Cheng Xiao, PhD

About Me

Cheng Xiao is a Postdoctoral Fellow at the Feilong Lab in the Department of Psychology at the University of South Carolina. At Feilong Lab, she uses computational methods and neuroimaging data to study individual differences in language processing and learning. Her broader research investigates how language and emotion interact in native speakers and second language learners. Cheng holds a PhD in Linguistics from the University of South Carolina, an MA in Linguistics and Applied Linguistics, a BA in Humanities, and a BEc in Finance from Wuhan University.

News

• [March, 2026], Our paper on the role of the Anterior Temporal Lobe in reading has been accepted in Neurobiology of Language.
• [October, 2025], I have successufully defended my doctoral dissertation “The Processing of Emotional Prosody and Semantics in Native and Non-native Chinese Speakers” under the supervision of Jiang Liu, Rutvik Desai, Amit Almor, and Svetlana Shinkareva.

Publications

• Arheix-Parras, S., Xiao, C., Crouse, C., Riccardi, N., Johari, K., Desai, R.H. (accepted). The Role of the Anterior Temporal Lobe in Reading: an HD-tDCS Study. Neurobiology of Language.
• Xiao, C., & Liu, J. (2026). The Perception of Emotional Prosody in Mandarin Chinese Words and Sentences. Second Language Research, 42(1), 3-30. Link, PDF.
• Xiao, C., & Liu, J. (2025). Semantic Effects on the Perception of Emotional Prosody in Native and Non-native Chinese Speakers. Cognition and Emotion, 39(7), 1542-1552. Link, PDF.
• Wang, B. X., Chen, S., Zhou, F., Liu, J., Xiao, C., Chan, A., & Tang, T. (2024). English Prosodic Focus Marking by Cantonese Trilingual Children with and without Autism Spectrum Disorder. Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research, 67(3), 782-801. Link.
• Liu, J., & Xiao, C. (2021). Tone Category Learning Should Serve Tone Word Learning: An Experiment of Integrating Pronunciation Teaching in L2 Chinese Curriculum. In Edited Volume The Acquisition of Chinese as a Second Language Pronunciation: Segments and Prosody. Edited by Yang, Chunsheng: Springer. Link.
• Xiao, C., Liu, J., Shinkareva, S., Yang, X., Desai, R.H. (in revision). Knowing and Feeling: The Role of Semantic Valence in Emotional Prosody Perception for L2 Chinese Learners.
• Xiao, C., Arheix-Parras, S., Riccardi, N., Johari, K., Desai, R.H. (in revision). Anterior Temporal Lobe Mediates Associative and Taxonomic Neighborhood Effects in Lexical Processing.
• Yang, X., Gao, C., Xiao, C., Riccardi, N., Desai, R.H. (under review). Multifaceted neural representation of words in naturalistic language. Preprint.

Grants

• 2023-2025, NSF Doctoral Dissertation Research Improvement Grant, The Semantic Effect on the Processing of Emotional Prosody in a Tone Language: A Neurolinguistic Study, USD 17,780.
• 2022-2023, University of South Carolina SPARC Graduate Research Grant, Bridging Meaning and Sound: The Effects of Semantics on Emotional Prosody Processing in Mandarin Chinese Words and Sentences, USD 4,938.

Teaching Experience

• Instructor of Record, Linguistics Program, University of South Carolina
  • Spring 2023, LING 301/ENGL 389: The English Language
  • Fall 2022, LING 101: Introduction to Language
• Instructor of Record, Department of Languages, Literatures and Cultures, University of South Carolina
  • Spring 2021, CHIN 122: Basic Proficiency Mandarin Chinese
  • Fall 2020, CHIN 121: Elementary Mandarin Chinese
  • Spring 2022, CHIN 222: Intermediate Mandarin Chinese II
  • Fall 2022, CHIN 221: Intermediate Mandarin Chinese I
  • Spring 2020, CHIN 322: Advance Mandarin Chinese II
  • Fall 2019, CHIN 321: Advance Mandarin Chinese I
• Guest Lecturer, Linguistics Program, University of South Carolina
  • Fall 2024, LING 474/PSYC 474: Cognitive and Social Aspects of Bilingualism
  • Spring 2023, LING 300/PSYC 300: Introduction to Language Sciences
• Tutor, International Accelerator Program, University of South Carolina
  • 2019-2020, English as a second language (ESL) Tutor

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