The Influence of Combining Computer-Assisted Language Learning With Instruction on Chinese College Students’L2 Pragmatic Ability

In the area of computer-assisted language learning(CALL),although a number of studies have adopted various CALL-based devices(e.g.,blogs,gaming,and synthetic environments)to foster second language(L2)acquisition,the vital component of instruction has received little attention.The present study explored the usefulness of CALL-based communication in conjunction with instruction on EFL learners’L2 pragmatic development.Sixty-two EFL students from a university in China were recruited for the current research.The experimental group communicated with a native English speaker through synchronous messaging via Skype and had two instructional sessions pertinent to compliment responses,while the control group interacted with a native English speaker via Skype without having the teaching intervention.Findings from an independent samples t-test demonstrated that the experimental group produced significantly more proper compliment responses in the immediate posttest than the control group(p<.001).Moreover,a significant difference(p<.001)was found for the experimental group between the preintervention and delayed post-intervention mean scores,suggesting that CALL coupled with teaching intervention had a long-term impact on learners’L2 pragmatic development.These findings enrich our understanding of the beneficial and lasting influence of combining CALL with instruction on EFL students’pragmatic development.In addition,pedagogical implications for deploying CALL paired with L2 pragmatics instruction are provided.

Computer-assisted three-dimensional individualized extreme liver resection for hepatoblastoma in proximity to the major liver vasculature

BACKGROUND The management of hepatoblastoma(HB)becomes challenging when the tumor remains in close proximity to the major liver vasculature(PMV)even after a full course of neoadjuvant chemotherapy(NAC).In such cases,extreme liver resection can be considered a potential option.AIM To explore whether computer-assisted three-dimensional individualized extreme liver resection is safe and feasible for children with HB who still have PMV after a full course of NAC.METHODS We retrospectively collected data from children with HB who underwent surgical resection at our center from June 2013 to June 2023.We then analyzed the detailed clinical and three-dimensional characteristics of children with HB who still had PMV after a full course of NAC.RESULTS Sixty-seven children diagnosed with HB underwent surgical resection.The age at diagnosis was 21.4±18.8 months,and 40 boys and 27 girls were included.Fifty-nine(88.1%)patients had a single tumor,39(58.2%)of which was located in the right lobe of the liver.A total of 47 patients(70.1%)had PRE-TEXT III or IV.Thirty-nine patients(58.2%)underwent delayed resection.After a full course of NAC,16 patients still had close PMV(within 1 cm in two patients,touching in 11 patients,compressing in four patients,and showing tumor thrombus in three patients).There were 6 patients of tumors in the middle lobe of the liver,and four of those patients exhibited liver anatomy variations.These 16 children underwent extreme liver resection after comprehensive preoperative evaluation.Intraoperative procedures were performed according to the preoperative plan,and the operations were successfully performed.Currently,the 3-year event-free survival of 67 children with HB is 88%.Among the 16 children who underwent extreme liver resection,three experienced recurrence,and one died due to multiple metastases.CONCLUSION Extreme liver resection for HB that is still in close PMV after a full course of NAC is both safe and feasible.This approach not only reduces the necessity for liver transplantation but also results in a favorable prognosis.Individualized three-dimensional surgical planning is beneficial for accurate and complete resection of HB,particularly for assessing vascular involvement,remnant liver volume and anatomical variations.

Diagnostic efficacy of virtual organ computer-assisted analysis in measuring the volume ratio of subchorionic hematoma with serum progesterone

BACKGROUND Subchorionic hematoma(SCH)is a common complication in early pregnancy characterized by the accumulation of blood between the uterine wall and the chorionic membrane.SCH can lead to adverse pregnancy outcomes such as miscarriage,preterm birth,and other complications.Early detection and accurate assessment of SCH are crucial for appropriate management and improved pregnancy outcomes.AIM To evaluate the diagnostic efficacy of virtual organ computer-assisted analysis(VOCAL)in measuring the volume ratio of SCH to gestational sac(GS)combined with serum progesterone on early pregnancy outcomes in patients with SCH.METHODS A total of 153 patients with SCH in their first-trimester pregnancies between 6 and 11 wk were enrolled.All patients were followed up until a gestational age of 20 wk.The parameters of transvaginal two-dimensional ultrasound,including the circumference of SCH(Cs),surface area of SCH(Ss),circumference of GS(Cg),and surface area of GS(Sg),and the parameters of VOCAL with transvaginal three-dimensional ultrasound,including the three-dimensional volume of SCH(3DVs)and GS(3DVg),were recorded.The size of the SCH and its ratio to the GS size(Cs/Cg,Ss/Sg,3DVs/3DVg)were recorded and compared.RESULTS Compared with those in the normal pregnancy group,the adverse pregnancy group had higher Cs/Cg,Ss/Sg,and 3DVs/3DVg ratios(P<0.05).When 3DVs/3DVg was 0.220,the highest predictive performance predicted adverse pregnancy outcomes,resulting in an AUC of 0.767,and the sensitivity,specificity were 70.2%,75%respectively.VOCAL measuring 3DVs/3DVg combined with serum progesterone gave a diagnostic AUC of 0.824 for early pregnancy outcome in SCH patients,with a high sensitivity of 82.1%and a specificity of 72.1%,which showed a significant difference between AUC.CONCLUSION VOCAL-measured 3DVs/3DVg effectively quantifies the severity of SCH,while combined serum progesterone better predicts adverse pregnancy outcomes.

