What happened to the Olympic torch relay abroad reveals how little and superficially the western countries, in particular, know of china. Meanwhile there also exists a lack or vacancy of English teaching in English te...What happened to the Olympic torch relay abroad reveals how little and superficially the western countries, in particular, know of china. Meanwhile there also exists a lack or vacancy of English teaching in English teaching at home. The failure of expressing Chinese culture and conditions correctly and fluently among the English learners has already resulted in negative impact on our international image, which is related to our teaching policy of strengthening western culture and neglecting the export of our own culture. Therefore, in the English teaching at all levels, great attention should be paid to the cross-cultural communication between home culture and the culture of target language, the promotion of expressing mother culture in foreign languages, and exporting and broadcasting Chinese culture.展开更多
Along with the accelerated pace of reform and opening, and the frequent external exchanges, and the increasingly widespread exchanges between countries, especially the improving information technology, and the use of ...Along with the accelerated pace of reform and opening, and the frequent external exchanges, and the increasingly widespread exchanges between countries, especially the improving information technology, and the use of the Internet, more and more people have been involved in cross-cultural communication. However, there are many differences between Chinese people and people from other cultures in the way of thinking, social and cultural life habits, and all of them can lead cross-cultural communication barriers. Therefore, a higher demand to English language teaching has been put forward, English language teaching not only imparts knowledge, the more important thing is to train students in the interpersonal skills, and develop their applications in English cross-cultural communication ability.展开更多
A literature-based review concerning why and how to evaluate language-teaching materials is presented with the purpose to facilitate English Language Teachers＇ awareness of material evaluation and assist their conduc...A literature-based review concerning why and how to evaluate language-teaching materials is presented with the purpose to facilitate English Language Teachers＇ awareness of material evaluation and assist their conduction.展开更多
College English Test Band IV has aroused argument among students and English teachers, especially about its validity and reliability. The key problem of CET4 lies in that it lack of validity and its shortcoming result...College English Test Band IV has aroused argument among students and English teachers, especially about its validity and reliability. The key problem of CET4 lies in that it lack of validity and its shortcoming results in some negative influence on language teaching. In order to improve the positive backwash of CET4, we must first make clearly six questions concerning validity of test. At the same time we should consider other factors when we reform the CET4.展开更多
This paper tries to explore the effect of question-generation reading strategy on the reading comprehension of Iranian intermediate EFL （English as a Foreign Language） learners. Since the researchers did not have an...This paper tries to explore the effect of question-generation reading strategy on the reading comprehension of Iranian intermediate EFL （English as a Foreign Language） learners. Since the researchers did not have any control over randomization of students and it was considered as one of the features of experimental method, this study is not a true experimental method. This method is called Intact Group Study. In this research there were experimental and control groups. The age range of the learners in both groups was between 19 to 22; the age range difference was so limited that we could neglect the difference concem. The number of students in both groups was closely the same. One of these groups received question-generation reading strategy instruction and the other group---control group--did not receive this instruction. Participants in both groups studied a task-based course book called New Interchange 3 by Richards （2005）. They studied the last eight units of this book during a whole term. The instruction was the same for both groups except for the reading parts. Participants in experimental group were taught how to generate questions as being linked to the main ideas of the text they were reading. They were also given feedback on the correctness of the questions they generated. Then they answered the follow-up questions However, participants in control group received a traditional method of reading for comprehension; they read the text on their own and answered the follow-up questions. Of course both groups enjoyed a warm-up before reading each text. The statistical independent group T-test of the reading comprehension posttest showed that participants in the experimental group performed better than the students in the control group展开更多
The aim of the study was to determine the development of syntax in language development of children who are deaf or hard-of-hearing, who are taught to new dynamic linguistic features with the help of computers. The sa...The aim of the study was to determine the development of syntax in language development of children who are deaf or hard-of-hearing, who are taught to new dynamic linguistic features with the help of computers. The sample consisted of 70 children who are deaf or hard-of-hearing, aged 7-17 years. To assess language development were applied following variables： total number of words used, the total number of different words used, the correct and incorrect statements （sentences） of the respondents. We calculated the basic statistical parameters on which it was found that the experimental program computer teaching children who are deaf or hard-of-hearing gave better results in the development of syntax. Also, canonical discriminate analysis revealed a statistically significant difference in the applied variables between the control and experimental groups the level of statistical significance ofp = 0.000. The results showed a significant improvement of the experimental group and that dynamic computer programming activities, which were challenged participants of the experimental group, contribute to a better linguistic competence of children who are deaf or hard-of-hearing.展开更多
