Teaching and HDR Supervision

Teaching philosophy

Teaching approach

My teaching is shaped by the same commitments that drive my research: an interest in how language and communication work in the world, a belief that the gap between theory and practice is where the most interesting questions live, and a conviction that health communication — like all communication — is always embedded in relations of power, culture, and meaning.

I teach at the intersection of applied linguistics and health communication, working with students in English studies, applied linguistics, nursing, and medicine. Whether in a seminar on discourse analysis or a simulation with final-year medical students, I am interested in building the capacity to notice — to see how communication shapes clinical encounters, health outcomes, and the experiences of patients and practitioners.

Clinical communication education is a particular focus. My RGC-funded project on multilingual simulation-based training (2025–2026) is both a research project and a pedagogical one: it tests new approaches to developing the communicative competences that medical and nursing curricula rarely address explicitly — how to communicate with patients whose language, culture, and health literacy differ from the clinical norm.

I received the PolyU Faculty of Humanities Award for Outstanding Achievement in Teaching in 2021, recognising both the quality of classroom teaching and the development of simulation-based clinical communication curricula.

HDR Supervision

Enquiries from prospective PhD and professional doctorate candidates with interests in health communication, applied linguistics, migration and health, or clinical communication education are welcome. Please contact Margo directly with a brief research proposal.

Current students — Chief Supervisor

• PhD

  Coping strategies of young Chinese female cancer survivors with fertility-related concerns after gonadotoxic treatment

• PhD

  Mediating the use of digital health technologies with older Chinese adults

• DAppLing

  Health professional communication in congenital heart defect multidisciplinary team meetings

• MA

  English and Applied Linguistics — topic to be confirmed

Student names and thesis titles listed with consent. Updated May 2026.