Feng Xiao

Assistant Professor of Asian Languages and Literatures

feng.xiao@pomona.edu

Office:

Mason Hall

203

(909) 621-8621

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Expertise

I am in the field of Applied Linguistics. My research aims to reveal how adult learners develop their second language abilities, and how these developments are affected by different factors.

My recent project used a computerized interactive task to investigate the development of pragmatic competence (i.e., the ability to communicate appropriately in different contexts) in 121 American learners of Chinese over one semester abroad in China. The findings confirmed a model that can explain 72% of the variation in the group-level developmental trajectory and generated several teaching implications.

Areas of Expertise

Interlanguage Pragmatics
Second Language Development
Chinese Linguistics

Research Interests

I am interested in how second language learners develop their ability to communicate appropriately in different contexts, and what factors can affect this development. My recent research focuses on the development of pragmatic competence in learners of Chinese.

Work

Xiao, F. (invited submission/in preparation). Advanced-level pragmatics in instructed SLA. In P. Malovrh & A. Benati (eds.). Handbook of Advanced Proficiency in Second Language Acquisition: Wiley-Blackwell.

Xiao, F. (forthcoming). Development in the use of Chinese mitigation in interaction. Special Issue of Chinese Pragmatics. Chinese as a Second Language Research.

Taguchi, N., Xiao, F. & Li, S. (forthcoming). Effects of Intercultural Competence and Social Contact on Speech Act Production in a Chinese Study Abroad Context. Modern Language Journal.

Taguchi, N., Xiao, F. & Li, S. (forthcoming). Assessment of study abroad outcomes in Chinese as a second language: Gains in cross-cultural adaptability, language contact, and proficiency. Intercultural Education.

Xiao, F. (2015). Proficiency effect on L2 pragmatic competence. Studies in Second Language Learning and Teaching, 5(4), 557-581.

Xiao, F. (2015). Adult second language learners’ pragmatic development in the study-abroad context: A review. Frontiers: The Interdisciplinary Journal of Study Abroad, 25, 132-149.

Ke, S. & Xiao, F. (2015). Cross-linguistic transfer of morphological awareness between Chinese and English. Language Awareness, 24(4), 355-380.

Liu, Y. & Xiao, F. (2015). Comprehension of Chinese vague expressions: A comparison between heritage and non-heritage learners. Chinese as a Second Language Research, 4(2), 271-294.

Liu, Y. & Xiao, F. (2015). A review of research on the development of interlanguage pragmatic competence. TCSL Studies, 59, 41-50.

Education

Ph.D., Carnegie Mellon University

B.A., M.Ed., Beijing Language and Culture University

Recent Courses Taught

CHIN051A PO Intermediate Chinese
CHIN111A PO Advanced Chinese

Awards & Honors

Andrew W. Mellon Grant for Digital Humanities, 2016-2019.

Hahn Fund for Innovative Teaching with Technology, 2016-2017.

Language Learning Dissertation Grant, 2015.

Modern Languages Department Dissertation Completion Scholarship, Carnegie Mellon University, 2014-2015.

Barbara F. Freed Award for Research on Language Learning in a Study Abroad Context, 2014-2015.