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Academic Staff

Dr Molly Pan

Dr Molly Pan

Research Assistant Professor

Research Gate

Research Overview

My research interests primarily revolve around the application of metaphor theories in the fields of public health communication and second language acquisition. This includes empirical research on metaphorical phenomena in health advertisements, media texts, and education discourse. I employ data analytics techniques to explore the latent connections between metaphorical phenomena and social psychology, comprising emotions, personal concerns and decision-making processes. I am particularly interested in experimental studies on the influence of metaphorical phenomena in the social world.

Education and Academic Qualifications

  • PhD in Linguistics, Hong Kong Polytechnic University
  • MA in English Language Teaching, Hong Kong Polytechnic University
  • BA in English Major, Nanjing Agricultural University

Academic and Professional Experience

  • Research Assistant Professor, Department of English and Communication, Hong Kong Polytechnic University (July 2023 —present)
  • Lecturer, College of Foreign Languages and Literature, Fudan University (2021—2023)

Teaching Areas

  • Workplace data literacy and communication 
  • Academic English for Medicine
  • Medical Paper Writing in English

Research Interests

  • Cognitive Linguistics
  • Metaphor Theories
  • Data Analytics
  • Public Health Communication
  • Multimodal Metaphor
  • Media Literacy /Stigmatization

Research Output

  1. Pan, P. & Pan, X. (Eds.). (2024). Daodejing—Artistic Seals and Calligraphy with Annotated Translation. Shanghai University Press. https://www.polyu.edu.hk/fh/research/research-output/books/dao-de-jing/?sc_lang=en
  2. Tay, D & Pan, X. (Eds.). (2022). Data Analytics in Cognitive Linguistics: Methods and Insights. Mouton de Gruyter.
  1. Chen, Z.A. & Pan, X. (accepted, expected in 2025). “The sea is not a dump yard” A Comparative Corpus-Assisted Analysis of Media Representations of the Fukushima Nuclear Water Release in China and Japan. Journal of Language Discourse and Society.
  2. Pan, X. & Lin, W. (accepted). A guide, cornerstone, and appetizer: An elicited metaphor analysis of Chinese university students’ perceptions of English language textbooks. PLOS ONE.
  3. Pan, X. & Tay, D. (2024). Associations between multimodal metaphor functions and signals in Chinese video ads. Metaphorik.de, 35, 53-88. https://www.metaphorik.de/en/journal/35/associations-between-multimodal-metaphor-functions-and-signals-chinese-video-ads.html 
  4. Pan, X. & Tay, D. (2023). The effectiveness of metaphors in Chinese video advertisements for depression: An experimental study. Lingua, 293, 103584. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lingua.2023.103584
  5. Pan, X. (2023). Metaphorical representation of autism in Chinese video public service announcements: Lonely twinkling. Language and Health.1(1),67-76. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.laheal.2023.06.006
  6. Pan, X. & Zhu, Y. (2022). Researching English language textbooks: A systematic review in the Chinese context (1964-2021). Asian-Pacific Journal of Second and Foreign Language Education.7,30. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40862-022-00156-3
  7. Pan, X. & Tay, D. (2022). Individual differences in identifying creative metaphors from video ads. Metaphor and the Social World. Online ahead of press. https://doi.org/10.1075/msw.20016.pan
  8. Pan, X. & Hu, G.W. (2022). The effectiveness of a CL-informed Approach to English preposition acquisition by young Chinese learners. Cognitive Linguistic Studies, 9(1), 87-109. https://doi.org/10.1075/cogls.20017.pan
  9. Pan, X. (2019). The effectiveness of the Conceptual Metaphor Approach to English idiom acquisition by young Chinese learners. Metaphor and the Social World, 9(1), 59-82. https://doi.org/10.1075/msw.17024.pan
  1. Pan, X. & Zhu, Y. (in press, expected in 2025). 近30年英文学术发表中外语教材研究的热点和趋势——基于CiteSpace的计量分析 [Hotspots and Trends in Foreign Language Textbook Research in English Academic Publications Over the Past 30 Years: A Bibliometric Analysis Based on CiteSpace].上海教育出版社 [Shanghai Educational Publishing House].
  2. Zhu, Y. & Pan, X. (in press, expected in 2025). 全球外语教材研究系统性评述[A Systematic Review of Global Foreign Language Textbook Research].上海教育出版社 [Shanghai Educational Publishing House].
  3. Pan, X. & Xie, D. (in press, expected in 2025). Unpacking the structure of a biomedical research paper: A Conceptual Metaphor-based approach. In I. Chavoshan & L. Fernandez (Eds). Conceptual Metaphor Theory in World Language Education. Routledge.
  4. Pan, X. & Tay, D. (in press, expected in 2025). Metaphor in Hong Kong Press Conferences on measures against Covid-19. In X. Wen, W.L. Lu & Z. Kövecses (Eds.), Metaphor and metonymy in mankind’s fighting the COVID-19 pandemic. John Benjamins.
  5. Pan, X. & Tay, D. (in press, expected in 2025). Metaphor and Stigma Communication in Chinese Video PSAs for Autism: Insights from Association Rule Mining. In S. Vilar-Lluch, A. Musolff, K. Kondo, TC, Zhou & M. Tsimpiri (Eds.), Healthcare, language and inclusivity. Routledge.
  6. Tay, D. & Pan, X. (2022). Data analytics in cognitive linguistics. In D.Tay & X.Pan (Eds.), Data Analytics in Cognitive Linguistics: Methods and Insights (pp. 1-12). Mouton de Gruyter.
  7. Pan, X. (2022). Exploring uses of creative metaphors in video ads: Insights from a data analytics approach. In D.Tay & X.Pan (Eds.), Data Analytics in Cognitive Linguistics: Methods and Insights. Mouton de Gruyter.
  8. Pan, X. & Chen, Z.A. (2022). When wars are good: Emotional unpacking Anti-Coronavirus Measures. In R. Breeze, K. Kondo, & A. Musolff (Eds.), Pandemic and crisis discourse. Communicating COVID-19 (pp.225-240). Bloomsbury.
  9. Pan, X. & Tay, D. (2021). Identifying creative metaphor in video ads. In L. Lin, INI. Mwinlaaru & D. Tay (Eds.), Approaches to specialized genres: In memory of Stephen Evans (pp.216-240). Routledge.
  1. Chen, Z.A. & Pan, X. (2024, June) Media representation of the release of Fukushima water: A corpus-driven comparative study on news reports in China and Japan. Paper presented at International Conference on Technology-enhanced Language Learning and Teaching & Corpus-based Language Learning and Teaching 2024 (TeLLT & CoLLT 2024), The Educational University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR.
  2. Zhang, J.C. & Pan, X. (2024, June) Using ChatGPT for L2 public speaking educational tool: A pilot study. Paper presented at International Conference on Technology-enhanced Language Learning and Teaching & Corpus-based Language Learning and Teaching 2024 (TeLLT & CoLLT 2024), The Educational University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR.
  3. Pan, X., & Tay, D. (2024, May) Analyzing Metaphors, Stigma, and Challenge Communication in Chinese Autism PSAs. Paper presented at International Symposium on Language Sciences (ISLS): Interdisciplinary Research and the Legacy of Yuen Ren Chao, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong SAR.
  4. Pan, X., & Tay, D. (2021, June) Emotional responses to creative metaphorical video Ads. Paper presented at The 14th International Conference for Researching and Applying Metaphor (Online), Vilnius University, Lithuania.
  5. Pan, X. (2019, August) A comparative study of two approaches to metaphor identification in video ads. Paper presented at The 15th International Cognitive Linguistics Conference, Kwansei Gakuin University, Nishinomiya, Japan.
  6. Pan, X., & Li, L. (2019, April). Multimodal construction of depression in Chinese video ads. Paper presented at the The 12th International Forum on Cognitive LInguistics Southwest University, Chongqing, China.
  7. Pan, X. (2018, June). Pragmatic uses of metaphors in Chinese video advertisements. Paper presented at SNU International Conference on Linguistics: Future Directions for Linguistic Research, Seoul National University, Seoul, Korea.
  1. Pan, X. (2019). Review of Ferrari, Federica (2018) Metaphor and Persuasion in Strategic Communication: Sustainable Perspectives. Cognitive Linguistic Studies, 6(1), 216-220. https://doi.org/10.1075/cogls.00038.pan