Lecturers’Efforts in Building Rapport in the English-Medium Instruction(EMI)Context:Focus on the Use of Communication Strategies

Past studies reveal the prevalence of anxiety,coupled with low motivation and disengagement among students in English-medium instruction(EMI)programs.Given the detrimental impact these negative emotions can have on learning outcomes,it is imperative that teachers establish positive emotional rapport with their students.This study explores how experienced and highly rated EMI lecturers at a Chinese university’s overseas campus use communication strategies to build rapport with their students during interactive academic activities.It identifies the strategies used by these lecturers and examines how the strategies facilitate the teaching-learning process.The data,consisting of 10 hours of tutorials and 10 hours of supervisor-student supervision meetings,is analyzed using an adapted Conversation Analysis(CA)approach.The analysis reveals three types of communication strategies(CSs)frequently used by lecturers:back-channeling,codeswitching,and co-creation of messages.By employing these strategies,the lecturers established a strong rapport with the students,which created an encouraging and supportive learning environment.Consequently,this positive atmosphere facilitated students’learning of content knowledge through English.The findings of this study have implications for the training of lecturers who encounter difficulties in establishing rapport with multilingual students in the EMI setting.

An Assessment of English Instruction for Elementary-Level Students in Jeddah Governorate, as Perceived by English Supervisors and Educators

This study investigated the perceptions of English educators and supervisors in Jeddah Governorate regarding the process of teaching English to elementary students.A survey was conducted using a sample size of 94 educators and 10 supervisors.The data indicate that respondents considered English instruction at the elementary level essential for expanding kids’perspectives,improving academic performance,and promoting international involvement.The main advantages cited are the development of English language skills and the promotion of early education.Although not as easily noticeable,the disadvantages include potential negative impacts on an individual’s proficiency in Arabic and their sense of national identification.The highlighted challenges encompass insufficient teacher training,student reluctance towards English,limited resources,and school disparities.The proposed techniques focused on prioritizing English instructors’training,ensuring the use of appropriate content,utilizing technology,and promoting awareness of students and educators.The current research found different obstacles in teaching English at elementary stages.To overcome these obstacles,it will be essential to enhance teacher competencies,develop efficient teaching methods,get the backing of stakeholders,assign adequate resources,and carry out continuous evaluations.Further research can also contribute to a better understanding of how early English learning impacts on Arabic identity and proficiency.

A Survey Study of Kindergarten Teachers’Use of ChatGPT to Support Instructional Design

With the rapid development of information technology,Artificial Intelligence(AI)is gradually applied to a wide range of fields,especially the powerful ability of ChatGPT to bring infinite possibilities for education,but teachers’attitudes toward using it are not yet clear.The study investigates the use of ChatGPT by kindergarten teachers to support instructional design using questionnaires and interviews to explore the attitudes and perceptions of kindergarten teachers toward its use.The results indicate that kindergarten teachers hold positive preferences for technology acceptance,perceived self-efficacy,and learning attitudes toward using ChatGPT for instructional design.Meanwhile,the study argues that more research is needed in the future to focus on how kindergarten teachers can aptly use ChatGPT to improve the quality of instruction in realistic instructionenvironments.

Exploring Pedagogical Ideologies and Strategies for College English Writing Instruction from a Generative Artificial Intelligence Perspective

This study,drawing on the commonalities between generative artificial intelligence and foreign language writing instruction,outlines the core ideology of digital humanities-based college English writing instruction,including auxiliary use of generative artificial intelligence tools,primary focus on humanistic education,and the re-production of knowledge,aiming to foster students’critical thinking,collaborative skills,and creativity.Building on this foundation,the study delves into generative artificial intelligence tools applicable to different stages of process-genre writing and their strategic applications.The use of generative artificial intelligence tools is beneficial for students to present,discuss,and share writing content,encouraging them to enhance their writing,collaboration,critical thinking,and creative abilities through deep interaction with model essays and creative discourses.

“Instruction-Category” Approach of Test Suite Construction for Oven Embedded System

Being different from testing for popular GUI software, the “instruction-category” approach is proposed for testing embedded system. This approach is constructed by three steps including refining items, drawing instruction-brief and instruction-category, and constructing test suite. Consequently, this approach is adopted to test oven embedded system, and detail process is deeply discussed. As a result, the factual result indicates that the “instruction-category” approach can be effectively applied in embedded system testing as a black-box method for conformity testing.

