Lecturer
PhD in English Language, National University of Singapore
MPhil in Language Policy, Hong Kong Baptist University
MA (Distinction) in Language Studies, Hong Kong Baptist University
PGDE in Teaching of English, Hong Kong Baptist University
James joined CAES as a lecturer in 2022. He began his career as a secondary English teacher. After a brief stint working in school, he furthered his studies with a keen interest in sociolinguistics. He received his MA with distinction in language studies and MPhil from Hong Kong Baptist University. He continued his academic journey by moving to Singapore where he was awarded a PhD in English Language by the National University of Singapore. Prior to joining CAES, he worked in several tertiary institutions and taught Academic English, English for Specific Purposes, several disciplines in Linguistics at undergraduate and postgraduate levels, and supervised master’s degree research projects.
He has research interests in language policy and linguistic landscape, including using environmental English as a pedagogical instrument. He has research interests in language policy, linguistic and semiotic interdisciplinarity. He is particularly interested in how the role of multimodality negotiates social and territorial identities in public spaces.
At CAES, he mainly teaches Core University English, Technical English for Engineering students. He also teaches on the Master of Arts in Applied Linguistics programme and supervises students’ capstone projects.
Special Interest Groups:
Genres,Postgraduate Writing
Selected Publications / Presentations:
Fong, J. (2023). Social indexicality in the visual complexity of storefront signs: A field study in two Hong Kong’s shopping mall. Paper presented at the International Conference Semiosis in Communication Conference: New Challenges of Multimodality in the Digital Age, National University of Political Studies and Public Administration, Bucharest, Romania.
Fong, J. (2021). How ICT enhances the process of learning and teaching in tertiary education. Paper presented at the International Conference on Technology-Enhanced Language Learning and Teaching & Corpus-based Language Learning and Teaching 2021 (TeLLT & CoLLT 2021). The Education University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong.
Fong, J. (2019). Indexical orders of identity in Hong Kong: An analysis of railway station exit signs as contested spaces for identity struggles. Paper presented at the Multidisciplinary Approaches in Language Policy & Planning Conference. Ontario Institute for Studies in Education (OISE), University of Toronto, Canada.
Fong, J. (2019). Chinese as a pluricentric language in post-handover Hong Kong: Legitimacy of traditional and simplified Chinese characters. Paper presented at the Conference of Languages, Nations, Cultures: Pluricentric Languages in Context(s). Stockholm University, Sweden.