Catherine Xiang (MEd, PhD) is an established author and applied linguist with rich experience in the higher education as well as high profile consultancy industry to businesses that wish to engage with China. She is Coordinator of East Asian Languages at LSE, Programme Director for BSc International Relations and Chinese; as well as UK Director for LSE Confucius Institute for Business London. Originally from Shanghai, she is skilled in intercultural communication, translation, foreign languages, lecturing, TV and public speaking. She is also an expert in e‑learning and innovation in language learning. Her recent publications include ‘Mastering Chinese – a Complete Textbook for Beginners’, ‘Audio‑visual Media in Language Education’ and the forthcoming ‘China Ready – Chinese for Tourism and Hospitality’. In addition to her roles at LSE, she is an executive member of the British Chinese Language Teaching Society, a school governor and chief examiner of Charted Institute of Linguists. She has recently launched her own YouTube channel “字espresso” teaching the relationship between Chinese characters and words.