Wen Xin


Photo of Wen Xin
  • Assistant Teaching Professor

Contact Info

Wescoe 3032

Biography

I have taught a wide range of courses in English Language Studies, including English Grammar, The Development of Modern English, and Introduction to the English Language. In all of these courses, I emphasize that language is not simply a matter of what is “right” or “wrong” but rather what is appropriate within a given context. To foster this understanding, I expose students to diverse uses of English—across spoken and written contexts, different regions and nations, and various historical periods. Additionally, I cultivate students’ critical language awareness, helping them understand when, how, and why language can serve as a tool for empowerment, or conversely, as a means of marginalization and exclusion. 

My research lies at the intersection of English Language Studies and Writing Studies, with a particular focus on the variation of pragmatic features across different contexts, especially in writing classrooms. I aim to foster a more effective and equitable environment for writing instructors while supporting students in becoming stronger writers. To achieve this, I employ a range of methods and techniques from statistics and text mining, drawing on both qualitative and quantitative approaches to explore language use and its pedagogical implications.

Research

English Language Studies; Corpus Linguistics; Sociolinguistics; History of English; Pragmatics; Text Mining; Digital Humanities; Response to Student Writing

Teaching

Introduction to the English Language; English Grammar; Language and Social Justice; Sociolinguistics; The Development of Modern English; Corpus Linguistics; Rhetorical Grammar; Quantitative Research Methods; Programming for Digital Humanities

Selected Publications

[Forthcoming]. “‘We don’t Separate Subject from Verb with Comma’: Linguistic Justice and the Need for Better Engagement with Language in First-Year Writing Feedback.” Composition Forum. Co-authored with Andrew Moos. 

2024. “What Can History of the English Language Research Offer? A Diachronic Corpus-Based Approach to Research in Writing Studies.” Confluences of Writing Studies and History of the English Language [Special Issue]. Across the Disciplines 21 (2/3): 213-236. 

2024. “A Corpus Study on Written Comments by Nonnative English-Speaking and Native English-Speaking Teachers of First-Year Composition.” In Mariya Tseptsura and Todd Ruecker (Eds.), Nonnative English Speaking Teachers of U.S. College Composition: Exploring Identities and Negotiating Difference (pp. 137-155). Fort Collins, CO: The WAC Clearinghouse. 

2021. “The ‘u’ and ‘v’ Alternation in the History of English: Spelling Dynamics in the Handwritten Legal Documents from the Salem Witch Trials (1692).” American Speech 96 (2): 127-160. Co-authored with Peter Grund, Matti Peikola, and Johanna Rastas.