Others

  • 2024-2027 Co-Investigator Research on the effectiveness and enhancement strategies of public videos on Alzheimer’s Disease (HKD 110,176)
  • 2023-2025 Principal Investigator Faculty Reserve Metaphor, autism presentation, and stigmatization in Chinese video public service announcements (HKD 100,000)
  • 2023-2025 Principal Investigator Start-up research Metaphorical framings and stigma communication: A case study of health issue representations in Chinese public videos (HKD 300,000)
  • 2023-2025 Co-Investigator, Experimental Study on Teaching 'English Public Speaking' with the Assistance of Artificial Intelligence Tools (¥ 15,000)
  • 2021-2023 Principal Investigator, The Effectiveness of Conceptual Metaphor Approach to Medical English Vocabulary Acquisition (Shanghai Pujiang Program, Funded by Shanghai Municipal Science and Technology Commission) (¥150,000)
  • 2021-2022 Principal Investigator, Review of Research on English Language Textbooks (Funded by Shanghai Center for Research in English Language Education) (¥ 10,000)
  • 2021-2022 Principal Investigator, Investigating the Cooperative mode of teaching practitioners and researchers, Funded by Shanghai Center of Research in English language Education, ¥10,000
  • 2021-2022 Co-investigator, Building an Online Bilingual Corpus for Medical English (Funded by Fudan University) (¥ 80,000)

Esteem Measures

  • 09.2024- present External Consulting Member of Greater Bay Area Medical Language and Services Research Center
  • 04.2024- present Associate Editor of Metaphor and the Social World
  • 12.2020-03.2024 Editorial Assistant, Metaphor and the Social World
  • 2023-10 Lingua Editor’s Choice for the article The effectiveness of metaphors in Chinese video advertisements for depression: An experimental study, Lingua
  • 2023-02 Social Practice Excellence, College of Foreign Languages and Literature, Fudan University
  • 2021-11 Pujiang Talent (Social Science), Shanghai Municipal Science and Technology Commission
  • 2021-10 Faculty of Humanities Distinguished Thesis Award for PhD Students 2020/2021, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University
  • 2021-08 The Stephen Evans Best Thesis Award 2020-21, Department of English and Communication, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University
  • 2020-02 Outstanding Publication Award for PhD/doctoral Students 2019/20, Faculty of Humanities, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University
  • 2018-04 First Place, Best Paper Award on Language, Culture, and Cognition Symposium, Faculty of Humanities, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University

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