Towards Lessening Learners’Aversive Emotions and Promoting Their Mental Health:Developing and Validating a Measurement of English Speaking Demotivation in the Chinese EFL Context

While a plethora of studies has been conducted to explore demotivation and its impact on mental health in second language(L2)education,scanty research focuses on demotivation in L2 speaking learning.Particularly,little research explores the measures to quantify L2 speaking demotivation.The present two-phase study attempts to develop and validate an English Speaking Demotivation Scale(ESDS).To this end,an independent sample of 207 Chinese tertiary learners of English as a Foreign Language(EFL)participated in the development phase,and another group of 188 Chinese EFL learners was recruited for the validation of the scale.Exploratory Factor Analysis(EFA)and Confirmatory Factor Analysis(CFA)were employed to determine the factor structure of the scale.The EFA results revealed a six-factor solution with Teacher-related Factors in Learning Spoken English(TFLSE),Interest and Valence in Learning Spoken English(IVLSE),Self-efficacy in Learning Spoken English(SELSE),Negative Peer Influence in Learning Spoken English(NPILSE),Undesirable Environment for Learning Spoken English(UELSE),and Negative Influence of Assessment and Learning Materials in speaking class(NIALM).In the validation phase,Confirmatory Factor Analysis(CFA)was performed to validate the internal structure of the scale.The CFA results showed that the model fits the data well.Overall,the ESDS is a robust and trustworthy psychometric tool that could be utilized to examine L2 speaking demotivation.Implications for diminishing EFL learners’demotivation,lessening their aversive emotions and promoting their mental health are also discussed.

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.

A Study on the Different Levels of“Attention”in the Processing of English Subjunctive Mood by Chinese Learners

“Attention”is a very vital cognitive mechanism.Cognitive psychology considers“attention”as the focus of mental activity and consciousness on an object.People engage their senses and memory to actively process the object in front of them.Theories of second language acquisition suggest that a large amount of input is the basis for language acquisition.At the same time,what is actively noticed by the learner can be effectively internalized.Thus,“attention”is also a non-linguistic factor that plays a significant role in language acquisition.The subjunctive mood is a major challenge in the teaching of English grammar.Generally speaking,the verbs in a sentence are used to distinguish between subjunctive and declarative sentences.In this paper,experimental utterances were written based on previous research by using verbs that are easy to cause ambiguity and confusion,and then set up the reinforced and non-reinforced attention conditions with different levels of“attention”to investigate whether there are different results and effects on subjects’comprehension of sentences under different levels of“attention”conditions.Under the different levels of“attention”,the subjects were examined to see whether there were different results in comprehension of the sentences and the impact of the different levels of“attention”.It was found that subjects in the reinforced“attention”condition comprehended sentences better,answered questions faster,and answered questions more correctly than subjects in the non-reinforced condition.This study also shed some light on English second language grammar teaching.

A Study on Translation Strategies Used in Metaphor Boxes in Macmillan English-Chinese Dictionary for Advanced Learners

Macmillan English Dictionary for Advanced Learners(MEDAL) applied conceptual metaphor theory to practical lexicogra-phy systematically for the first time, namely, setting Metaphor Box. In the wake of MEDAL, Macmillan English-Chinese Dictionary for Advanced Learners was published based on the English blueprint. Due to different experience and thinking ways between Chi-nese and English, it is not easy for users to understand and translate the metaphors boxes without the help of proper translationstrategies. As an authoritative bilingual version for learners, it provided a template of understanding and translating metaphors.Thus, studying its strategies used in translating the metaphors boxes will be helpful for learners to understand and translate meta-phors in language learning. On the basis of strategies suggested by other researchers and case analysis, three main strategies usedin translating the Metaphor Boxes in the dictionary will be proposed.

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.

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.

On Promoting the Slow Learners' Learning in English Class

Nowadays, the actualities of slow learners in English class are not satisfying in China. Confronted with such kind of situation, as language teachers, how to promote the slow students' learning, is one of the biggest problems in our teaching. The paper focuses on the features of slow learners, e.g., little or improper motivation, debilitative anxiety, introversion, inhibition, etc. and the roles the slow learners play in English class, and some of the writer's personal suggestions for promoting their learning in English class as well.

