Yilin You is a DPhil candidate in Applied Linguistics and Language Education at the University of Oxford. Her research draws on critical and sociological perspectives in applied linguistics, focusing on Global Englishes, language learner identity and investment, and educational inequality.
Focusing primarily on English as a Foreign Language (EFL) education in Chinese higher education, her research explores how broader sociocultural and institutional forces interact with learners’ agency in shaping their identities, aspirations, and educational trajectories. She pays particular attention to how local cultural norms, educational practices, and institutional expectations shape the meanings and possibilities of learners’ choices and actions, and how learners, in turn, negotiate these conditions through their own practices.
Yilin earned a BA in English from Beijing Institute of Technology, where she developed a broader interest in education, psychology, and sociology through postgraduate-level courses, international summer programmes, and research experience at the THBI Child Cognition Centre, Tsinghua University. She subsequently completed an MA in English Linguistics and Applied Linguistics at Beijing Foreign Studies University, where she began integrating sociocultural and critical perspectives into her research on language education. Her master’s research investigated Chinese university students’ pursuit of native-like English accents in relation to broader societal and institutional dynamics. She later received the 2024 AILA Solidarity Award from the International Association of Applied Linguistics for related work.
Beyond her primary research focus, Yilin has also engaged in research on emerging technologies and education. As a research assistant at the Education University of Hong Kong, she contributed to collaborative research with University College London (UCL) on AI-assisted critical pedagogy, AI literacies, and pre-service English teacher education, alongside co-authoring a related publication. She also served as a Communications Fellow at the United Nations University Institute in Macau, supporting research communication and international conference organisation on artificial intelligence and the Sustainable Development Goals.
When not working on her research, Yilin enjoys exploring new places, brewing and tasting specialty coffee, and playing for the Kellogg College badminton team.