Learner Autonomy in the National English Language Curricula for Chinese Universities 1978-2007:A Historical Analysis

This historical study investigates the concept of learner autonomy in the national English language curricula for Chinese universities.It seeks to understand the meaning of learner autonomy in China and the intentionality of promoting this concept through the curricula from 1978 to 2007.By adopting Quentin Skinner’s intentionalist approach to analyzing the history of ideas,this study conducted a systematic document analysis of three national curricula in relation to their linguistic and practical contexts constituted of 169 Chinese academic articles in total.The study revealed that learner autonomy mainly referred to students’motivation and ability to work hard on their own outside the classroom in the Chinese context.Importing this concept,however,caused ideological confusion and exacerbated the disempowerment of teachers within the dynamics of China’s English language education at the tertiary level.The study raises awareness for borrowing concepts across different cultural contexts and has implications for research,policymaking,teacher development,and pedagogical practice in second language education in China.

A Brief Introduction of the History of the English Language

English is spoken throughout the continent of North America,in the British Isles, South Africa, Australia and New Zealand, and is also the most important of the languages of colonization in Asia,Africa and Oceania. In addition it is the language of commerce,and the second language of many countries which formerly had French or German in that position.

S.D. Krashen's Language Acquisition Theory and the Teaching of Business English Reading

This paper first illustrates S.D. Krashen's language acquisition theory, especially two of his five hypotheses as well as the guidance of these theories towards the teaching of business English reading for students majored in business English.

The Construct of the Story Continuation Writing Task: Insights From the China’s Standards of English Language Ability

Although the story continuation writing task(SCWT) has attracted much research attention, few studies have investigated the construct of the task, particularly with respect to which language competence it focuses on. In addition, although some studies have demonstrated that China’s Standards of English Language Ability(CSE) provides comprehensive insights into the development of Chinese learners’ English language proficiency, little research has investigated the relationship between CSE and SCWT. This study drew upon the CSE to develop an SCWT language use inventory to address the above research gaps. A total of 358 high school students were asked to complete the questionnaire, of which 277 valid responses were analyzed. Exploratory factor analysis(EFA) on the CSE-based questionnaire revealed the presence of six factors, namely language correctness, language variety, task planning, connecting-and-generating, selecting-andmining, and organizing. The strategy of connecting-and-generating was the only significant predictor of the learners’ SCWT scores. The paper also discusses the findings relating to the SCWT rating and other integrated writing tasks.

The Implications of Krashen’s Second Language Acquisition Theory on College English Teaching

Krashen's second language acquisition theory consists of language input theory,emotion filtering theory and languageoutput theory.In order to apply Krashen's second language acquisition theory to college English teaching,it is suggested to commence from the acquisition and learning theories to optimize the teaching environment and methods.On the basis of language input theory,emotional filtering theory and language output theory,English input quality could be improved,students'learning interests could be stimulated and English practical teaching could be accelerated respectively.

The Use of Children＇s Literature With University English as a Foreign Language Learners in Taiwan

This paper reports findings from a longitudinal qualitative study that investigated the use of children＇s literature for Taiwan Residents University English as a Foreign Language （EFL） students＇ reading. During the course of their sophomore year, 17 students participated and each student held two to seven individual reading sessions, to which they brought a self-selected children＇s picture storybook or children＇s novel they had finished reading on their own and orally read it to the researcher. Their oral reading and the discussion of each book with the researcher were audio recorded. To gain insight into the reading progress, these oral data were categorized and analyzed in terms of mispronunciation patterns, misunderstanding of vocabulary, misinterpretation of sentence or passage, and researcher＇s guidance. General findings of the 17 participants were presented in three categories： （1） vocabulary acquisition, （2） common comprehension problems, and （3） common pronunciation problems. Further analysis of two motivated students who read five to seven books revealed that （1） these two EFL learners gradually developed conscious awareness of their own pronunciation and comprehension errors and （2） they progressively acquired better competence to apply the pronunciation tips and reading comprehension techniques provided by the researcher during previous sessions. These findings and corresponding implications are discussed and further research suggestions are made.

Foresights, Expectations and Implications of China＇s Foreign Language Proficiency Scaling and Rating Framework

Referring to the well established foreign language proficiency evaluation scale frameworks such as the CEFR （Common European Framework of Reference for Languages） in Europe and ILR （The Interagency Language Roundtable） scale in the United States, Chinese language education authority is dedicating great efforts to the contruction of the Chinese targeted and tailored national proficiency evaluation system. This initiative will tremendously subvert the traditional language learning and testing mechanism, bring phenomenal transformations and innovations to the future language learning and teaching approaches and methodologies, and meanwhile impose great influence on the language concerning administration and profession.

Gender Disparity in Second Language Learning： Reality or Illusion？

The paper draws a comparison between female and male students＇ language learning capabilities in the backdrop of age-old idea that males are better than females in language learning on the one hand, and some recent study findings indicating females＇ superiority over males on the other. To this end, 43 female and 80 male higher secondary students＇ 468 answer scripts of their regular English exams were collected. For the traditional question pattern, the collected data could measure only ＂remembering＂ and ＂understanding＂ of the examinees. Therefore, the students were compared only on the basis of these two lowest levels of Bloom＇s taxonomy. The participants were of same age, studying at the same level （Grade 11）, and were taught by the same teacher. The study finds that if other variables remain the same, there is no essential difference between male and female regarding learning English as a second language.

