Profile
Biography
I joined the School of Business and Society in 2022 as an Associate Lecturer, teaching programme-based academic and communication skills. Prior to this role, I was a postgraduate researcher at the University of Leeds, with my doctoral project exploring how study-abroad students in the UK decode the socio-cultural meaning behind the language and negotiate identities in second language communities. I have extensive experience teaching in the UK and abroad. Alongside my PhD study, I taught at both undergraduate and postgraduate levels at the University of Leeds. My roles included being an academic English and skills tutor, a seminar tutor and invited lecturer in multiple education-related modules (e.g. second language acquisition), a Mandarin learning group leader, and a personal supervisor for study abroad students. From 2014 to 2018, I worked in China as an English as a foreign language tutor, course and material designer, and teacher trainer in the private education sector.
Research
Overview
My research interests lie in the study abroad experience, learning and teaching second language pragmatics, transcultural communication, learner identities, and pedagogy supporting international students in developing academic and communication skills.
Teaching
Other teaching
Since starting my teaching career in 2014, I have acquired qualifications a PhD in Education, an MA in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL), an Associate Fellowship with the Higher Education Academy (AFHEA), a Certificate in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (CELTA), and an International Chinese Language Teacher Certificate.
Currently, I work with and support students in three postgraduate programmes: International Business, International Business and Strategic Management, and International Strategic Management. I design and coordinate department-based academic skills and language development provision, design and deliver skills development sessions tailored to various modules, and supervise taught-postgraduate students.
Publications
Selected publications
Liu, X., Lamb, M., & Chambers, G.N. (2022). Bidirectional Relationship between L2 Pragmatic Development and Learner Identity in a Study Abroad Context. System. 107, 102823.
Liu, X. (2021). Culture and Identity in the Learning of Pragmatics during Studying Abroad: A Longitudinal Case Study. The European Conference on Language Learning 2021: Official Conference Proceedings. IAFOR.
