Dr Xuan Li
PhD, MA, BA
Current positions
Senior Research Associate
School of Education
Contact
Press and media
Many of our academics speak to the media as experts in their field of research. If you are a journalist, please contact the University’s Media and PR Team:
Research interests
My research interests include pragmatics, second language acquisition, and intercultural communication. I have a particular interest in the study of humor and irony, as well as in exploring language comprehension from the perspective of Relevance Theory.
Projects and supervisions
Research projects
The development of second language (L2) learners’ comprehension and production of online sarcasm
Principal Investigator
Description
Sarcasm, a complex form of irony, often creates significant comprehension challenges for English learners, leading to misunderstandings in intercultural communication. This study, based on relevance theory, investigates the teachability of…Managing organisational unit
Dates
01/11/2025 to 31/10/2028
Publications
Recent publications
16/07/2025Reviews: Chinese Politeness: Rong Chen (2023)
Linguist List
An investigation of Chinese adult English learners' comprehension of sarcastic tweets in English
Linguistic Cues in Chinese English Learners' Sarcasm Comprehension on Twitter
The Interpretation of Sarcasm on X
Book review: Kreuz, Roger (2020). Irony and Sarcasm. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press
European Journal of Humour Research