As the primary means of communication,speech is an essential aspect for humans to interact and build connections in the social world.Speech intelligibility is critical in social communication;unintelligibility may lea...As the primary means of communication,speech is an essential aspect for humans to interact and build connections in the social world.Speech intelligibility is critical in social communication;unintelligibility may lead to confusion,misunderstanding,and frustration.Many Chinese learners of English find it challenging to apply English into social interaction and reach mutual intelligibility with international communicators.This article analyzes the obstacles impeding Chinese EFL learners’speech intelligibility development,from the aspects of phonology(segmental and suprasegmental features)and pragmatics.Some strategies are proposed to help Chinese learners ameliorate phonology and pragmatics problems and improve speech intelligibility in English communication.展开更多
The International English Language Testing System(IELTS) is one of the most widely used language proficiency test inthe world. In the IELTS academic module, the writing test is a significant part to assess examinees...The International English Language Testing System(IELTS) is one of the most widely used language proficiency test inthe world. In the IELTS academic module, the writing test is a significant part to assess examinees' writing ability on the ground ofthe university academic level. Since the IELTS academic writing test measures test-takers' academic writing competency and pre-pares them for the university study, it is necessary to figure out the extent this test could be beneficial to test-takers for future uni-versity learning. This paper aims to provide a critical review of the IELTS writing test, dawning on"principles of test assessment"introduced by Brown and Abeywickrama(2010), and focusing particularly on the predictive validity, authenticity, and washback.展开更多
文摘As the primary means of communication,speech is an essential aspect for humans to interact and build connections in the social world.Speech intelligibility is critical in social communication;unintelligibility may lead to confusion,misunderstanding,and frustration.Many Chinese learners of English find it challenging to apply English into social interaction and reach mutual intelligibility with international communicators.This article analyzes the obstacles impeding Chinese EFL learners’speech intelligibility development,from the aspects of phonology(segmental and suprasegmental features)and pragmatics.Some strategies are proposed to help Chinese learners ameliorate phonology and pragmatics problems and improve speech intelligibility in English communication.
文摘The International English Language Testing System(IELTS) is one of the most widely used language proficiency test inthe world. In the IELTS academic module, the writing test is a significant part to assess examinees' writing ability on the ground ofthe university academic level. Since the IELTS academic writing test measures test-takers' academic writing competency and pre-pares them for the university study, it is necessary to figure out the extent this test could be beneficial to test-takers for future uni-versity learning. This paper aims to provide a critical review of the IELTS writing test, dawning on"principles of test assessment"introduced by Brown and Abeywickrama(2010), and focusing particularly on the predictive validity, authenticity, and washback.