Biography
I am an applied linguist and my research broadly focuses on second language acquisition. I have been primarily working on the acquisition, pedagogy, and assessment of second language (L2) pragmatics. In most of my research, I employ a linguistic approach to examining features of learners' pragmatic production and the individual factors that contribute to their interlanguage pragmatic development. I have recently started to examine the nonproductive aspects of L2 pragmatic competence, including perception and awareness. Whereas my previous and current projects have mostly focused on group-level patterns, my next step is to examine individual variation in foreign language learners’ pragmatic development given their unequal access to pragmatic exposure in the multimodal and transnational world. In addition to studies about second language pragmatics, I have also explored how native speakers of Chinese are engaged in specific speech events from variational and cross-cultural perspectives.
I offer courses related to Chinese linguistics, Chinese pragmatics, and second language acquisition. I also direct the Chinese program at UIUC. Before coming here, I worked at the University of Utah as assistant professor of Chinese linguistics and supervised graduate students in Chinese language pedagogy.
Feel free to email me if you are interested in Chinese pragmatics or second language acquisition of Chinese pragmatics.
Research Interests
Second language acquisition
Interlanguage and intercultural pragmatics
language assessment
Chinese pragmatics
Research Description
My research broadly focuses on second language acquisition. I have been primarily working on the acquisition, pedagogy, and assessment of second language pragmatics. I also research how native speakers of Chinese are engaged in specific speech events from variational and cross-cultural perspectives.
Education
Ph.D. Second Language Studies, Indiana University Bloomington
M.A. Applied Linguistics and TESOL, Xi'an Jiaotong University
B.A. English, Xi'an Jiaotong University
Grants
2023–2024 CIBER Business Language Research and Teaching Grant, Centers for International Business Education and Research, Department of Education (with Yingling Bao, Indiana University Bloomington); Project : Web-Based Instruction of Second Language Chinese Pragmatics in Business Chinese
2021–2022 CIBER Business Language Research and Teaching Grant, Centers for International Business Education and Research, Department of Education ((with Yingling Bao, Indiana University Bloomington); Project: Gift Giving Interactions and the Chinese Concept of Politeness
Courses Taught
EALC 130 The Chinese Language
EALC 430 Introduction to Chinese Linguistics
Additional Campus Affiliations
Assistant Professor, Department of Linguistics
Assistant Professor, Center for East Asian Languages and Cultures
Highlighted Publications
Journal Articles
Bardovi-Harlig, K., & Su, Y. (2023). Developing an empirically-driven aural discourse completion task for pragmatics assessment. Applied Pragmatics, 5(1), 1--40. https://doi.org/10.1075/ap.20020.bar
Su, Y. (2022). Review of Intercultural Learning in Language Education and Beyond: Evolving Concepts, Perspectives and Practices. TESOL Quarterly. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1002/tesq.3175
Su, Y. (2022). Refusing invitations and offers in second language Chinese: Effect of proficiency at the actional and interactional Levels. Journal of Politeness Research, 18(2), 335–365. https://doi.org/10.1515/pr-2019-0041
Bardovi-Harlig, K., Izquierdo, J., & Su, Y (2022). Recognition of conventional expressions by EFL learners in Mexico and China. System, 110. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.system.2022.102918
Su, Y. (2021). Accepting invitations and offers in second language Chinese: Effect of proficiency on pragmatic competence in interaction. Journal of Pragmatics, 180, 131–149. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pragma.2021.04.033
Bardovi-Harlig, K., & Su, Y. (2021). The Effect of learning environment on the selection of conventional expressions on an aural multiple-choice DCT. TESL-EJ, 25(1).
Su, Y. (2020). Yes or No: Ostensible versus genuine refusals in Mandarin invitational and offering discourse. Journal of Pragmatics, 162, 1–16. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pragma.2020.03.007
Su, Y., & Chang, Y. (2019). Intra-lingual pragmatic variation in Chinese apologies: Influence of region and gender. East Asian Pragmatics, 4(1), 59–86. https://doi.org/10.1558/eap.38215
Bardovi-Harlig, K., & Su, Y. (2018). The acquisition of conventional expressions as a pragmalinguistic resource in Chinese as a foreign Language. The Modern Language Journal, 102(4), 732–757. https://doi.org/10.1111/modl.12517
Chang, Y., & Su, Y. (2018). Explicit instruction on the negotiation of speech acts: Acceptances of invitations and offers in L2 Chinese. Journal of the National Council of Less Commonly Taught Languages, 24, 43–76.
Bardovi-Harlig, K., Mossman, S., & Su, Y. (2017). Corpus-based instruction for pragmatic routines: Corpus-based materials and corpus searches. Language Learning & Technology, 21(3), 76–103. https://doi.org/10125/44622
Su, Y., & Ren, W. (2017). Developing L2 pragmatic competence in Mandarin Chinese: Sequential realization of requests. Foreign Language Annals, 50(2), 433–457. https://doi.org/10.1111/flan.12263
Book Chapters
Su, Y., & Hu, X. (2023). Proficiency, motivation, and production of conventional expressions in L2 Chinese. In Li, S. (Ed.), Pragmatics of Chinese as a Second Language. Multilingual Matters.
Bardovi-Harlig, K., Mossman, S., & Su, Y. (2019). Integrating instructed second language acquisition research, pragmatics, and corpus-based instruction in an intensive English program. In Dekeyser, R., & Botana, G. (Eds.), Doing SLA research with implications for the classroom: Reconciling methodological demands and pedagogical applicability (pp.55–82). Amsterdam, the Netherlands: John Benjamins Publishing Company.
Bardovi-Harlig, K., Mossman, S., Rothgerber, J., Su, Y., & Swanson, K. (2019). Revisiting clarifications: Self- and other-clarifications in corpus-based pragmatic instruction. In Sato, M., & Loewen, S. (Eds.), Evidence-based second language pedagogy: A collection of instructed second language acquisition series (pp.52–80). Routledge.
Recent Publications
Bardovi-Harlig, K., & Su, Y. (2023). Developing an empirically-driven aural multiple-choice DCT for conventional expressions in L2 pragmatics. Applied Pragmatics, 5(1), 1-40. https://doi.org/10.1075/ap.20020.bar
Bardovi-Harlig, K., Izquierdo, J., & Su, Y. (2022). Recognition of conventional expressions by EFL learners in Mexico and China. System, 110, Article 102918. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.system.2022.102918
Su, Y. (2022). Refusing invitations and offers in second language Chinese: Effect of proficiency at the actional and interactional levels. Journal of Politeness Research, 18(2), 335-365. https://doi.org/10.1515/pr-2019-0041
Su, Y. (2022). Review: T. McConachy, I. Golubeva, and M. Wagner's Intercultural Learning in Language Education and Beyond: Evolving Concepts, Perspectives, and Practices. TESOL Quarterly, 56(4), 1508-1510. https://doi.org/10.1002/tesq.3175
Bardovi-Harlig, K., & Su, Y. (2021). The effect of learning environment on the selection of conventional expressions on an aural multiple-choice DCT. TESL-EJ, 25(1).