Women in Academia

Yanping Li - The importance of strong motivation and hard work in overcoming challenges on the research journey

June 15, 2020 Irena Lovcevic Season 1 Episode 3
Women in Academia
Yanping Li - The importance of strong motivation and hard work in overcoming challenges on the research journey
Show Notes

Today it's great to have Yanping Li on the podcast. Yanping is a PhD student at the MARCS Institute for Brain, Behaviour and Development, Western Sydney University. Yanping's PhD thesis focuses on effects of high versus low variability training on second language acquisition of Mandarin tones. In this study two training methods (high vs. low variability) are being examined to evaluate which approach will better assist native English speakers in learning Mandarin tones by taking accented Mandarin tones as the phonetic variability. Word and tonal categorisation are collected to observe the effects of these two perceptual training methods. This is the first project that attempts to aid native English speakers with learning Mandarin tones in words based on regionally tonal variations. To find more about this exciting research, but also to learn more on challenges in doing PhD abroad, and why strong motivation is important on research journey, listen to this episode.

Time stamps:

[1:08] Yanping's Introduction
[2:56] Growing with five older sister as a motivation to attend the University
[5:23] Yanping's journey from a Master's student in China to a PhD student in Australia
[13:05] Strong motivation and hard work as tools to overcome any obstacle on research journey
[18:47] Work/life balance
[27:32] Yanping's research on training the native English speakers in learning Mandarin tones
[29:52] Plans for future research
[33:32] Issues that women in Academia are facing today according to Yanping
[49:25] Yanping's advice for everyone thinking about a career in Academia or for those just starting a career in Academia

Links:

The MARCS Institute: https://www.westernsydney.edu.au/marcs
Chinese government scholarship:  https://www.chinesescholarshipcouncil.com/
Chinese learning scholarships at Beijing Language and Culture University:  http://admission.blcu.edu.cn/en/2020/0227/c1217a2037/page.htm
Fulbright China: https://eca.state.gov/fulbright/country/china 

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