From Learning English to Learning in English:A Comparative Study of the Impact of Learning Contexts upon Chinese EFL Learners' Strategy Use

The past three decades have witnessed a proliferation of research on Chinese English as a foreign language （EFL） learners＇ use of learning strategies, but little has been examined about the potential influence of learning contexts upon their strategic engagement. This paper reports on the findings of an investigation of the impact of learning contexts upon the use of learning strategies of two cohorts of EFL learners in China. Both cohorts were non-English majors, one from a university where English is the medium of instruction （EMI） and the other from an EFL university. The data were collected using questionnaires and semi-structured interviews. Results reveal that learners from the EMI university demonstrated a higher level in their overall use of learning strategies over their counterparts from the EFL university. Independent T-test shows that the two cohorts were significantly different in their use of cognitive, meta-cognitive, affective and social strategies. These findings were discussed from a socio-cultural perspective. Implications are presented for the reform of English language education in China and beyond.

Conducting the Task-based Approach With Context Aware Mobile Situated Learning on Learning English for College Students＇ Learning Performance

Learning English with specific purpose （ESP） initiatives domain knowledge and language ability with English learning to meet future job demands （Leroux ＆ Lafleur, 1995; Khan ＆ Khan, 2015）. In the information age, the innovative technologies of mobile devices make the dramatical changes in ways of teaching and learning （Atkinson, 2011; Bierstaker, Janvrin ＆ Lowe, 2014, Pittaway, 2012; Yang ＆ Che, 2015）. The focus of this study aims to examine ESP college students＇ English learning performance by using Context Aware Mobile Situated Learning （CAMSL） in Tourism and Hospitality Management field and other majors. The mixed research method is conducted for data collection and analysis. The quantitative data are collected by examining students＇ learning performance; the qualitative data are allowed to understand the students＇ perspective toward their role in using the CAMSL with Tourism related content. Eight-three students are randomly selected and divided into two groups： 42 students are assigned in the experimental group A （CAMSL）, and 41 students are assigned in control group. Two groups of students receive pretest and posttest to examine their English performance. Besides, twenty students from group A and B are selected for online survey. The survey is mailed directly to students＇ email account. Results represented by using CAMSL show the significant improvement on students＇ learning performance. In addition, the survey data indicate the benefits of using the CAMSL help students enhance their academic discourse, develop their learned knowledge to represent their profession, use English properly to speak themselves up, and provide the effectiveness of obtain domain knowledge in future workplace.

A CASE STUDY OF TEACHING INPUTS AND LEARNING OUTPUTS FOR SPOKEN ENGLISH WITHIN A COLLEGE CONTEXT IN CHINA

Definition of termsInputs can be defined as everything which students bring tothe classroom including their prior teaching and learningenvironment,attitude,enthusiasm,motivation,phonologyfrom their first language and varying degrees of confidence.When they arrive in college they are exposed to spoken Englishfrom a range of teachers who have a variety of spoken abilitiesand teaching techniques.

Basic Unit: As a Common Module of Neural Networks

In this paper,the logic is developed assuming that all parts of the brain are composed of a combination of modules that basically have the same structure.The feeding behavior of searching for food while avoiding the dangers of animals in the early stages of evolution is regarded as the basis of time series data processing.The module that performs the processing is presented by a neural network equipped with a learning function based on Hebb's rule,and is called a basic unit.The basic units are arranged in lay­ers,and the information between the layers is bidirectional.This new neural network is an extension of the traditional neural network that has evolved from pattern recognition.The biggest feature is that in the processing of time series data,the activated part changes according to the context struc­ture inherent in the data,and can be mathematically expressed the method of predicting events from the context of learned behavior and utilizing it in best action.

FROM TEACHER GROUP TO LEARNING COMMUNITY:TOWARDS AN INTEGRATED FRAMEWORK FOR STUDYING COLLEGE ENGLISH TEACHERS' PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Among the research of language teachers' professional development in the course of reform,most studies take a psychological or cognitive approach and largely neglect the social element in a teacher's professional growth.This paper,therefore,is intended to build up a theoretical and analytical framework for a large-scale on-going study that looks at college English teachers' professional development from a sociological and anthropological perspective.The notion of learning community constitutes the core of the theoretical framework that orients the author's understanding of the tensions and conflictions in teachers' socialization into the teacher community within the context of radical change.In particular,the literature on three dimensions of the learning process is critically reviewed,i.e.personal dimension,interpersonal dimension and organizational dimension.