Research strengths in the Department include: (1) Discourse Analysis: conversation analysis, corpus-assisted discourse analysis, critical discourse analysis, genre analysis, mediated discourse analysis, multimodal discourse analysis, pragmatics, semiotics, and text analysis; (2) Applied Linguistics and Language Teaching: identity, intercultural communication, language policy and planning, pedagogical grammar, second language acquisition, second language writing, self-access learning, language teacher identity; (3) Professional Communication: business communication, English for specific purposes, language and law, persuasive communication, rhetoric of science, health and risk communication; (4) Language, Technology, and Media: computer-assisted language learning, digital literacies, language and mobile communication, and online discourse; and (5) English-medium Instruction: incidental language acquisition in the English-medium environment, pedagogical approaches to teaching and learning in EMI settings, professional discoursal skills in EMI; and (6) Literary Studies: World literature in English, postcolonial literature, modern and contemporary novel, nineteenth-century literature and culture, crime fiction, travel writing and comparative literature.  (7) Theatre and Performance Studies: Modern and contemporary drama, performance studies; (8) Cultural Studies: Film studies and visual culture, fashion studies, creative industries and popular culture.