The mismatch of beliefs about learning English between Chinese university students and teachers

The present investigation aims to explore the existence of differences of beliefs about learning English held by Chinese non-English major university students and their teachers of English in the southwest of China. Two questionnaires were used to collect the data. Chi-square （Z2） tests were used to analyze the quantitative data from both students＇ and teachers＇ questionnaires. The results of the chi-square （Z2） tests revealed that 34 out of 44 （plus 2 additional） items of beliefs varied significantly between teachers and students.

Corpus-Based Study of Swearing in Spoken British English

Swearing constitutes an important part of daily language use. However, despite several previous studies with foci on the social and cultural characteristics of swearwords, a large part of it remains to be investigated. With the abundant spoken language resources from British National Corpus(BNC), this article observes the pragmatic and collocational features of swearwords. Three social variables, namely, social class, speech domain, and gender were put under investigation to see how the use of swearwords varies with different speech social contexts. Meanwhile, the noun and adjective collocates of several frequent swearwords were separately sorted out and discussed. The data observed show that the use of swearwords is highly related to different social contexts, and there exits certain level of differentiation between different swearwords used as intensifiers which can be generalized lexicographically.

Presenting Knowledge System of International Trade Terms in Business English Learners＇ Dictionaries

Dictionaries should present business encyclopedic knowledge as well as business linguistic knowledge. This paper, taking Incoterms for international trade as an example （with ＂CIF＂ as the case for analysis）, introduces 7 types of dictionary structures （overall structure, frame stzucture/megastrncture, macrostructure, microstzucture, distribution structure, cross-reference stzucture/mediostrncture and access structure）, summarizes the knowledge system of international trade terms （consisting of ＂international trade＂, ＂sets of rules of international trade terms＂, ＂Incoterms 2010＂, and ＂CIF＂）, and illustrates the methods of systematically presenting the knowledge system of international trade terms through dictionary structures in an English-English-Chinese bilingualized business English learners＇ dictionary with Oxford Business English Dictionary for Learners of English （New Edition） as a reference. Such presentation is intended for enhancing business English learners as dictionary users to grasp the knowledge of international trade terms as a whole.

Analysis of Euphemisms Used by Foreign Teachers in the Oral English Class from the Perspective of Pragmatics

This paper first of all elaborates on the definitions and classifications of euphemisms. With vivid examples of euphemisms used by foreign teachers in their oral English classroom teaching, the author analyzes the theoretical basis and the necessity of euphemisms from the perspective of pragmatics, aiming to provide reference and enlightenment for the oral English teaching in China.

A Comparison of Path Encoding in English and Chinese

English and Chinese both belong to satellite-flamed languages in lexicalizing motion events. However, they are not entirely identical in Path encoding. Path comprises Vector, Conformation, and Deictic. Vector comprises Arrival, Departure and Traversal. English and Chinese use different forms （prepositions vs. verbs） to represent Traversal. The Arrival component in Chinese can denote ＂realized arrival＂ while that in English cannot. English is not fine-grained as Chinese in the specification of Conformation. The use of Deictic in Chinese is more pervasive than that in English. Satellite elements in English are realized as particles and prepositions while those in Chinese are realized as directional verbs.

Feasibility Investigation and Development Exploration on Popularizing the Method of English Fragmented Mobile Learning of Undergraduates

This paper attempts to investigate the feasibility and learning effects of English fragmented learning via mobile devices.Questionnaires and interviews were employed to do the survey on 157 undergraduates from 24 universities in China.The research findings reveal that English fragmented learning via mobile devices has some positive effects on the improvement of learners’knowledge and learning ability.In addition,there have been a certain number of useful learning resources and platforms with diversified features.The study has the implications that fragmented mobile learning is feasible and can be popularized in English learning.

The Impact of English Films and TV Series on Non-English College Students’Intercultural Competence

Based on the related theories of intercultural competence and extensive analysis of literature,this paper employed questionnaires and interviews to do a research with 200 non-English college students about the general situation of their intercultural competence and the impact on it caused by English films and TV series in Wuhan University of Technology.The findings of the study indicate that non-English college students have relatively good intercultural competence while the deficiency of intercultural knowledge and skill exists;the appreciation of English films and TV series is positively correlated with the four dimensions of non-English college students’intercultural competence,namely intercultural knowledge,attitude,skill and awareness.Based on these findings of the research,the author brings up some specific and constructive suggestions on improving non-English college students’intercultural competence with the help of English films and TV series for college English teachers and non-English college students.

