On the Teaching Methods to Balance Fluency & Accuracy for Chinese University English Learners

By dividing English learners in Chinese university context into intermediate and advanced level learners, the essay argues that fluency rather than accuracy is needed for most university students. It further discusses some suitable teaching methods in both contexts respectively to balance this pair of objective focus.

On L2 English Learners’Formulaic Language Use and Spoken English Fluency

This study explored the distribution of three types of English formulaic language, which involves four categories in L1 Chinese L2 English learners’ speaking performance. In addition, it investigated the relationship between the English learners’ use of formulaic language and their spoken English fluency. A CCA(canonical correlation analysis) was conducted to examine the correlations between two sets of fluency variables(dependent variables) and linguistic variables of English formulaic language use(independent variables). The fluency variable set consists of:(1)temporal indices such as SR(speech rate), AR(articulation rate), MLR(mean length of run), and PTR(phonation time ratio);(2) linguistic variables of English formulaic language like F2 R(twoword formulaic sequences/run ratio, B3 R(three-word lexical bundles/run ratio), and B4 R(fourword lexical bundles/run ratio). These are calculated according to the frequency of the English formulaic language in the speech samples of the participants(n = 86) across three academic levels.The results indicate that the learners’ spoken English fluency is highly related to their use of English formulaic language. Its limitations and future research directions are also discussed.

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.

China's English Learners' Verbal Phrase Acquisition Research Based on the Corpus——“at last”and“in the end”as an Example

This study is a comparative research based on corpus. This article compares China's English learners with English na?tive speakers about the use of "at last" and "in the end" from three aspects: frequency of use, location, semantic prosody. The study shows that the use of the two words are greatly different between China's English learners and English native speakers. In addition, this study discusses about causes of obvious differences and teaching enlightenments.

An Empirical Study on the Effectiveness of Language Learning Strategy Training for Chinese Adult English Learners

This paper explores how to implement effective strategy training for part-time Chinese adult English learners in a tertiary FLT （Foreign Language Teaching） classroom. Through a study of threx~ semesters during which six sessions of learner training workshops and constant, integrated task-based instruction were carried out, empirical evidence was collected via the instrument of questionnaires, interviews, learners＇ regular written reports, and the findings indicate that： （1） The students reported a statistically significant increase of the overaU average frequency of language strategy use over all SILL （The Strategy Inventory for Language Learning） items with 2.95 at the beginning and 3.61 at the end; and （2） Well-organized, explicit, and discrete leaner training workshops combined with frequent, explicit, and integrated task-based strategy instruction are an effective and helpful way to improve learners＇ awareness, selection, and frequency of strategy use, which can further foster learner autonomy.

The Influence of Morpheme Awareness on Junior Middle School English learners’ Reading Comprehension

According to the understanding of English learning process and the surrounding educational environment,it is found that most English learners have not received the training of morpheme awareness,and English teachers have hardly cultivated their students’morpheme awareness.In English learning,it is found that English morpheme awareness plays a role in promoting English learning.It can be seen from the relevant literature that the identification of English morphemes is very important for English learners’language acquisition and development,and has attracted the attention of researchers at home and abroad.This paper mainly studies the influence of morpheme awareness on junior middle school English learners’reading comprehension.

Chinese English Learners＇ Text Reading Strategy Research

Reading strategies are different from identifying the words, but a kind of metacognitive activity based on the monitoring mode. This paper will explore Chinese English learners＇ text reading strategies according to the cognitive process of the reading, hoping for providing some suggestions and references for Chinese college students to learn English well and improve the text reading ability.

A Review of the Effectiveness of Web-based Course with College English Learners' Autonomous Learning

The paper is a literature review, aiming to examine the effectiveness of web-based college English learning which mainly focuses on learners' autonomous learning. Previous studies indicate that the web-based learning can improve learners' autonomous learning, as well as some problems found in their findings. Therefore, this paper first gives a summary and critique of research studies on the web-based autonomous learning and some factors influencing learners' autonomous learning ability;then, areas that deserve further study are also indicated.

