Dear TIRF Supporters & Trustees,

I recently had the opportunity to interview 2015 TIRF DDG Awardee, Prof. Yueting “Tracey” Xu, and I am pleased to share highlights from our conversation in this month’s Chair’s Report. Reflecting on her journey—from early-career researcher to professor at South China Normal University—I was encouraged by how TIRF’s support continues to resonate in the professional trajectories of our awardees. Stories like Yueting’s underscore the lasting impact of the DDG program in shaping research, practice, and leadership in our field.

Here are three key areas I wish to highlight in this piece:

Prof. Liu: When did you receive your TIRF DDG (Doctoral Dissertation Grant), and how did it help you in the early stages of your career in English language education?

Prof. Xu: I received my DDG in 2015 when I was studying in the University of Hong Kong. At that time, I was completing my research project on university English teachers’ assessment literacy. The DDG helped me mainly in two ways. First, it encouraged me tremendously to engage in high-impact research and to become a well-cited scholar. Second, it gave me financial support to conduct a nation-wide survey and semester-long classroom observations with my case teachers. 

Prof. Liu: What are some of your proudest accomplishments in the field, and what are some of your aspirations?

Prof. Xu: I have published nearly 80 papers in top-notch, peer-refereed journals and important books home and abroad. I am proud of being included on the list of Elsevier’s highly cited Chinese scholars (2020-2025), the list of Stanford’s Top 2% scientists (2022-2025), and the list of CNKI’s (China National Knowledge Infrastructure) top 1% of highly cited scholars (2024-2025). These achievements indicate international and national recognition of my research work.

My aspirations include: (1) leading teacher education research globally and locally; (2) doing high-impact research on teacher education, especially teacher assessment literacy, with my own theories, models, and insights; and (3) using research insights to inform my practice of teacher education and helping teachers across contexts to improve their teaching effectiveness and professional wellbeing.

Prof. Liu: How can TIRF leverage the DDG network to help further its mission-oriented goals?

Prof. Xu: To advance TIRF’s goals, personally, I think we can try setting up webinar sessions as a starting point. We may invite each TIRF DDG recipient to give at least one online lecture. Such webinars can do multiple things at once. First, fundraising can be possible in these webinar sessions by charging webinar attendees modest fees. Second, DDG recipients can contribute to the community and promote their own research on the TIRF platform. Third, TIRF can involve leading scholars as panelists on the webinars by observing their talks and interactions with audience, based on which future tasks can be distributed to these potential leaders. Fourth, by reaching and attending these webinars, more Ph.D. candidates will know about TIRF and one day apply to the DDG program.

We may also further TIRF’s goals through highlighting DDG recipients’ professional activities and stories on social media. In this way, they can become inspiration for students and young researchers. Social media can help promote TIRF in efficient and effective ways.

Prof. Xu’s reflections offer a powerful reminder of the long-term value of investing in early-career researchers and the ripple effects such support can have across the field. As TIRF continues to strengthen its DDG network, insights like those from Prof. Xu point to new opportunities for engagement, visibility, and impact. By connecting past awardees, amplifying their work, and fostering continued collaboration, TIRF is well positioned to further advance its mission of bridging research, policy, and practice in English language education worldwide.

As a reminder, TIRF’s 2026 DDG program is now underway – applications are due May 13^th. (Click here to learn more.) To all colleagues who are considering applying to the TIRF DDG program – I hope to interview you one day as I did Prof. Xu – good luck to you!

Warm regards,

Jun Liu, PhD

TIRF President