navigate the intricacies of linguistic, rhetorical, and cultural repertoires when they are introduced to unfamiliar writing environments, concepts, and practices. Specifically, I research how learners decipher new writing expectations and how they negotiate between multiple, and potentially conflicting, writing/rhetorical/cultural conventions.

A second area that I focus on is the evolving landscape of English academic writing, with a particular emphasis on the diverse and changing conventions of English usage across local and global contexts. I research how English is used as a global language to achieve diverse intercultural communication goals and how such sophisticated usage is often not captured by narrowly defined “standards”. My work aims to deconstruct traditional notions of “standardized” English and recognize the inherent fluidity of the language as it is used across intercultural contexts.

Lastly, I am interested in researching writing and technology, specifically in the domain of generative AI. I am deeply intrigued by the new generative AI technology and how this technology may potentially reshape our understanding of writing and what learning to write means. I am currently working on projects that look closely at how L2 writers navigate generative AI tools for writing purposes, and how they conceive, produce, and engage with machine-generated text.

Svetlana: What person or experience has had the greatest impact on your research/career?

Qian: After I became interested in SLW and decided to pursue a Ph.D. degree, I was fortunate to have had the guidance and support from three important mentors, who all played a critical role in shaping my understanding of SLW and the teaching of writing. The first was my doctoral advisor, Dr. Alan Hirvela, who introduced me to a wide range of promising research topics under the SLW umbrella as well as the importance of looking at writing in relation to other skills. The second was my TA coordinator, Dr. Karen Macbeth, who guided me throughout my TA years to find ways to connect teaching and research. What I learned from her, i.e., how to use research to inform my teaching and how to generate meaningful research questions from my teaching, has continued to shape and inform my work today. I am also indebted to my cohort colleague/peer mentor. She was already an experienced writing instructor when we started our Ph.D. journey together (I knew very little about SLW back then). She generously shared her knowledge and perspectives with me whenever I had questions and confusion. Without her, I likely would have felt lost so many times during my Ph.D. journey. Because of these rewarding experiences, I have continued on to pursue a career in SLW after graduation.

Svetlana: What is the biggest issue or challenge in the field, as you see it?

Qian: A question that I have been thinking about for quite some time is what counts as good L2 English writing. SLW research has advanced in major ways over the years, but there seems to be limited work that portrays successful L2 writers or their unique literacy competencies as a result of their intercultural experiences. It has been widely acknowledged now that the ability to navigate across language and writing contexts is an asset, not a deficit, but much of the SLW research still appears to concentrate on L2 writers’ subpar performances when measured against “standards” in English academic settings. I think there is a need for SLW research to critically examine what we mean by good English writing and how to conceptualize good writing in intercultural contexts.

Another challenge in the field, in my view, is the relatively limited understanding of writing conventions in languages other than English. Despite the tremendous research development in English writing, we know very little of our L2 writers’ rich L1 literacy and cultural competences. Without such knowledge, it is difficult to truly adopt an intercultural lens when looking at L2 writers’ English writing proficiency. More research along this line would not only contribute to linguistic diversity but also provide a window into the sophisticated interactions that L2 writers engage in across multiple linguistic repertoires when they write in a new language.

Svetlana: Could you share some of the most interesting findings from your recent research?

Qian: One interesting finding that I have observed over the years is that even though students’ writing output may not be satisfactory, their thinking and decision making processes are sophisticated, dynamic, and nuanced, reflecting a high level of cognitive flexibility and literacy development. In one of my studies, for example, the participants, i.e., Chinese students learning paraphrasing at a U.S. university, gave unexpected yet reasonable justifications for why they chose to make certain paraphrasing decisions over others.

Another memorable finding is from a collaborative research project where we looked at how American students learned to write argumentative essays in Chinese. The main finding is that the American students actively used their rhetorical knowledge in English to interpret unfamiliar Chinese writing conventions. When they didn’t understand the purpose of certain rhetorical moves in Chinese writing, students would choose to not incorporate such moves at all and resorted to their English literacy knowledge for organizing their Chinese essays.

I find learner perspectives, like the ones mentioned above, have helped me tremendously to better understand students’ thought processes as they grapple with unfamiliar writing expectations, enabling me to design teaching strategies that more effectively meet their needs.

Svetlana: As an expert in the field of SLW who has done extensive research and service for the field and community, what would you recommend for someone who wants to develop expertise in SLW?

Qian: Based on my personal experiences, I think it is helpful to connect teaching and research. Observing the concrete challenges and successes of L2 writers provides invaluable insights that can often shape the development of research questions. Conversely, the classroom is a dynamic place to adopt and adapt the latest research findings and recommendations (this also provides students with opportunities to connect with research and gain first-hand experiences with the impact of research).

Svetlana: Thank you for this fantastic interview! I am sure that your personal story, insights, and advice will be very interesting and valuable to our SLW community!

Below are a few suggested publications by Dr. Qian Du that may be of interest to you.

Du, Q., & Liu, Y. (2023). Understanding novice L2 writers' reasoning and decision-making strategies for source-based writing. In R. Wette (Ed.), Teaching and learning source-based writing: Current perspectives and future directions(pp. 13-26). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003283485

Du, Q., & Liu, Y. (2021). Foregrounding learner voice: Chinese undergraduate students’ understanding of paraphrasing and source use conventions for English research paper writing. Language Teaching Research. https://doi.org/10.1177/13621688211027032

Du, Q., Lee, J. W., & Sok, S. (2020). Using China English, creating translingual space. World Englishes, 39(2), 275-285.

Qian Du is an Associate Professor of Teaching and Associate Director in the Program in Global Languages and Communication at the University of California, Irvine. She teaches graduate and undergraduate writing, reading, and speaking courses to multilingual students. Her research interests include English for academic purposes, intercultural rhetoric, reading-writing connections, and writing and technology.

Svetlana Koltovskaia is an Assistant Professor of English and Director of the ESL Academy at Northeastern State University, Tahlequah, Oklahoma. Her research centers around L2 writing, computer-assisted language learning, and L2 assessment. She had her works published in journals like Assessing Writing, ReCall, JALT CALL, and TESL-EJ.