LingLunch : Xuan Li

Xuan Li (LabEx EFL)
An investigation of Chinese adult English learners’ comprehension of sarcastic tweets in English

This study aims to explore what kinds of strategies, cues and challenges  Chinese adult English learners（CAEL）have in comprehending sarcastic tweets in English. To address these questions, twenty (fifteen CAELs and five native speakers) participants joined in a concurrent think-aloud protocol where they needed to verbalize their thoughts while comprehending these tweets. Then, a follow-up semi-structured interview was conducted to explore more in-depth information.

The research findings contribute to second language pragmatics as it reveals what strategies and cues CAELs use and what difficulties they run into in recognizing and comprehending sarcastic tweets.