An Empirical Study on Classroom Learning Anxiety of Secondary Vocational English Learners in Content-based Instruction

This research aims to study the relationship between content-based instruction and secondary vocational English learners.Two classes in one secondary vocational school were chosen as participants.The result shows that CBI teaching has a negative correlation with English learning anxiety and has an impact on alleviating students' anxiety.

Auditory cerebral activation patterns of Chinese English learners by fMRI

Objective:To identify the cerebral activation patterns associated with the processes that occur during viewing Chinese and English words in native Chinese English learners. Methods:12 right-handed Chinese English learners were divided into two groups equally,namely English majors and non-English majors,and took semantic judgement tasks of both English and Chinese words, for whom the fMRI images were collected.Results:To various degrees, all subjects demonstrated activation of associated cerebral regions in both hemispheres and the left hemisphere activation was more significant for most subjects. Except for classical regions involved in language processing,such as Wernicke areas and Broca areas,there were other activated cerebral regions, including cerebellum, limbic system and basal ganglia nucleus, etc. To sum up,there were apparent overlap for cerebral activation distribution and no specific processing areas for both tasks. The analysis of ROI(region of interest)suggested that subjects in specialized group were more dependent on right hemisphere to perform English words task. Conclusion:Language cognition is dominated by left hemisphere,which is also shared by the right hemisphere to various degrees and thus two hemispheres work by ways of both dissociation and coordination. It is possible that working strategy of the right hemisphere in English task is related to proficiency of the second language. A variety of distinctions are shared by each subject for language cognitive patterns.

A Contrastive Study of Semantic Prosody between English Native Speak ers and Chinese English Learners——Case Study of “Avoid”

In this paper,the author uses data-driven and contrastive interlanguage analysis approach,applying AntConc 3.2.1 as the tool,to make a comparison between corpus FLOB and CLEC on the using of the word "avoid".The result shows that the se mantic prosodic tendency between the two communities is in great similarities but also have differences.Through comparison and analysis,the author finds the hidden reason and summarizes how to improve.

A Corpus-based Study of Colloquial Features in English Learners' Written Registers:Taking Quasi-modals as an Example

This article is a corpus-based study of colloquial features, especially quasi-modals in English learners’writings. Via using Longman Learners Corpus, British English 2006 and American English 2006, quasi-modals used in English language learners’ writings are compared with the real uses of quasi-modals in native speakers’ writings. The results show that English languagelearners may have a problem with misusing colloquial-feature phrases, quasi-modals, in written registers.

Negotiation of English Learners＇ Participation and Identity in College Classroom Communities

Language studies carried out under a social dimension perspective have found that classroom activities are complex social-cognitive practices influenced not only by cognitive, but also social, cultural, political and historical factors(Morita, 2004).Thus, college students, especially newcomers might find it difficult to adapt themselves to a more advanced academic environment,and would experience a long-term struggling process. Given this, it is significant for language teachers to find out how students structure their practice and negotiate their identities, membership, competence and participation in academic discourse socialization.This would in turn help teachers generate more learning opportunities and promote students' outstanding academic outcomes.

Entangled relationship:Chinese parents’involvement in young learners’English tests

Young learners’English(YLE)tests have become increasingly prevalent among and important to Chinese English learners and their parents.In China,parents are actively involved in their children’s education and test-taking decisions,and their participation has given rise to a series of social impacts.Although parent involvement has received increasing public and academic attention in newspaper and scholarly articles,there exists no thorough analysis of current research on parents’roles in young learners’test-taking.To address this gap,we systemically analyzed Chinese newspaper articles and academic articles between 2011 and 2021 to elicit Chinese parents’roles in YLE test-taking.Our thematic analysis of the literature identifies the ways in which parents influence their children’s test-taking experiences,and how the tests affect this influence.Specifically,our results elicit 1)parents’engagement in YLE testing;2)parents’understanding of the intended uses of YLE tests;3)parents’perception and consequences of their involvement in YLE testing;and 4)parents’backgrounds.This analysis reveals the popularity of YLE tests among young learners and their parents in China and public concern over test-related issues.It also broadens our understanding of YLE testing impact and suggests future potential research directions.

