As a Research Scientist at the Center for Research in Child Development (CRCD) of National Institute of Education, my research focus is on bilingual education for English and Mother Tongue Languages. I am interested in bi-literacy learning and teaching with paper/electronic storybooks and the relationship between bilingualism and psychological traits, such as social emotional well-being and temperament.

These research interests stem from my studies in applied linguistics and the rising global trend of bilingual education when I was doing my PhD at the University of Groningen, Netherlands. Before I came to work at NIE, I did some research and teaching there.

I see that tremendous focus has been placed on bilingualism over the last decades. It piques my interest to find out how we can motivate children to develop both languages harmoniously and to explore whether bilingualism brings about long-term benefits. Studies have been conducted to show that there is a link but have not been conclusive so far.

What makes me love my job is the applicable nature of my work. Because of our institute’s close working relationship with the Ministry of Education, I am able to get a good sample size of students to conduct my research. I find this very valuable and that pushes me to work even harder.

Besides my work, I love scuba-diving! I obtained my open-water diver license about several years ago in France, and I find it such a fantastic activity to know a bit of ocean!