This long-standing research strength investigates the nuances of English across professional discourses. Faculty pioneer critical linguistic frameworks, from the specialised vocabulary of science to corporate branding and the precise language of legal systems. High-profile international conferences have solidified the department’s reputation as a global hub for professional communication studies.

Bridging linguistic theory and real-world medical practice, this vital research area examines how language shapes clinical outcomes. Faculty analyse the complex interactions between healthcare professionals, patient-provider dialogues, and public health campaigns. This cluster continues to build on the momentum of our landmark 2023 International Conference on Healthcare Communication through ongoing advanced professional training events, conferences, and symposia.

Focusing on contemporary pedagogical practices, literacy education, and second language acquisition, this vibrant research area explores how multilingual learners engage with English in evolving educational and technological ecosystems. Our faculty serve on the editorial boards of top-tier journals, including English for Specific Purposes, English for Academic Purposes, and TESOL Quarterly. Supported by successive large-scale research grants, this area serves as a catalyst for international postgraduate recruitment and generates cutting-edge research that shapes the global narrative on pressing issues, such as the use of generative AI in educational contexts. 

This cross-cutting research area interrogates digital communication by bridging critical methodologies with contemporary technological practices. Research foci include digital multimodal composing, AI in teaching, writing, and learning, and the adaptation of literary narratives into virtual spaces. Work in this area contributes to CityUHK’s research theme of Digital Society.  

This interdisciplinary research area brings together faculty whose research investigates the literary, cinematic, and performative representations of city life from the nineteenth to the twenty-first centuries. Our department houses a cross-institutional Transnational Urban Narratives Network, which holds international conferences, hosts an interdisciplinary reading group, and generates scholarly conversations on the ways in which literary, visual, and cultural texts mediate and shape urban life.

Our faculty actively participate in recentring global literary discourse through high-impact monographs and publications in top-tier journals (PMLA, ARIEL, Modern Fiction Studies). Faculty lead seminars on translation and comparative literature, while hosting international film screenings and poetry readings that expand global networks and attract promising research degree applicants.

Situated in Hong Kong – a historic, multicultural port city – our literature faculty excel at tracing the intricacies of cross-cultural exchange. Research in this area includes publications on Southeast Asian cinema, transpacific literatures, translation theory, performance art, and China-West cultural encounters. Ongoing regional collaborations ensure our research remains vital to the dynamic socio-cultural fabric of the Asia region.