People

Hyun Kyung Rachel Lee

Postdoctoral Fellow

PhD in Human Communication, Development, and Information Sciences (HKU)

Dr. Rachel Lee’s research interests lie in the neural mechanisms underlying language processing in native and second language learners. She is also interested in utilizing electroencephalography (EEG) to investigate language learning and development in bilinguals and individuals with special educational needs.

Email: lhk759@connect.hku.hk

Junghwan Maeng

Postdoctoral Fellow

PhD in East Asian Languages, Literature, and Linguistics (UIUC)

Dr. Junghwan Maeng’s primary research interests center around sentence processing, with a particular focus on how structural information contributes to the formation of sentence representations across typologically distinct languages. Additionally, his work explores morphological processing across diverse populations, including native, nonnative, and bilingual speakers, with the goal of understanding the unique role of morphology within the mental lexicon.

Email: jmaeng@hku.hk

Samuel Sui Lung Sze

Ph.D. Candidate

Samuel Sze is a PhD student planning to research second language acquisition. Deeply interested in L2 processing, he hopes to utilize electroencephalography (EEG) and psycholinguistic paradigms to probe into L2 syntactic and morphological processing and L1-L2 differences. To explore these research themes, his research work will look into how Hong Kong L1-Cantonese L2-English speakers process L2 sentences and words.

Email: u3564255@connect.hku.hk

Joey Zhiyin Zhu

Ph.D. Candidate

Joey Zhu’s research interests lie in second language acquisition, especially in the phonological and morphological processing of L2 learners. Currently she is exploring whether there is a general structuring system across languages, with the help of structural priming in EEG studies.

Email: zzy0504@connect.hku.hk

Tilda Yingqi Wang

Lab Manager

I am an undergraduate year 5 BA student, majoring in General Linguistics. My academic interests within the field of Linguistics include language acquisition, sociolinguistics and psycholinguistics.

Email: yingqi_wang@connect.hku.hk

Lawrence Cheung Hoi Ki

Research Assistant

Lawrence Cheung is a year 4 undergraduate student pursuing a double major in Linguistics and Philosophy, with a minor in Cognitive Science. He is particularly interested in the nature of meaning, encompassing both semantics and pragmatics, as well as the processes through which individuals acquire this knowledge. He is also interested in the nature of linguistic knowledge in general and how it differs from other domains of knowledge, such as our understanding of the empirical world and morality.

Email: ulawlaw@connect.hku.hk

Thea Hiu Ting Yeung

Research Assistant

A third-year undergraduate student pursuing a double major in General Linguistics and Psychology, with a minor in Spanish. Passionate about exploring the neural mechanisms underlying language processing, with a particular interest in phonological processing. Enthusiastically exploring all aspects of linguistics.

Email: yhthea@connect.hku.hk

Ng Anne Beatrice

Research Assistant

I am a Year 4 BA student majoring in Linguistics. I am most interested in sociolinguistics, particularly the language use, contact and shift in Central Asia. I am also pursuing to be an English teacher for native Chinese or Russian speakers.

Email: annexbng@connect.hku.hk

Jonah Lack

Postdoctoral Fellow (The Hong Kong Polytechnic University)

Dr. Jonah Lack’s research interests lie in L1 and L2 morphological processing through EEG. He is specifically interested in the roles that form and meaning play during L1 and L2 language processing and acquisition and whether these roles are similar or different. His MA dissertation discussed structural priming in bilinguals, including current theories, methodologies, and trends. He is heavily interested in L2 processing and acquisition broadly, and has been studying Korean and Mandarin since the start of his Bachelor’s degree with the goal of attaining fluency in both.

Email: jlack@hku.hk

Ryan Wong

Research Assistant

Ryan Wong is a year 3 undergraduate student and an aspiring linguist. He is still exploring all things linguistics to determine his particular research interests, but has built up an especial passion for morphology and syntax.

Email: u3594288@connect.hku.hk

Tan Magenta Elizabeth

Research Assistant

Magenta is a third-year undergraduate student double majoring in Psychology and Linguistics. In addition to her fascination with linguistic variation, she is particularly interested in the fields of second language acquisition and language cognition with the use of electroencephalography (EEG). 

Email: u3606395@connect.hku.hk

Philip Li

Research Assistant

Philip Li is a year 3 undergraduate student double majoring Design+ and neuroscience, with a minor in philosophy. He is interested in learning about the interdisciplinary applicational potential of EEG and related brain imaging technologies.

Email: plich@connect.hku.hk