Yan Guo
Positions
Professor
Werklund School of Education, Specialization, Language and Literacy
Contact information
Background
Educational Background
Ph.D. Teaching English as a Second Language, University of British Columbia, 2002
M.A. English, University of Regina, 1995
M.A. English Lang & Literature, Shandong Normal University, 1989
B.A. English Lang & Literature, Shandong Normal University, 1986
Biography
Yan Guo is Professor of Applied Linguistics at the Werklund School of Education at the University of Calgary, Canada. Her work focuses on documenting and dismantling deficit thinking about children with English as an additional language (EAL) in schools. She has published widely on the issues of EAL policies, immigrant parent knowledge, critical pedagogy in teacher education, communication between teachers and immigrant parents, translanguaging, transnational identities, refugee children’s school settlement, wellbeing of adolescent international students, and the internationalization of higher education. Her work is funded by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC), Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC), and Education International (Brussels). She is a co-editor of two book series: Transnational Migration and Education and Spotlight on China.
Professional & Community Affiliations
Dr. Yan Guo offers her expertise to a variety of government and non-government organizations across Canada and in China. She supports the following institutions with her knowledge: Alberta Education, The Calgary Board of Education , Southern Alberta Institute of Technology , Bow Valley College, EducationMatters, Immigrant Services Calgary, the Coalition for Equal Access to Education for Ethnocultural Parents and Youth, Immigrant Sector Council of Calgary (ISCC), Calgary Chinese Community Service Association, Ethno-Cultural Council of Calgary, Language Research Centre, and China Interdisciplinary Group. She has been a visiting professor at the following universities:
- Beijing Foreign Studies University 北京外国语大学
- Beijing Language and Culture University 北京语言大学
- Jinan University 暨南大学
- City University of Macau 澳门城市大学
- Shandong Teachers’ University 山东师范大学
- Harbin Institute of Technology (Weihai) 哈工大（威海）
Dr. Guo has served for the following community organizations:
- Calgary Board of Education (CBE) Languages Advisory Committee
- Alberta Network for Immigrant Women (ANIW), Board Member
- Calgary Immigrant Women’s Association (CIWA), Margins to Engagement Advisory Committee
- EducationMatters, Board Member of the Governors and Grant Committee Member
Research
Areas of Research
Dr. Yan Guo employs interdisciplinary approaches in her research, involving sociolinguistics, education, sociology, and philosophy. Her research examines the intersection of language, race, culture, and identity from sociopolitical and sociocultural perspectives. While some focus on Canada, other works are more international. Over the years she has developed research expertise in the following areas:
- Transnational identities and translanguaging practices of immigrant children; refugee children's school integration
- Internationalization of higher education
- Introducing immigrant parent knowledge to teacher education
- Exploring linguistic, cultural, and religious diversity with pre-service teachers
- Intercultural communication between immigrant parents and Canadian teachers
- Critical discourse analysis of English as a global language and critical multilingualism
- Second language writing and identity
- Second language acquisition (SLA)
- Sociolinguistics
- Language and culture
- Identity development
- Diversity
- Social justice
- Chinese immigrants in Canada
- Multicultural education
- Discourse analysis
- Immigrant parent engagement
- Preparing teachers for ELLs
- English as a foreign language (EFL)
- Globalization-internationalization studies
Courses
| Course number | Course title | Semester |
|---|---|---|
| EDER 66911 LEC 05 05 | Aspect of Secd Lang & Culture | 2021 |
| EDER 66950 LEC 03 03 | Aspect of Secd Lang & Culture | 2021 |
| EDUC 435 SEC 08 S08 | Literacy, Language and Culture | 2021 |
| EDER 66978 LEC 02 02 | Aspect of Secd Lang & Culture | 2020 |
| EDUC 53502 SEC 01 S01 | Splz'n II Elem Engl Lang Learn | 2020 |
Projects
- Evaluating the Capacity and Effectiveness of Ethno-cultural Organizations in Immigrant Settlement and Integration in the Prairie Provinces: Opportunities, Challenges and Impacts. Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC), Co-Principal-Investigator, CPI with Shibao Guo, 2021-2024.
- The impact of COVID-19 on the wellness of international students in Alberta high schools, A Research Partnerships Program Grant, Alberta Education, principal investigator, CI with Elaine Yingling Lou and Erin Spring, 2021-2023.
