As an English language learner, migrant, and long-time TESOL practitioner, I have often found myself navigating the space between what is pedagogically sound and what is socially expected in English language classrooms—particularly in the Chinese context.

I remember the very first time I heard about hedging. It was during my master’s degree in the UK. In one particular class, where around 70% of the students were Chinese, our professor spent nearly 40 minutes trying to teach us how to hedge in our English writing.

When I think about academic English writing, it is not just the topic of my PhD research – it is also a deeply personal journey that has shaped who I am: from a student to a teacher, and now a PhD researcher.

I was born and raised during a golden era of English language education in China. By the time I was in the third grade, English had...