Factors Influencing Foreign Language Learning

For many years, scholars have been studying the factors that influence foreign language learning. Generally speaking,the factors that influence foreign language learning can be divided into internal and external factors. Whether internal or external factors, they are interconnected in playing their different roles in learners' process of acquiring a foreign language. Internal factors are things like learners' age, intelligence, language aptitude, attitude, personality, etc while design of curriculum, teachers' instruction, the status of target language culture, and access to native speakers can be categorized into external factors influencing learners' foreign language learning.

Intercultural Education in a Technology-Enhanced Foreign Language Learning Environment Implementing the TPACK Approach:Challenges and Possibilities

In the plurilingual and multicultural contemporary international setting,the educational systems opt for successfully meeting as well as adapting to the rapid social,economic,and technological changes.Based on the premise that intercultural communicative competence holds a significant potential for foreign language instruction,focus should throw into combining teachers’intercultural knowledge with pedagogy and technology.The prospect of introducing intercultural material within the context of teaching scenarios in the curricula of a technology-enhanced foreign language learning environment where the Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge(TPACK)approach is implemented,can positively contribute to the teaching process.Under this perspective,cultural and digitally competent teachers can create a framework which will enable learners to fully develop their interactive and linguistic skills and to effectively communicate in a foreign language promoting its social and multicultural dimension whatever the intercultural context.

Sociocultural Factors and Foreign Language Learning and Teaching

Issues caused by different social cultures A clulture has a close connection with a particular language and plays an improtant role in the learn-ing and teaching of it.As we know,every nation has its own culture and the cultures of nations of theworld,generally,are different from each other.Owing to the disparities in culture,to people whospeak different languages,a word or phrase used to express good intention may surprise or irritate peo-ple;a common sentence can sometimes amuse one person greatly and cause laughter,but‘strange e-nough’,it can be too,dull enough in the eyes of another person with different culture background.

An Effective Way of Foreign Language Learning Through Reading

This study examined the overall effectiveness of reading proficiency especially the extensive reading in ESL.In order to investi-gate the process of acquisition more efficiently,author used reading-to-write approach to investigate the connection between readingand foreign language learning.The research also shows that learners need to be provided with plenty of interesting and comprehensiblebooks and they are supposed to use strategies that they will acquire anyway as they read.

Promoting Local Culture Learning in the Context of Foreign Language Instruction

Foreign language learning is also culture learning,which is a dynamic process of bridging the connections between the local culture and the foreign culture.Based on a survey of 667 teachers of English and 278 students in colleges and universities in China,this paper first reviews the current research on the promotion of Chinese culture into the classroom teaching in the context of foreign language learning and then explores future prospects in this area of teaching.The discussion starts with the discussion on these major questions in the process of incorporating local culture in the form of telling stories about China,i.e.,“why need we tell the stories”,“who tells the stories”,“who leads in telling the stories”,“how can we tell the stories”,“what can we tell in the stories”,“where can we tell the stories”,and“how well can we tell the stories”.It continues proposing to pay attention to interdisciplinary research on discourse construction,communication modes and evaluation of communicative effectiveness,and also the design of foreign language curriculum and teaching materials.It concludes that incorporating local culture into the foreign language instruction is of great help to widen students’horizons,cultivate their language proficiency,enhance their culture awareness,strengthen their confidence,and realize shared appreciation of civilization with the people from other cultural backgrounds.

Using Technology-Supported Enrichment Activities to Extend Student Learning in a Chinese as a Foreign Language

The purpose of this study was to investigate whether exposing middle school students to content above their ability level produced significant differences in students’confidence in their Chinese as a foreign language competence in each of the following four areas:reading,listening,speaking,and learning vocabulary.Participants(N=30)were sixth and seventh graders.Results of paired t-test analyses indicated that there was no significant difference in student confidence in Chinese reading competence,t(30)=0.78,p=0.22;in Chinese speaking competence,t(30)=-0.50,p=0.31;or to learn Chinese vocabulary,t(30)=-0.80,p=0.21.However,there was a significant difference in student confidence in ability to learn Chinese listening,t(30)=-1.78,p<0.05.It is suggested that exposing students to content well above their ability level can increase their confidence in ability to learn Chinese listening.

INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES IN FOREIGN LANGUAGE TEACHING AND LEARNING

Individual differences in foreign language learning have long been the concern of linguists and language teachers. Researches on this subject have been carried out in schools, universities and other educational institutions and great achievements have been made. As it is, there are many individual differences which affect the learning of foreign languages, such as intelligence, aptitude, motivation, personality, attitude,

On the Use of E-Learning Software Data--with Speexx Foreign Lan guage Learning System Being the Case

E-learning produces the data on the learners’utilization of the software,which helps the teacher to perceive the learners’mental status and learning efficiency,so it is of great value to make full use of the data.With Speexx foreign language learning system being the case,this thesis introduces the function of such data and the modes of how to use them to facilitate the blendedteaching and learning.

Differences between the Characteristics of Adults and Children as Second/Foreign Language Learners

In this paper, the author will mainly focus on analysis about the differences between characteristics of older learners and young learners in learning second/foreign language.

Application of Smart-Phone Apps by Chinese College Students in Learning English

Currently,there is an increasing trend in the shift from the use of traditional technologies,such as a desktop computer towards the use of mobile technologies,such as a mobile phone.Therefore,students are nowadays well equipped for mobile learning.The aim of this review is to explore the use of mobile phones and/or smart phones and their apps for learning English as a foreign language,and highlight their benefits and limitations for their use in the learning of English as a foreign language.

Existing Problems and Solutions on Rural Primary School Language Education

At present,there are still many problems in language teaching in rural primary schools,which will affect the quality of teaching if we don't pay much attention to them.This article focuses on the existing flaws in current language teaching and provides some solutions.

CULTURAL KNOWLEDGE IS NEEDED IN SECOND(FOREIGN)LANGUAGE TEACHING AND LEARNING IN CHINA

This article tackles the problem of cultural interferences in foreign language teaching andlearning for Chinese learners of English.It also calls for more attention from teachers,textbook com-pilers and students themselves.

CULTURE LEARNING IN FOREIGN LANGUAGE CLASSROOM

Ⅰ. Introduction Foreign language teachers in China nowadays are well aware that language learning cannot be separated from cultural learning. They start to deal with intercultural communication in the classroom and have undergone significant progress in the past two decades. A lot of excellent work has been done (see Hu Wenzhong 1990, 1997) on raising cultural awareness and pragmatic insights.

A Quasi-Experimental Study of a Web-Based English Literacy Tool for Grade 3 Students in China

Purpose:This study explores the effectiveness of a A Balanced Reading Approach for Children Always Designed to Achieve Best Results for All(ABRACADABRA;hereinafter,ABRA)-a webbased literacy program designed by Concordia University in Canada-on third-grade students in Nanjing,China.Design/Approach/Methods:Participants comprised 999 students from three treatment schools(N=711)and three control schools(N=288).Three different approaches were used in the treatment schools:namely,a computer laboratory once a week,noontime study after lunch,and single-game instruction(SG)during every English lesson.Interviews were also conducted with teachers,producing qualitative data.Findings:Following 20 weeks of intervention,the overall effect size was 4-0.05.The SG group reflected the smallest effect size(d=-0.52).The noontime study group produced an effect size of 0.39,and the laboratory group an effect size of 0.55.This study conducted interviews with teachers to gain a qualitative understanding of the differential impacts.In doing so,this study found that teachers in the SG group were poorly motivated due to a lack of school support and heavy workload,resulting in passive roles and low ABRA program intensity.Originality/Value:The results of this study indicate that ABRA is an effective means of improving Chinese students*English literacy skills.Results also underscore the need for critical measures to encourage teachers to actively participate in the program.