English Language Attrition Among EFL Learners in Terms of Writing Skills

This study aims to identify if participants experience attrition in writing skills after two years' nonuse of English.70 participants took the tests of writing.A questionnaire was administered to the 70 participants and it included numerous variables that relate to language attrition such as motivation and social activities.The data collected from the tests and questionnaire were analyzed via SPSS.Cronbach's alpha and Many Facets Rasch Model were used to validate the construct and external reliability.The findings showed that participants experienced an overall statistically significant level of attrition in writing skills.Additionally,the specific skills of pertinence,coherence,clarity but excluding grammar,were seen to experience significant attrition over the two years' period.Participants showed a lower level of positive motivation and less social activities for learning English language during the two years' nonuse than before the two years' nonuse of English and this could have contributed to the writing attrition.

The Production of the Sequence -UI- by Francophone Learners of English

This paper considers the renderings of the sequence -UI- by Cameroonian, Gabonese, and native French users learning English with the view to finding out whether French users speaking different L 1s pronounce this sequence in different or similar ways. The data were recordings of items containing -UI- and the contrastive method of analysis was used. It was found that this sequence is rendered in two ways by the learners. Besides, different L2 French-speaking learners tend to pronounce it in the same ways and so do L2 and L1 French-speaking learners. It can therefore be hypothesised that Francophone speakers tend to draw more from French when they speak English than from their respective L 1s.

Teaching Writing to Adult English Language Learners： Lessons From the Field

For the past several decades, it has been clear that the ability to write texts for academic and professional purposes （＂academic writing＂ in this article） is key to the success of adults in U.S. society--in school, in university courses, on tests that they need to take to progress through learning and into work, and in the workforce. Academic writing has specific features and involves approaches that are different from much of the writing that is done with adult learners, particularly those learning English as an additional language （e.g., described in reviews by Hinkel, 2015; Leki, Cumming, ＆ Silva, 2008; and a survey by Rosenfeld, Courtney, ＆ Fowles, 2004）. However, a recent survey of adult educators, conducted by the authors, found that academic writing has not been a focus in many adult education programs, and teachers receive limited professional development in this area and instructional support in implementing it. This article describes the importance of academic writing at all levels of adult education, the key features of academic writing, and the current state of writing instruction in adult education programs. It then describes the motivation for, design, and outcomes of a survey of and interviews with adult educators across the country on their preparation for and instructional practices with academic writing （conducted in 2014 and 2015）. Finally, it describes approaches that can be used in adult education programs to meet the writing proficiency needs of students at all levels and next steps that the adult education field might take.

The Features and Patterns of Revision Process in English Learners＇ Writing

Revision is an important part of writing process but it often baffles the researchers due to the difficulties in recording the revision process of students. Based on a self-made questionnaire and the online record of the revision process, this study describes the English learners＇ revision behaviors and process in their second semester of a two-year writing course. The analysis indicates that the English learners hold a positive attitude towards revision and but passive in resorting to outside sources for help. The source of the feedback has a great influence on their motivation of revision. On the other hand, although they use all types of revision operations, they concentrate on surface changes and simple operations.

A Corpus-Based Study on Synonyms in Chinese Learners'English:A Case Study of Affair"and"Event"

Using British National Corpus(BNC)as the reference corpus and Chinese Learner's English Corpus(CLEC)as the observed corpus,this paper attempts to analyze synonyms in Chinese learners5 English based on"event"and tcaffair.?,By comparing the frequency,colligation,collocates,and semantic prosody of the two words in BNC,it is found that"event"and“affaiT”differ from each other in terms of frequency and semantic prosody.The same comparison is made between BNC and CLEC.It is found that Chinese learnersJ English vocabulary is rather small,and there is no significant difference in the semantic prosody of the two words between English native speakers and Chinese English learners except that Chinese English learners have a misunderstanding about"love affair,which may be attributed to their negligence of semantic prosody in the process of learning.