Her main area of research is in second language acquisition, heritage language education and Chinese sociolinguistics. She is particularly interested in individual differences of language learners, such as anxiety, identity and learning strategies. She also studies the role of technology in language learning and teacher training and specializes in language program development and curriculum design. In Fall 2015, she is the acting associate director of Chinese Flagship Program and the curriculum consultant for the Flagship Linkage Program. E-mail: yangxiao@sfsu.edu