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.

The Evaluation of the Seventh Edition of Oxford Advanced Learner's English-Chinese Dictionary

As one of the most popular English learning tools, the 7th edition of Oxford Advanced Learner's English-Chinese Dictionary aims to provide adequate information to satisfy learners' needs. In this article, this latest edition is examined with re spect to two primary aspects: syntactic and semantic information based on Chan, A.C. and Y. Loong's evaluating criteria of learn er's dictionary. The focus falls on grammatical properties of nouns, verbs and adjectives, valency requirement, definitions, syn onyms and antonyms, collocations, etc. Conclusion suggests that the overall standard of this new dictionary is admirably high in terms of applicability and user-friendliness.

Differences in the Motivation of Teenage Learners of English in A Chinese Language Context

This paper aims to explore motivational variations in different teenage English learner groups in Chinese context.Drawing on L2 Motivational Self System as the theoretical framework,combining You and Dornyei’s research with my professional teaching experience,this paper found that students who learn English for the purpose of passing the exam,ought-to L2self dimension is the highest,with L2 learning experience and ideal L2 self following behind.Students who tend to live or study abroad,ideal L2 self is the best predictor,followed by L2 learning experience and ought-to L2 self.This indicates that teachers should improve teaching methods,apply motivational strategies in the classroom,and encourage and help students to use selfmotivating strategies to motivate themselves.

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.

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.

English Vocabulary Teaching Based on learners'Acquisition

Vocabulary is very important in language study, but it is not easy for students to learn efficiently. This essay first has a deep insight into the acquisition by learners, and then gives some ideas about teaching vocabulary in ELT classroom.

A Brief Analysis of Inefficiency and Time-consuming in English Learning for Chinese Learners

Nowadays it is common to see inefficiency and time-consuming in English learning for Chinese learners. This paper makes a brief analysis of this phenomenon from two major aspects: internal factors and external factors. The former includes age factor, affective factor, efforts and gift and the mode of thinking. The latter includes linguistic factor, sociocultural factor and the examination system. And then some practical strategies are given on the basis of the Critical Period Hypothesis, considering affective factor, making enough efforts and taking advantage of gift, adapting to different modes of thinking, Krashen's Input Hypothesis, the Whorfian Hypothesis and perfecting the examination system in order to improve the phenomenon.

Re-exploring Challenges and Strategies of English Learning for Chinese English-Learners

Chinese English-learners always face many challenges when they try to acquire English language,not only in China's Mainland,but in Chinese communities overseas.Despite the prevalent challenge,such as cultural differences,the present paper tries to re-explore and refine these challenges and strategies,analyze the specific factors,such as age,accent,and thinking difference by using cognitive perspective and sociocultural perspective.To enhance English teaching and learning,it also makes deep discussions and provides some suggestions for future use.

Enlightenments for Young Learners English teaching in the Perspective of Maslow’s Theory

Children are the center of young learner's English teaching. Their motivation and interest are capable of guiding them English learning effectively. Only when the young learners are motivated and stimulated can they learn English well in an active and harmonious atmosphere. This paper first analyses the factors causing the lack of learning motivation of young English learners. Then, based on Maslow's theory, the author puts forward some effective teaching methods and strategies, hoping to be helpful to motivate the young learners to learn English.

Research Nexus and Implications of Learner Identity in Foreign Language Education

One of the most obvious markers of an individual’s identity is their language.However,in some ways,the relationship between identity and language acquisition seems to be missed.In fact,a lot of studies have shown that identity may influence the reasons behind language acquisition,especially in bilingual or multilingual societies.Learning English can provide EFL(English as a Foreign Language)students with a good sense of identity and encourage them to practice their agency,which can improve learning efficiency and effectiveness.This paper examines how the efficacy and results of language learning are influenced by the learner’s identity.