How to Facilitate Students' English Learning in Chinese Secondary Schools from a Psychology Perspective

In Chinese secondary schools,there are many issues that may affect students'English learning.Firstly,the input,intake and acquisition of students'English learning from a psychology perspective are analyzed.And then,review the relevant literature to find out the recommendations which can facilitate students'language learning.Finally,make some suggestions for the possible problems and objections when the recommendations are implemented in teaching process.

Role of English in Chinese Popular Culture

Nowadays Chinese have become much more open and willing to welcome and embrace Western culture, and therefore English plays an important role in Chinese pop culture. This paper intends to analyze the role of English in Chinese advertisements, movies and TV shows, which are shown in China's Mainland, Taiwan, and Hong Kong. Findings show that English is pervasively used in Chinese commercials in both China's Mainland and Taiwan. Unlike the situations in Taiwan, English is always used in combination with Chinese subtitles in China's Mainland, most international commercials are re-produced to be more applicable to local Chinese communities, and the strategy of advertising is different. In Hong Kong movies, Hong Kong English is used frequently, which gives the evidence that the language mixing behavior is popular in Hong Kong.

New Consensus of the British Party Politics and the Prospects of the UK-Europe Relations

After the Brexit referendum,British politics went through the most turbulent period since the end of World War II.In less than four months during the summer and autumn of 2022,the UK had two Prime Ministers and three Chancellors of the Exchequer.Words such as“Italianize”,“moment of crisis”,and“national decline”popped up in the discussions on the UK.

Oxbridge Pictures in Woolf’s A Room of One’s Own

A Room of One’s Own is a masterpiece by Virginia Woolf, which describes her understanding of literary creation and the issue of women and fiction. The content of this book is based on Woolf’s two speeches at Cambridge, with the theme of “Women and fiction.” Through the analysis of the history and current situation of female literary creation, the paper points out that women should have the courage and right to fight for independent economic power and social status. “Oxbridge” is a combined term of Oxford and Cambridge, and Oxbridge pictures dominate the first chapter of A Room of One’s Own, which are the focus of this paper. Through a detailed analysis of the different indoor and outdoor pictures of Oxbridge, including nature, landscape, humanistic architecture and the “pictures” imagined in the narrator’s mind, this paper discusses the existence of Victorian women and Woolf’s feminist thoughts so as to provide possible implications for the social survival of contemporary women. The study is also concerned with Woolf’s Eco-feminism, stream of consciousness and other artistic skills.

Research on the Translation of Chinese Twenty-Four Solar Terms: A Skopos Theory Perspective

In the current era of rapid development, excellent culture needs to be inherited and spread to the world. Therefore, it is essential to consider the translation of the 24 solar terms. China persists in the principle of the Belt and Road Initiative, adheres to the guidance of Chinese traditional excellent culture goes global, and enhances the influence of Chinese culture on the words, the culture of the words communicating and developing constantly. This paper analyzes and compares translations of different versions, explores the necessity of translation strategies for translation, then summaries the translation strategy, ultimately figures out the development space, ted texts and promote the exchange of Chinese and foreign cultures.

A Cognitive Study on Politeness Intention Processing and Its Association with Pragmatic Failure in Cross-Cultural Communication

Although a large number of studies have focused on various aspects of politeness,very little is known about how politeness intention is activated cognitively during verbal communication.The present study aims to explore the cognitive mechanism of politeness intention processing,and how it is related to pragmatic failure during cross-cultural communication.Using 30 Chinese EFL university students who were instructed to finish a probe word judgment task with 96 virtual scenarios,the results indicate that within both mono-and cross-cultural contexts,the response time in the experimental scenarios was significantly slower than that of the filler scenarios.This suggests that politeness intention was activated while understanding the surface meaning of the conversation;however,the EFL learners could not completely avoid the negative transfer of their native politeness conventions when they were comprehending the conversational intention of the target language.Furthermore,no significant differences in response time were found between the groups with high and low English pragmatic competence,illustrating that transferring the pragmatic rules and principles into cross-cultural communication skills was more cognitively demanding.Overall,this study adds to the literature on politeness research and provides some implications for foreign language pragmatic instructions.

Researching Creativity in Second Language Acquisition:Book Review

In the realm of psychology and language acquisition,the exploration of“individual differences”-encompassing attributes such as personality traits,motivation,and language aptitude-has long been a focal point of scholarly investigation.Within this sphere,the book“Researching Creativity in Second Language Acquisition”by Ashleigh Pipes offers a fresh perspective on the role of creativity as a significant individual difference in Second Language Acquisition(SLA).Positioned against the backdrop of extensive empirical research on individual differences,this book stands out by focusing on the often overlooked aspect of creativity,which Pipes argues,holds paramount importance in SLA.

