People
Find out more about the people that make up the Confucius Institute.
Dr Deljana Iossifova
Director
Deljana is a Senior Lecturer in Urban Studies and joined the CI in 2017. Having spent a significant time living and working in China, she aims to make the excellent China-related research at Manchester visible and accessible to the public.
Dr Hui Zhang
Chinese Director
Hui Zhang is Associate Professor in teaching Chinese as a second language at the School of Chinese Language & Culture at Beijing Normal University and joined the CI in Jan 2020. He has extensive Chinese language teaching experience overseas with profound classical Chinese language knowledge. In his last post at San Francisco CI he played an integral role in developing the HSK online testing platform that has now been rolled out world-wide.
Ms Karen Wang
Deputy Director
Karen moved from China to the UK in 1996. She oversaw the administrative operation of the first overseas degree programme in Singapore and currently contributes to the strategic direction and operational priorities of the Manchester CI.
Ms Lucy Yang
Senior Language Tutor and Teaching Co-ordinator
A Senior Language Tutor and Teaching Coordinator at the Manchester CI, Lucy has been teaching Mandarin for over 10 years in China and the UK, sharing her expertise with Mandarin teachers from various UK CIs. Her research focuses on Mandarin pedagogy in the UK, teacher training and classroom ICT use.
Miss Tabea Heckrodt
Events and Marketing Officer
Originally from Germany, Tabea joined the CI in 2013. She manages and delivers an annual calendar of external engagement projects and initiatives. Other key areas are internal and external communications and the institute's digital presence.
Katie Ainscough
Engagement Officer
Email: katie.ainscough@manchester.ac.uk
Katie joined the CI in June 2019 as our Engagement Officer. She is responsible for developing and implementing the digital engagement strategy and making effective use of e-newsletter and social media to reach out to users and promote CI activities.
Mrs Hayley Teixeira-Roxburgh
Support Officer
Hayley has worked at the University since 2011 and the CI since 2014. As the Administrative Officer, her main role is to organise Mandarin course registrations, HSK and YCT exams and cultural workshops, as well as general duties in the day-to-day life of the CI.
Jingjing Jiang (JJ)
Chinese Language Tutor / Teacher Team Leader
Email: jiang.jingjing@manchester.ac.uk
Jingjing holds a MSC in Applied Linguistics and Second Language Acquisition and has been teaching Mandarin in both China and U.K. for eight years. She worked as a Mandarin teacher at The Queen’s School (Chester) for two years before joining the CI in August 2018.
Zijing Yang (Jane)
Chinese Language Tutor
Email: zijing.yang@manchester.ac.uk
Originally from Beijing, Jane joined the CI in August 2019. She will teach Mandarin to learners of all ages and host a variety of Chinese culture workshops. Her research is dedicated to language teaching methodology and cross-cultural communication.
Jiayi Hou (Margaret)
Chinese Language Tutor
Email: jiayi.hou@manchester.ac.uk
Margaret joined the CI in August 2019. Her research focuses on Chinese teaching methodology and student-centred learning. She aims to teach Mandarin in a culturally engaging and inclusive way.
Yan Ding (Louisa)
Chinese Language Tutor
Email: ding.yan@manchester.ac.uk
Louisa has been teaching Mandarin at the CI since August 2019. Her research focuses on cultural teaching methodology and cross-cultural comparison and she is good at playing the Guzheng and Calligraphy art.
Jingwen Che (Chloe)
Chinese Language Tutor
Email: twixche@foxmail.com
Chloe comes from Qingdao, China and has been teaching Mandarin at the CI since April 2018. Her research focuses on oral Chinese expression and cultural teaching methods, and she is good at tea art and calligraphy teaching.
Ruoyun Sun (Sunny)
Chinese Language Tutor
Email: ruoyunsun@qq.com
Originally from Beijing, Ruoyun has been teaching Mandarin since 2015. She holds a BA and MA in Teaching Chinese as a Foreign Language, with research dedicated to Chinese primary and secondary teaching strategy. She works at a primary school in Oldham.
Jiafeng Cen (Elis)
Chinese Language Tutor
Email: jiafeng.cen@manchester.ac.uk
Originally from Guangdong, Elis has taught Mandarin to students of Guangdong University and in Indonesia. Her research is dedicated to Chinese teaching strategy and she enjoys the art of Chinese Calligraphy.
Xuyang Jiang (Young)
Chinese Language Tutor
Email: xuyang.jiang@manchester.ac.uk
Originally from Hebei province, Xuyang has taught at Manchester CI since January 2019. His research focus is on teaching methods and cross-cultural communication. In his spare time, he enjoys playing basketball and reading books about culture.
Qingyue Huo (Wendy)
Chinese Language Tutor
Email: qingyue.huo@manchester.ac.uk
Originally from Beijing, Wendy has taught Mandarin at Manchester since February 2019. She specialises in Chinese traditional dance and teaches comprehensive and conversational courses, with research dedicated to Chinese vocabulary and teaching methodology.
Qinqiang Chen (Jackie)
Chinese Language Tutor
Email: qinqiang.chen@manchester.ac.uk
Originally from Linyi, Shandong Province in northern China, Jackie joined the CI in March 2019. His research focuses on cross-cultural comparison and cultural diversity teaching. He aims to teach Chinese in a culturally engaging and communicative way.
Haihao Zhao (Becky)
Chinese Language Tutor
Email: haihao.zhao@manchester.ac.uk
Originally from Qingdao, Shandong Province, Becky joined CI in March 2019, where she currently teaches HSK and advanced Mandarin levels. Her research focuses on cultural teaching and intercultural communication. She enjoys Chinese Calligraphy and playing Erhu.
Xiaojie Xie (Alice)
Chinese Language Tutor
Email: xiaojie.xie@manchester.ac.uk
Alice comes from Hebei Province, China and is teaching Mandarin to students at Pownall Hall School from Reception age all the way to Year 6. Her research focuses on vocabulary teaching and she is keen to make language learning an exciting and fun experience.