On The Lexical Differences Between British and American English

本篇文章通过回顾英语发展史和分析英语发展现状,从历时和共时角度对比和分析英国英语和美国英语在词汇方面的差异;阐明美国英语是英语这一语种的一种变体,并非另一种语言。

Overview of the children＇s English acquisition

English has become the medium for communication in so many areas, and children are the hope of the future and shoulder the duties to structure the future. Children＇s English becomes more important and spreads all over the world, especially in recent years. Children＇s English is not perfect and there exist its own disadvantages. This paper gives four optimizations and suggestions in teaching children＇s English in order to solve the problem. Then it lists several relations to the children＇s English study, and these four relations are very important because they are the keys to lead the children＇s English to a healthy and developing road. And in the next chapter, it talks about the trends of the children＇s English in the future and lists the reasons why these kinds of trends appear. At last, the author overlooks the whole paper and gives a conclusion, which shows that children＇s English has a great potentiality in the future in China.

Struggling With Sibilants： Do English Speakers Use Acceptable Alternative Tongue Placements to Pronounce/s/and/z/？

Textbooks on phonology and on teaching ESL （English as a Second Language） often present the place of articulation of the sibilant/s/and its voiced counterpart/z/as a settled matter. The/s/and/z/are described and listed in phonological charts as ＂alveolar fricatives＂, meaning that the tongue is raised and the apex approaches the alveolar ridge. Those teaching pronunciation or remediating speech problems often use these descriptions by the IPA （International Phonetic Association） as models for teaching these phonemes. A number of linguists and instructors, however, have suggested that an acceptable/s/and/z/sound can be produced in English by other means This study attempted to determine the prevalence of the acceptable alternative placements for the/s/and/z/sounds in a sample of 50 English-speaking university students. Results revealed that 64% of participants used alternate tongue positions to that described in the literature as standard. Implications for speech pathology and ESL instruction are discussed.

Influence of English Globalization on China＇s Education

"Without languages,there would be no globalization and vice versa,without globalization,there would be no world languages"(Herve,2011,p117).To study linguistic globalization could not only deepen our understanding of globalization,but also increase opportunity to create a more equitable and ethically responsible world.The aim of the current essay is to briefly review the influence of English globalization(EG)on China’s education.The lesson that can be drawn from an examination of EG in China will also be discussed.

基于B／S模式的英语语感训练学习网的设计与实现

基于语感训练模式英语学习网站采用B／S三层体系结构,ASP+MicrosoftAccess开发工具,通过系统的结构设计和功能设计,为学习者提供一个完整的学习环境和专题知识展示,实现基于专题网站的远程学习模式。

旅游院校英语教师发展SWOT分析及对策研究

旅游业大发展时代来临,具备旅游专业知识和英语实践应用能力的人才紧缺,然而目前旅游院校英语教学形势不容乐观,旅游院校英语教师职业发展受制于各种因素。2018年最新发布的《中国英语能力等级量表》给旅游院校英语教师发展带来重大启示。本研究以《中国英语能力等级量表》为指导,对旅游院校英语教师发展进行SWOT分析,探讨旅游院校英语教师发展的对策。

The Use of Curriculum Integration in ELT within Secondary Schools in China

CTMRC - Curriculum and Teaching Materials Reform Commission; CTMRI - Curriculum and Teaching Materials Research Institute; ELT - English Language Teaching; MOE - Ministry of Education;

对外汉语教学中“们”的教学策略

文章肯定“们”同英语多数标记[-s]一样,表示“多数”是基本功能,即“们”相似于[-s](们≈[-s])。在此基础上,再指出两者的差异,主要从“们”在分布上小于或大于[-s](们<-s;们>-s)这两方面分析。最后,指出某些即使分布相同的情况下,汉语中用“们”和英语中用-s仍会有细微的意义差别。这种分析,比一开始就说两者完全不同,更容易被国际学生理解、接受。最后向国际学生建议,在“们”用与不用意义差别不大的情况下,尽量不用是保险的措施。

英国民族国家形成中的语言因素

近代民族国家有清晰的自我认同标识,诸如国土、民族宗教和民族语言等等。语言在近代民族国家的形成中扮演了极其重要的角色。英语语言的发展经历了不同的历史分期,也经历了一些重要历史事件,它对于英国作为世界上第一个工业化民族国家的形成发挥了重要作用。

中国英语能力等级量表与英语测评

中国英语能力等级量表是对我国英语使用者运用英语语言能力的系列描述,分3个阶段9个级别,规定了中国英语学习者和使用者的英语能力等级,描述了各等级的能力表现特征。量表以交际语言能力为基础,以语言使用为出发点,以"能……"为描述语的基本结构。量表为我国英语教学、学习和测评提供了统一标准,为我国建立终结性和形成性相结合的综合评价体系奠定了基础。

西部少数民族地区大学生英语口语学习的焦虑心理分析及对策

语言焦虑心理影响着非外语专业大学生英语口语的学习和口语表达能力的提高。调查显示,焦虑心理对少数民族地区的大学生英语口语的学习有很大的影响。害羞和怕出错的心理、文化差异及语言环境是非外语专业少数民族地区大学生语言学习产生焦虑心理的主要原因。学生自信心的培养、教师角色的转换、教学模式的更新能帮助消除语言学习焦虑,提高英语口语教学效果。

社会变革与民族语言——中美两国语言学科在新形势下发展的影响研究

自上个世纪60年代以来,受经济和社会变革的影响,作为民族语言的英语在美国学科的培养对象、培养目标、课程设置以及师资队伍等方面都发生了很大的变化,"培养精英"还是"普及大众"成为学术界争议的焦点。随着中国的改革开放,作为一门外国语言学科的英语在学科发展模式和课程设置的多元化等方面也发生了相应的变化。英语学科建设在中国的定位应当突破美国"精英"还是"大众"这种"二元"对立的思维模式。因此,中美两国英语语言学科发展的比较研究,对中国英语语言学科的改革和发展具有可借鉴的现实意义。