The effects of text structure, structure awareness and proficiency level on EFL learners＇ reading test performance

The present study probed into the effects of text structure, structure awareness and proficiency level on EFL learners＇ reading test performance. There are 112 college-level students participated in the experiment and their English proficiency belonged to distinct levels. The subjects＇ performance on the recall of two passages written in different types of structure was examined. Results of statistical indicate that text structure, structure awareness and proficiency level all have main effects on the subjects＇ reading performance. More specifically, two major findings emerged from the results of the investigation. One the one hand, text structures significantly affected the quantity but not the quality of the information recalled while proficiency level and structure awareness had significant impact on both the quantity and quality of information recalled. On the other hand, structure awareness was irrelevant to either text structure or proficiency level. The implications of the findings for teaching L2/FL reading were suggested.

An Investigation into the Vocabulary Learning Strategies of Chinese EFL Learners of High,Average,and Low Proficiency Levels

The current research aims to find out the different beliefs held and different vocabulary strategies employed by nonEnglish majors of different proficiency levels. The data were collected through questionnaire and vocabulary tests. Results revealed that the learners at three levels all adopted wide-ranged strategies. But the high level students had greater vocabulary size and were more believed that words should be learnt through use, and they used more extended dictionary strategies, contextual guessing and note-taking strategies. It is encouraging that teachers should integrate explicit strategy instruction into classroom to help low level students achieve better learning results.

Chinese EFL Learners' Comprehension of English Idiom Variants:Effects of Variation Type and Proficiency Level

The creative use of English idioms has led to heterogeneous idiom variants that are particularly problematic for L2 learners. Drawing on a cognitive linguistic perspective of idiom learning, this paper categorizes English idiom variants into four major types, and reports on an empirical study that investigated the effects of variation type and proficiency level on Chinese EFL learners＇ comprehension of English idiom variants. Targeting non-English major college students of basic and intermediate English levels, the study confirmed the influence of proficiency level on learners＇ comprehension and evaluation of the difficulty of idiom variants. Structural change in idioms was found to be the easiest type and idioms modified in terms of literal imagery were the most difficult in comprehension. These findings suggest that the dominant ＂rote memorization＂ tends to limit learners＇ choices of comprehension strategies to literal translation and L1 transfer. The learning environment unsupportive of cultivating L2 learners＇ analytical ability is held accountable for the generally low success rates in comprehension of idiom variants.

COMPREHENSION OF L2 IDIOMS BY CHINESE EFL LEARNERS——EFFECTS OF IDIOM TYPE AND PROFICIENCY LEVEL

The study investigates: (1) how different idiom types, classified on the basis of a cross-linguistic comparison of Chinese and English idioms in terms of conceptual basis, affect English idiom comprehension as revealed from both the general performance and the on-line processing strategies adopted by Chinese EFL learners at different proficiency levels, and (2) to what extent can the observed learner behavior be accounted for within the theoretical framework of idiom comprehension. The study has provided empirical evidence for the configuration hypothesis of idiom comprehension.

Differentiated Use of the Cross-Lingual Strategy in Foreign Language Teaching： A Grounded Theory

Despite its potential in foreign language education, the cross-lingual strategy has been marginalized and stigmatized in many EFL contexts including language education in private language schools of Iran. This study aims to uncover the facilitative role of the cross-lingual strategy in foreign language instruction by theorizing experienced language teachers＇ practice. To this end, some experienced teachers were selected in line with the sampling procedures of Grounded Theory from famous English language institutes of Tehran, the capital city of lran. Iterative data collection and analysis revealed that first language use can be differentiated based on learners＇ level of proficiency. For the beginners, it can be used to present classroom management rules, provide learners with the necessary classroom language and establish rapport. Similarly, at intermediate level LI can be used to check mastery over the teaching points, give vocabulary equivalents, and explain writing rules. As for advanced learners, it can be used to explain the subtleties of grammar and provide learners with ideas to participate in classroom discussion and text processing.

The Effect of Background Knowledge on EFL Learners＇ Reading Comprehension

Schema is known to play an important role in reading comprehension. The schema embodying the learners background knowledge of cultural familiar materials facilitates the understanding of the text （Pritchard, 1990）. Also Steffensen, Joag-Dev, and Anderson （1979） and Nelson （1987） proposed that the schemata embodying background knowledge influenced how well the text would be comprehended. However, Hudson （1982） and Carrell （1984） found there was no significant background effect in advanced level learners. From those studies, it seems that background effect is different at different language proficiency levels. Thus, the present study examines the interaction between background knowledge and language proficiency in reading comprehension. The participants were freshmen of National Chiayi University. They were divided into three language proficiency levels based on the General English Proficiency Test. Four reading comprehension tests were constructed to assess their reading comprehension： cultural familiar/unfamiliar text and topic familiar/unfamiliar text. The results of this study showed that participants had better performance on the culture/topic familiar text than the culture/topic unfamiliar text. Thus the findings suggest that the teacher can use teaching activities, such as pre-reading activities or vocabulary teaching to increase the background knowledge when teaching readings to EFL （English as a foreign language） learners

The Importance of Learning Chinese Outside Classroom(A Study of Good Chinese Learners at The University of Hong Kong)

This is the author’s second consecutive year of doing the research.As the economy of China is booming,there is a rapid increase in the number of foreign students coming to The University of Hong Kong to learn Chinese.As Chinese is one of the popular subjects for them to choose,in 2019,there are around 1000 foreign students(undergraduates or exchange students)learning Chinese as a foreign language course.A language teacher is a facilitator and an instructor of Chinese learning for foreign students.However,in the real world,there are always some good language learners and some less talented language learners in one classroom.So,what is the secret of the good Chinese learners?What can the language instructors do in order to support good Chinese learners and help the less talented learners to learn Chinese?In the TESOL field,there are a lot of researches have been done by scholars.In the early 1970s,several researchers isolated and defined the concept of good language learner.But in teaching Chinese as a foreign language field,there are relatively fewer researches.So,from January 2017 to May 2019,I conducted a survey about good Chinese learners in CHIN9503 and CHIN9504 classes.The survey consisted of an interview with several questions and the author will discuss the result of a survey and its implications in this paper.This research is done in a macro way rather than micro way.Thus,this holistic research focuses on finding good Chinese learners rather than focusing on learners’individual differences.