Academic Team

Dr Chong Kai Hao | Lecturer in Psychology | Consultancy, Outreach & Professional Engagement Lead; Admission Tutor

Chong Kai Ho Dr Chong Kai Hao did his PhD studies at the University of Nottingham, Malaysia, specialising in language sciences, educational and social psychology. His thesis focused on examining the sociolinguistic aspects of learning a second language and applying these in a classroom context through a combination of quantitative and qualitative metrics. His current research interests focus on enhancing student engagement in learning through evidence-based teaching practices, as well as exploring pragmatics in communication — how language is used in real contexts to convey meaning effectively.

Prior to joining the School of Psychology and Clinical Language Sciences at the University of Reading Malaysia in 2024, he taught at the University of Nottingham Malaysia and Monash University Malaysia for a number of years.As the Lecturer in Psychology at UoRM, Kai is currently teaching various psychology modules at an undergraduate level. Within the School, he serves as the Admission Tutor and the Consultancy, Outreach & Professional Engagement Lead. .

Email	This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Telephone	+60 7 2686297
Web profile	www.linkedin.com/in/kai-hao-chong-ba52b3279 https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7817-7442
Specialty areas	Language Sciences Social Psychology Educational Psychology
Highest qualification and awarding body	PhD in Psychology (Social and Behavioural Science) University of Nottingham, Malaysia
UoRM programmes taught/supervised	BSc (Hons) Psychology/Psychology with Professional Placement Year 1 PY1IPR - Introduction to Psychological Research PY1LAL - Learning about Learning Year 2 PY2RMP - Research Methods in Psychology Year 3 PY3CCP - Communicating Current Psychology PY3P - Project
Research interests	Applied educational psychology Psychology of language and communication Language and emotion Language identity and attitude
Current projects	Rethinking Critical Thinking: Assessing AI’s Role in Psychology Learning (Teaching and Learning Initiative Fund 2025) How he looks tells how I feel: Effect of reverse linguistic stereotyping on second language anxiety. Would deception work? Explaining the role of perceived language competence in predicting second language anxiety.
Recent publications	Chong, K. H., Price, J., Irwin, D., Dowens, M. G., & Leong, C. X. R. (2025). Language anxiety in EFL and ESL academic environments. Asian Englishes, 1–17. https://doi.org/10.1080/13488678.2025.2548997