Asbury University Professor to Present Global Research at Major Linguistics Conference

Asbury Education Professor Shares Social Media Research at Major Conference 

Asbury University’s Assistant Professor of English as Second Language (ESL) in the School of Education, Dr. Elizabeth King, will be presenting a chapter from her dissertation at the 2026 American Association for Applied Linguistics (AAAL) conference on March 21. 

The AAAL is one of the largest organizations of scholars who work in applied linguistics. This year’s conference will be held March 21-24 in Chicago and will feature scholars from all over the world. 

King will present “Instagram teacher-influencers riding the ‘Korean Wave,’” her dissertation research which focuses on people teaching languages on social media and the kinds of ideologies about language that are represented and circulated in their social media posts. The “Korean Wave” refers to the surge in popularity worldwide for media exports from South Korea, including K-pop and K-dramas.

Because these media products are popular, more people are learning Korean as a second language, so there’s a need for teachers. I think this has led to a phenomenon I call ‘teacher-influencers,’ where someone decides to get on social media and teach a language.”

Dr. Elizabeth King Asbury University Assistant Professor of ESL

In her dissertation, King argues, “Some Korean-language teacher-influencers would use the Korean Wave to help market their language teaching accounts, but they seemed to unconsciously want their followers to become more academic and serious language learners through their teaching. We are always interacting with the wider world, and that discourse shapes what we believe about languages and the people who speak them, even when it’s all happening online.”

King’s achievement highlights the Asbury University commitment to faculty scholarship and global engagement, giving Asbury students the opportunity to learn from professors who are actively contributing to impactful research in their fields.

King’s presentation will remain relevant to language teachers and learners, with her presentation resonating with those interested in language education, linguistics, or media.

Throughout her education, King has focused on language and how it is a form of communication with others. She received a Fulbright English Teaching Assistantship and lived abroad in Taiwan for two years. King’s primary research interest includes people using social platforms to teach languages for some time. Similar to her dissertation, she also wrote a paper on Taiwanese Mandarin “teacher-influencers” based on her time teaching in Taiwan.