Dr. Marcella Caprario is an Assistant Professor in the MA TESOL program in the College of Education at Wenzhou-Kean University. She earned a Ph.D. in Applied Linguistics from Northern Arizona University and conducted her dissertation fieldwork in Malaysia on a Fulbright study/research grant (U.S. Department of State). Her interdisciplinary research sits at the crossroads of language education, applied linguistics, and intercultural communication, with specific focal areas of Global Englishes, pragmatics, and language attitudes. Dr. Caprario has extensive teaching experience at the tertiary level, including courses in applied linguistics, teacher education, academic writing, and English language. Before joining WKU, she held academic positions in Hong Kong, Mainland China, Malaysia, and the United States. She has also taught at the high school and adult education levels.

Ph.D. Applied Linguistics, Northern Arizona University

M.A. TESOL, SIT Graduate Institute of World Learning      

• Global Englishes (GE)
• Pragmatics of English as a lingua franca (ELF)
• Intercultural communicative competence
• GE-informed language teaching and teacher education
• Language attitudes and linguistic justice
• Corpus linguistics / corpus pragmatics in language education and materials development

Higher Education:

Instructor, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, 2025 

Instructor,  Northern Arizona University, 2020-2024

Instructor, Shanghai Normal University Tianhua College--Northern Arizona University, 2021; 2023

Lecturer and Academic Coordinator, New York University Shanghai, 2015-2020

Instructor, Pace University, 2012-2014 

K12:

EAP Instructor, Sino-American Joint Program, Saint Louis Priory School -- Changchun Second Experimental High School, 2011-2012

Adult Education:

English Language Instructor, Rennert International,2010-2011

Related Experience:

Postdoctoral Fellow, The Education University of Hong Kong, 2024

Academic and Program Manager, TEFL Programs, CIEE: Council on International Educational Exchange, 2014-2015

Caprario, M., & Walkinshaw, I. (forthcoming, 2027). Guest editors, RELC Journal Special Issue: Teaching and Assessing Pragmatic Competence in Global English Contexts.

Crawford, W., & Caprario, M. (forthcoming, 2026). English as a lingua franca: Practice and Research. Wiley.

Caprario, M. (2025). ELF communication strategies: A pedagogical intervention pilot study. TESOL Quarterly. 59(1), 359–377. https://doi.org/10.1002/tesq.3309

Taguchi, N., & Caprario, M. (2025). English as a lingua franca and communication strategies. In K. Boulton (Ed.), The Encyclopedia of World Englishes. Wiley. https://doi.org/10.1002/9781119518297.eowe00094 

Taguchi, N., & Caprario, M. (2023). L2 pragmatics research and the problem of L1 norms. In C. A. Chapelle, N. Taguchi, & D. Kadar (Eds.), The Encyclopedia of Applied Linguistics (Pragmatics). Wiley. https://doi.org/10.1002/9781405198431.wbeal20047 

Caprario, M. (2022). Multifunctionality of epistemic stance markers: Variation across disciplines and speaker roles in classroom discourse. Contrastive Pragmatics, 4(2), 213–242. https://doi.org/10.1163/26660393-bja10066

Caprario, M., Taguchi, N., & Reppen, R. (2022). Corpus-informed instruction of the pragmatic marker ‘I mean’. The Language Learning Journal, 50(4), 460–474. https://doi.org/10.1080/09571736.2022.2088439

Caprario, M. (2020). Developing pragmatic competence in English academic discussions: An EAP classroom investigation. Lodz Papers in Pragmatics, 16(1), 123–152. https://doi.org/10.1515/lpp-2020-0006

Caprario, M., Jeong, H., & Lindemann, S. (provisionally accepted). Challenging racialized native-speakerism through a critical Global Englishes approach in a Hong Kong teacher education phonology course. TESOL Journal Special Issue 2026: Critical Race Praxis in English Language Teacher Education.

Caprario, M. (2025, July). Global Englishes-informed pre-service teacher education in the metaverse: Effects of a COIL pedagogical intervention. Paper presented at the 23rd AsiaTEFL International Conference, Hong Kong SAR, China.

Caprario, M., Li., V. W. K., Wong, K. T. N., & Linda, H. F. L. (2025, May). Integrating prompt writing into the curriculum: Insights into postgraduate EAP students' genAI prompting practices. Paper presented at Association of Hong Kong Language Centers (AHKLC) Symposium, Hong Kong SAR, China.

Caprario, M. (2025, March). ELF Communication Strategies: A Pedagogical Intervention Pilot Study. Paper presented at the American Association for Applied Linguistics (AAAL), in the colloquium (organizers: Jim McKinley & Heath Rose), Innovating research and practice at the nexus of Global Englishes and TESOL, Denver, CO, USA.

Caprario, M. (2025, February). Towards Assessing ELF Communicative Competence. Paper presented at CamTESOL, Phnom Penh, Cambodia.

Caprario, M. (2024, November). An ELF-informed pedagogical intervention. Paper presented at the 22nd AsiaTEFL International Conference, Chiang Rai, Thailand.

Caprario, M. (2024, August). ELF-informed instruction for Malaysian university students. Paper presented at AILA 2024 World Congress, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Caprario, M. (2024, June). Corpus-based ELF-informed instruction for intercultural competence. Paper presented at Engagement in the Digital Age: International Conference on Language Teaching and Learning, Hong Kong SAR, China.