C -E Interpreting of Political Neologisms in Contemporary Chinese Political Discourse

Uniqueness of our political systems and tremendous changes brought about by reform and opening up are reflected in language use,so contem porary Chinese political discourse has its own distinctiveness,and is especially featured by increasing political neologisms,posing difficulties for interpreters and for China’s international publicity.Quality of political neologisms interpreting has a direct bearing on whether or not success of interpreting the whole discourse can be achieved.The authors believe that interpreting of contemporary Chinese political discourse,also for the purpose of com m unication can gain guidance from Bachman’s CLA Model.So the paper elaborates through exem plification on strategies for interpreting political neologisms in light of Bachm an’s Model,with a view to realizing discourse power of Chinese.

Interdiscursivity and Promotional Discourse:A Corpus-Assisted Genre Analysis of About Us Texts on Chinese University Websites

The debate on the marketization of discourse in higher education has sparked and sustained interest among researchers in discourse and education studies across a diversity of contexts.While most research in this line has focused on marketized discourses such as advertisements,little attention has been paid to promotional discourse in public institutions such as the About us texts on Chinese university websites.The goal of the present study is twofold:first,to describe the generic features of the university About us texts in China;and second,to analyze how promotional discourse is interdiscursively incorporated in the discourse by referring to the broader sociopolitical context.Findings have indicated five main moves:giving an overview,stressing historical status,displaying strengths,pledging political and ideological allegiance,and communicating goals and visions.Move 3,displaying strengths,has the greatest amount of information and can be further divided into six sub-moves which presents information on campus facilities,faculty team,talent cultivation,disciplinary fields construction,academic research,and international exchange.The main linguistic and rhetorical strategies used in these moves are analyzed and discussed.

Dynamic Assessment of College EFL Learners’Speaking Proficiency:A Case Study

To investigate the impact of dynamic assessment(DA)on the development of speaking skills,a case study was conducted,recruiting a non-English major undergraduate.DA was constructed following the design combining sandwich and cake format with an interactionist approach.To collect data,a profile was designed in accordance with the China’s Standards of English Language Ability(CSE)to record the learner’s changes.A semi-structured interview was conducted to reveal his perspectives on DA.The generated profile with specific mediator-learner’s moves revealed the learner’s microgenetic development in both organizational knowledge and oral expression strategy ability.The thematic analysis of the interview demonstrated the learner’s positive experience with DA,while also unveiling the weak points of DA.Finally,the operational framework for applying interactionist DA in the oral classroom was discussed,and the complementary relationship between DA and traditional teaching and testing practices was highlighted.

Butterfly:Zizek's Mirror Image of Ancient China

As a psychoanalytic philosopher,Zizek shows great interest in such Pre-Qin thoughts as Confucianism and philosophy of Chuang Tzu,and relates them to Lacanian philosophy.Through the psychoanalytic analysis of“butterfly”image in The Butterfly Dream,M.Butterfly and so on,Zizek interprets ancient Confucian culture,thus visualizes the image of ancient China as an existing“Other”to the West.His Chinese butterfly image and cultural mirror image have some kind of fundamental homogeneity.FromZizek's analysis of butterfly image,we can see how he conceptualizes ancient China by constructing the fantasy of butterfly,and how western scholars understand modern China through the mirror image of the Other.Understanding howZizek views China can provide us with a perspective to reflect upon cultural exchange between China and the West.

An empirical study of the effects of a speaking anxiety reduction model developed from the rational emotive behavioral therapy

Thirty-two Chinese EFL learners took part in a true experiment on the effects of a Speaking Anxiety Reduction Model （SARM） developed from the Rational Emotive Behavioral Therapy （REBT）. The participants were randomly assigned to the treatment and the control group. Both groups received a pre- and post- test of their Speaking Anxiety （SA）, Speaking State Anxiety （SAstate） as well as speaking performance. Those involved in the treatment group also received a treatment with the SARM between the tests. The results showed that, with the effects of Language Achievement （LA） being controlled： （1） the SARM could significantly reduce the SA, SAstate, and increase the total number of words in Communication Units （CUs）; and （2） the effects of the SARM did not differ significantly in terms of gender.

The comparison between written DCT and oral role-plays in investigation upon English refusal strategies by Chinese EFL students

The present study is a comparison study of research instrument in the field of interlanguage pragmatics. Sixty-two Chinese EFL university students participated in the study. Written DCT and oral role-plays were designed in four stimulus types of refusal strategies--refusals to invitations, suggestions, offers and requests. Chi-square test and frequency were used for quantitative data and transcription of the tests was used for the qualitative data. The results show that there is no significant difference between the two tests in terms of strategies choices, but written DCT can produce a longer sentence while oral role-plays can yield a more natural expression.