Peer-Instruction—哈佛大学物理课程教学新方法

Peer—Instruction教学方法是哈佛大学著名教授Eric Mazur创立，使用专门设计的用于揭示学生错误概念和引导学生深入探究的概念测试题（Concep Tests），借助计算机投票系统（Computerized Voting System），组织大班课堂教学，变传统单一的讲授为基于问题的自主学习和协作探究，有效地改变了传统课堂教学手段、教学模式。在大班课堂教学中实现学生自主学习、合作学习、师生互动、生生互动。本文旨在介绍这种教学方法，阐明其教育意义和促进学生学习方面的作用，综述了PI教学方法的广泛应用和相关研究结果。

基于Peer Instruction教学方法研究大学生物理错误概念——以动生电动势为例

我们使用同伴教学法(Peer Instruction)讲授大学物理课程,分析学生在讨论概念测试题的过程中出现的各种错误表述,研究学生在动生电动势概念方面存在的错误概念.再基于研究得到的学生的错误概念开发多项选择题,对130名学习大学物理课程的学生进行测试,定量研究这些错误概念在他们中存在的普遍程度.研究表明:在动生电动势概念方面,大学生普遍存在一些错误概念.

The Application of the Computer Assisted Instruction(CAI) in English Teaching in High Schools

On the basis of the brief introduction to CAI and some its distinctive features,this paper minutely arrives at the principles of the application of CAI in high schools and analyses the implication brought about by its application.This research is to provide a further help for English teachers in high shools,so that the students can effectively improve the level of English language learning.

The Effects of Schema Instruction on Reading Comprehension of English Argumentation

Based on the perspective of the schema theory and modern education technology,In this paper,the method of ran dom experimnet is used to measure how two types of schema instruction‘video clip’and‘multimedia courseware’influence Chinese college students’reading comprehension of English argumentation.The results illustrate the schema instruction can not only develop the students’sensibility of English argumentation structure,but also activate the schema in students’memory.Mul timedia courseware instruction is superior to video clip instruction.The paper proposes its viewpoints concerned.

On Problems in College English Teaching Reform on the Basis of Cloud Computing Assisted Instruction

Cloud Computing Assisted Instruction shows incomparable advantages over the traditional language teaching, but meanwhile, it exists some major problems, for instance, the information technology is omnipotent, information input is too excessive and teachers' role is considerably weakened. This article attempts to analyze the problems and promote language teaching reform base on Cloud Computing Assisted Instruction.

双语教学引入Peer-Instruction教学方法的实践

Peer-Instruction教学方法是一种先进的教学理念,在双语课程中引入该方法,通过合作学习和自主性学习,发挥学生的主观能动性,取得良好的教学效果。

同伴教学(Peer-Instruction)模式下水利工程地质教学改革探索

工程地质课程具有综合性、理论性和实践性强的特点,复杂的工程问题与地质问题交织,使学生对问题的理解只能停留在表面上。水利工程地质,作为水利水电工程专业一门重要的专业基础课程,主要还是以传授知识为主要特征的"讲授法"教学模式。在这种教学模式下,很多学生觉得课程内容繁杂、枯燥,概念抽象,只有死记硬背,培养学生观察现象、发现问题和解决问题能力的愿望难以实现。同伴教学(Peer-Instruction,简称PI)坚持"以学生为学习主体、以教师为引导者"的教学理念,改变了传统的课堂教学模式。结果表明,PI教学理念下的水利工程地质教学改革初见成效,使学生获得地质知识的同时,增强了学习的积极主动性,也提高了教师的教学研究水平。

Explicit Grammar Instruction in L2 Learners'Writing Development:Effective or Ineffective?

It has long been in dispute about whether explicit grammar teaching is more effective in second language learning or implicit grammar teaching is.However,there are more than one factor to take into consideration while discussing which way is better for L2 learners.This short essay aims at depicting three respects concerning grammar teaching,namely learning context,language learners'beliefs and needs,and grammar instruction.When educators and practitioners try to adopt grammar instruction either implicitly or explicitly in L2 learners'writing development,they probably need to consider the above three factors and to find out the best way to produce more effective teaching results among their students.

Using Task-based Instruction Approach to Make Clear Communication

Unclear,ambiguous,poor communication is one of the causes of major marine disasters.To foster the students'commu-nicative competence,the task-based instruction theory was applied in the design of English for Specific Purpose(ESP)instruction.This paper explored the procedures in task-based language teaching and applied them in ESP class in a Chinese vocational institute.

College English Writing Instruction from the Perspective of Text Linguistics

This paper is designed to explore whether the theory of text linguistics,especially the knowledge of cohesion,coherence and cohesive devices could be applied in college English writing teaching to help improve students’writing abilities.Besides,the author puts forward some suggestions for both English teachers and learners.

A Study on the Teachers'Code-switching in Vocational College Non-Eng lish Majors'English Instruction

This paper is designed to investigate the teachers'code-switching used in English instruction in vocational colleges and wants to make some efforts to the better understanding and use of code-switching and develop a positive attitude towards the code-switching in English teaching classroom.

国内Content-based Instruction研究述评

自从20世纪90年代Content-based Instruction进入中国,得到各个学科领域的关注,最近几年相关研究更是呈井喷之势,尤其是实证研究。但是,对中国知网检索文献的分析显示,CBI研究设计科学性不够,忽略了研究的伦理问题,部分研究由于自变量描述不够,影响了研究的效度。分析同样发现,实验中的干预与CBI不符,研究者将CBI与其它教学方式混淆不清。