- Exploring Initial School Integration among Syrian Refugee Children, the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC) Grant, principal investigator (Co-PIs, Shibao Guo and Srabani Maitra)
- Examining EAL Policies and Practices in Alberta and Community Advocacy, the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC) Insight Grant, principal investigator
- Knowledge Construction of ESL Parents and Pre-Service Teachers and its Mobilization, PI, Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) Standard Grant
- Learning for global mindedness: An inquiry into pedagogical practices, Teaching and Learning grant, Taylor Institute for Teaching and Learning, University of Calgary, Co-PI with Shibao Guo
- Building international partnership to foster talent mobility between Canada and China, the University International Grants Committee, Co-PI with Shibao Guo
- Teaching under China’s market economy: Five case studies, Education International, Brussels, Co-Principal-Investigator (PI: Shibao Guo; Co-Investigators: Gulbahar Beckett, Qing Li, Linyuan Guo)
Publications
- Migrant parents as policymakers: Advocating for equitable English as an additional language (EAL) policy. Guo, Y. Critical Inquiry in Language Studies. 1-32. (2021)
- Exploring initial school integration among Syrian refugee children. Guo, Y., Maitra, S., & Guo, S. International Migration. 1–14. (2021)
- Internationalization of Chinese higher education: Is it Westernization? . Guo, Y., Guo, S., Yochim, L., & Liu, X. Journal of Studies in International Education. 1-18. (2021)
- Combating anti-Asian racism and xenophobia in Canada: Toward pandemic anti-racism education in post-COVID-19. Guo, S., & Guo, Y. Beijing International Review of Education. 3(2), 187-211. (2021)
- Internationalization of Canadian teacher education: Teacher candidates’ experiences and perspectives. Guo, Y., & Guo, S. ECNU Review of Education. (2020)
- Challenges and opportunities in parent-teacher relationships in contemporary China. Guo, Y., Wu, X., & Liu, X. Comparative and International Education / Éducation Comparée et Internationale. 47(2), 1-18. (2019)
- Market economy, social change, and education inequality in China. Guo, S., & Guo, Y. Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Education. 1-23. (2018)
- Internationalization of Canadian higher education: Discrepancies between policies and international student experiences. Guo, Y., & Guo, S. Studies in Higher Education. 42(5), 851-868. (2017)
- Exceeding boundaries: Chinese children’s playful use of languages in their literacy practices in a Mandarin–English bilingual program. Zhang, Y., & Guo, Y. International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism. 20(1), 52-68. (2017)
- Immigration, integration and welcoming communities: Neighborhood-based initiative to facilitate the integration of newcomers in Calgary. Guo, S., & Guo, Y. Canadian Ethnic Studies. 48(3), 45-67. (2016)
- ‘Unlearning privileges’: Interrupting pre-service teachers’ deficit thinking of immigrant students with origins in the South. Guo, Y. (2015a). Cultural and Pedagogical Inquiry. 7(1), 34-59. (2015)
- Pre-service teachers and Muslim parents: Exploring religious diversity in Canadian public schools. Guo, Y. Diaspora, Indigenous, and Minority Education. 9(3), 189-204. (2015)
- Becoming transnational: Exploring multiple identities of students in a Mandarin-English bilingual programme in Canada. Zhang, Y., & Guo, Y. Globalisation, Societies and Education. 13(2), 210-229. (2015)
- Language policies and programs for adult immigrants in Canada: A critical analysis. Guo, Y. Canadian Ethnic Studies. 45(1-2), 23-41. (2013)
- Changes in Chinese education under globalization and market economy: Emerging issues and debates. Guo, S., Guo, Y., Beckett, G., Li, Q., & Guo, L. Compare: A Journal of Comparative and International Education. 43(2), 244-264. (2013)
- Teaching under China’s market economy: Five case studies. Guo, S., Guo, Y., Beckett, G., Li, Q., & Guo, L. Brussels: Education International. (2012)
- Teaching English for economic competiveness: Emerging issues and challenges in English education in China. Guo, Y. Canadian and International Education. 41(2), 28-50. (2012)
- Diversity in public education: Acknowledging immigrant parent knowledge. Guo, Y. Canadian Journal of Education. 35(2), 120-140. (2012)
- Exploring linguistic, cultural, and religious diversity in Canadian schools: Pre-service teachers’ learning from immigrant parents. Guo, Y. Journal of Contemporary Issues in Education. 7(1), 4-23. (2012)
- Mobility and immobility during COVID-19: A narrative inquiry into the wellness of international high school students in Canada. Guo, Y., Lou, Y., & Spring, E.. Educational Philosophy and Theory. Online First. (2025)
- ‘Citizenship from below’: integration as assemblage for immigrant young people volunteers in Canada. Guo, S., Wong, L., & Guo, Y.. Journal of Youth Studies. Online First. (2025)
- Home-school relations: International perspectives. Guo, Y. (Ed.). Singapore: Springer. (2018)
- Spotlight on China: Changes in education under China’s market economy. Guo, S., & Guo, Y. (Eds.). Rotterdam: Sense Publishers. (2016)
- Spotlight on China: Chinese education in the globalized world. Guo, S., & Guo, Y. (Eds.). Rotterdam: Sense Publishers. (2016)
- Multiculturalism at 50: Revisiting multiculturalism at the crossroads of anti-Asian racism during covid-19 in Canada. In O. Bilash (Ed.), The impact of multiculturalism on public education, 50 years later. Guo, S., & Guo, Y.. Brill. 130-147. (2025)
- Critical pedagogy in teacher education: Disrupting teacher candidates’ deficit thinking of immigrant students with origins in the global South. In A. Abdi (Ed.), Social justice education in Canada: Select perspectives (pp. 131-145). Guo, Y. . Canadian Scholars. 131-145. (2023)
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