The Impacts of Co-creation of Local Culture English Books on EFL 5th Graders＇ English Vocabulary Ability and Local Cultural Knowledge

The purpose of this study aims to explore the impacts of task-based co-creation of local picture books on facilitating the development of vocabulary ability and cultural knowledge ofEFL 5th graders with different English proficiency levels in Taiwan. Twenty-one 5th graders participated in this study forty minutes per week, lasting for sixteen weeks. They were required to co-create English picture books of Pinghu through thematic task-based activities. Research data required for the study were collected through the pre-/post-tests of vocabulary and cultural knowledge, a participants＇ feedback questionnaire as well as semi-structured interviews. The results of this study showed that after experimental instruction, EFL 5th graders significantly improved their recognition of the connection between English word sounds and word meanings, word meanings and word forms, word forms and word meanings, as well as spellings. Moreover, their local cultural knowledge was improved significantly as well. Furthermore, based upon the 5th graders＇ responses to questionnaire and semi-structure interview, most of them developed a very positive attitude towards the activities of co-creating local picture books and their interest, self-confidence in English writing, and English learning behavior. Based on the findings, some suggestions were offered for the pedagogical applications and future studies.

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.

ON HOW CULTURAL KNOWLEDGE AFFECTS TOEFL SCORES

This paper presents a study of the effect of cultur-al background on TOEFL scores.It proceeds from therelation between culture and language,then illus-trates with actual questions from various sections ofTOEFL tests how American cultural background exertsa remarkable influence on TOEFL scores,and con-cludes with revelations with regard to English teachingin this country.

On Developing a Vigorous Cultural Environment for Knowledge Innovation

The development of an innova-tion-oriented culture is one of thefive objectives set by the ChineseAcademy of Sciences (CAS) for itsKnowledge Innovation Program(KIP). It falls in line with the call

Developing students＇ cultural awareness through foreign language teaching

We live in an age of changes. And these changes in science, technology, economy, political systems, and immigration patterns, especially the emergence of Internet, have created a world in which we increasingly interact with people from different cultures. The levels of students＇ cultural awareness toward the target language （English） have a profound influence on the foreign language teaching （English） practice and performance. Obviously linguistic knowledge alone is not enough to secure successful interactions with native speakers in cross cultural communications. Cultural mistakes are worse than linguistic ones because they tend to cause misjudgments, or ill feelings between native and foreign speakers. Therefore, this paper mainly discusses the relationship between culture and language, explaining cultural awareness, providing some principles of cultural knowledge teaching and some techniques to develop students＇ cultural awareness through foreign language （English） teaching in high schools.

Postdigital Knowledge Cultures and Their Politics

Purpose-This paper aims at exploring politics of contemporary knowledge cultures and possible directions for responding to the postdigital challenge.Design/Approach/Methods-This paper researches history and present of several prominent strands and readings of the knowledge economy.Following Caruso’s work(2016),it examines more closely the differences between the managerial paradigm and the cognitive capitalism paradigm.Recognizing the postdigital nature of contemporary knowledge cultures,it points towards a postdigital merger between the managerial paradigm and the cognitive capitalism paradigm.Findings-The paper identifies individual and social tensions between industrial and post-industrial modes of production and rapidly changing dynamic of social development.It examines the relationships between knowledge cultures and digital technologies.Based on recent insights by the father of the World Wide Web Tim Berners-Lee and his non-determinist views to digital technologies,it identifies knowledge cultures as sites of political struggle against various(material and non-material,technological and non-technological)closures over access to information and knowledge.Finally,it briefly outlines possible directions for responding to the postdigital challenge of knowledge cultures.Originality/Value-The paper provides an original contribution to theory of knowledge cultures and its relationships to the postdigital condition.