Caprario, M. (2024, April). ELF communication strategies as pedagogical targets. Paper presented at the Virtual TESOL International Convention and Expo, in the colloquium (organizer: Meghan Moran), Incorporating Global Englishes into the L2 Classroom, virtual. https://www.tesol.org/virtual/

Caprario, M. (2023, June). Communication strategies for communicative competence in English as a lingua franca. Paper presented at D’ i-CELT 2023, Darul Aman English Language Learning and Teaching Association (DELTA), Sungai Petani, Malaysia.

Caprario, M. (2023, March). English as a lingua franca communication strategies and L1 English speakers’ intercultural communication competence. Paper presented at the International Association for Intercultural Communication Studies (IAICS) conference, Macau SAR, China.

Caprario, M. (2023, March 4). Teaching intercultural communication strategies. Invited workshop for PELLTA (Penang English Language Learning and Teaching Association), Penang, Malaysia.

Caprario, M. (2023, March-April). Tips for academic writing. Workshop series for the Higher Degree Office of the Faculty of Languages and Linguistics, Universiti Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Caprario, M. (2023, February). Communication strategies for intercultural communicative success in English. Paper presented at CamTESOL, Phnom Penh, Cambodia.

Caprario, M. (2022, November). English Use Among International University Students in the United States: Challenges, Coping Strategies, and Attitudes Paper presented at ELF13 Conference [online].

Caprario, M. (2022, September). English as a lingua franca communicative strategies: A research synthesis Paper presented at Pragmatics and Language Learning Conference [online].

Caprario, M. (2022, March). The multifunctionality of ‘I mean’ in classroom discourse and its pedagogical implications. Paper presented at AAAL, Pittsburgh, PA, USA.

Caprario, M. (2022, March). Corpus-based EAP activities for communicative competence. Paper presented at TESOL, Pittsburgh, PA, USA.

Caprario, M. (2021, June). Epistemic stance markers in university classroom discourse: Variation across discipline and speaker role. Paper presented at the 17th International Pragmatics Conference, Winterthur, Switzerland [online].

Caprario, M. (2021, March). Supporting university students' development of L2 pragmatic competence. Roundtable presented at the AAAL Virtual Conference [online].

Caprario, M. (2021, February).  Multiple pragmatic functions of frequently used expressions in university discussions. Paper presented at the 20th Annual Interdisciplinary SLAT Roundtable, University of Arizona [online].

Iams, S., & Caprario, M. (2019, October). A fine balance: Designing effective content-based EAP courses. Workshop presented at the 27th Annual Korea TESOL International Conference, Sookmyung Women’s University, Seoul, Korea.

Caprario, M. (2019). Language as barrier and bridge. Invited presentation for Northwestern University Short-term China Program, CIEE: Council on International Educational Exchange, Shanghai, China.

Caprario, M. (2019, May). The effect of self-reflection on university students’ spoken academic discourse. Paper presented at Alternative Approaches to English Language Teaching and Learning, Chinese University of Hong Kong.

Caprario, M. (2019). Multilingualism in practice: Challenges and opportunities. Workshop for Translating Worlds: A Language Symposium and Festival, New York University (NYU) Shanghai, China.

Caprario, M. (2018, July). Pragmatic competence in English-language class discussions. Paper presented at Exploring and Assessing Pragmatic Aspects of L1 and L2 Communication: From Needs Analysis Through Monitoring to Feedback, University of Padua, Italy.

Caprario, M. (2018, February). Corpus-based classroom activities for academic English instruction. Workshop presented at the 14th Annual CamTESOL Conference, Phnom Penh, Cambodia.

Caprario, M., & Daniels, M., Hiller, K. (2017, March). Assessment 2.0: Engaging students with program-wide digital portfolios. Paper presented at the TESOL 2017 International Convention and English Language Expo, Seattle, WA, USA.

Caprario, M. (2017). Student engagement strategies. Workshop for St. Mary’s School, Shanghai, China.

Caprario, M. (2017). Reflective teaching. Presentation for St. Mary’s School, Shanghai, China.

Caprario, M. (2016; 2017). Chinese students in context: Strategies for a globalized campus. Developed and facilitated weeklong Faculty Development Seminar, CIEE: Council on International Educational Exchange, Shanghai, China.

The Hong Kong Polytechnic University Faculty of Humanities Faculty Reserve for Learning and Teaching Projects, PI, 2024–26 

RGC (Research Grants Committee, Hong Kong) Junior Research Fellow Scheme (HK$840,000 / US$105,000); granted; declined 

Fulbright U.S. Student Research Award (US$9960 / HK$79,680 + RT airfare between US and Malaysia), Universiti Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, 2023 

Presidential Fellowship (US$36,000 / HK$288,000), Northern Arizona University Graduate College, 2020–24 

TIRF (The International Research Foundation) Doctoral Dissertation Grant (US$2750 / HK$22,000), 2023–24 

NFMLTA/MLJ (National Federation of Modern Language Teachers Associations / Modern Language Journal) Dissertation Writing Support Grant (US$2500 / HK$20,000), 2023–24