Abstract. In recent years content-based instruction has become increasingly popular as a means of developing linguistic ability. It has strong connections to project work, task-based learning and a holistic approach t...Abstract. In recent years content-based instruction has become increasingly popular as a means of developing linguistic ability. It has strong connections to project work, task-based learning and a holistic approach to language instruction and has become particularly popular within the state school secondary （11 - 16 years old） education sector. This paper discusses about the definition, types, ways to create a CBI lesson, advantages and the problems of CBI, as well as the assessment of CBI.展开更多
To enhance students＇ all-around development and personal potential is the main purpose that teachers want to obtain in their teachings. The author believes that it can be achieved only in a relaxed and safe class atm...To enhance students＇ all-around development and personal potential is the main purpose that teachers want to obtain in their teachings. The author believes that it can be achieved only in a relaxed and safe class atmosphere. The article introduces the humanistic psychology and illustrates how to apply humanistic psychology to the foreign language class and establish an effective emotional class climate in China.展开更多
Culture is a result of the accumulation of human society; language is the important carrier of culture. Infiltration of Western culture and the widely use of English seriously hinder the globalization of the Chinese c...Culture is a result of the accumulation of human society; language is the important carrier of culture. Infiltration of Western culture and the widely use of English seriously hinder the globalization of the Chinese culture and it results in ＂cultural aphasia＂ phenomenon. After having studied foreign language for several years, many foreign language learners still cannot express Chinese traditional culture correctly in international communication. This is mainly due to the neglect of Chinese culture in the process of foreign language teaching. With the development of globalization, the communication between different cultures has become more and more frequent It is necessary to pay more attention to the output of native language culture as well as the input of target language culture. As the main places of cultivating high-level talents in China, colleges and universities are focusing on how to change this phenomenon in the foreign language teaching reform. This paper begins with the introduction of ＂cultural aphasia＂ phenomenon in China, then analyzes the reasons, finally proposes suggestions and teaching strategies to overcome the culture aphasia in cross-cultural communication.展开更多
Acoustic terms are useful academic tools to help EFL （English as a Foreign Language） learners to perceive pronunciation visually. Pratt is worldewide famous free acoustic professional software applied to the articul...Acoustic terms are useful academic tools to help EFL （English as a Foreign Language） learners to perceive pronunciation visually. Pratt is worldewide famous free acoustic professional software applied to the articulation with the help of the graph of ampplitude plotted and spectrogram. The paper will apply the professional acoustic tool Praat to pronunciation pedagogy to facilitate discrimination and articulation and suggests that the program can be adapted for the teaching of pronunciation to Chinese EFL learners.展开更多
English teachers in China have seldom employed communicative teaching methodology. This paper reviews the research on communicative teaching in various areas, including the foundations of the approach, the principles,...English teachers in China have seldom employed communicative teaching methodology. This paper reviews the research on communicative teaching in various areas, including the foundations of the approach, the principles, the methodology and some techniques as well as the test in communicative teaching. This paper argues that the essence of communicative approach is that the students are prepared to meet the need of communication in the real world and this approach has a positive effect on students＇ achievements. Accordingly, it is hoped that communicative teaching approach will be more widely used in China.展开更多
This paper discusses the issue of the hidden curriculum in the setting of a language classroom. The author first talks about the definition of the hidden curriculum from a theoretical perspective and proposes her own ...This paper discusses the issue of the hidden curriculum in the setting of a language classroom. The author first talks about the definition of the hidden curriculum from a theoretical perspective and proposes her own working definition. She then elaborates on the reasons and main manifestations of the hidden curriculum from the teachers＇ and learners＇ angles respectively with examples taken from language classrooms. Based on some profound reflections, some feasible suggestions on how to minimize the negative impacts of the hidden curriculum are suggested. On the basis of the previous discussion, the author reaches a conclusion： Language teachers should not avoid or ignore the hidden curriculum existing in the language teaching processes; rather, they are expected to face it positively and try their very best to solve the problems it brings. A sound attitude towards the hidden curriculum can help language teachers better understand and implement the formal or official curriculum made by the school or the state.展开更多
Culture plays a very important role in language teaching. A deep study of the relationship between language and culture is not only necessary but also urgent in language teaching and learning. The paper briefly points...Culture plays a very important role in language teaching. A deep study of the relationship between language and culture is not only necessary but also urgent in language teaching and learning. The paper briefly points out that in order to make teaching more effective, teachers should not only teach the language itself, but also teach the culture in the language while teaching the foreign language. It analyzes the differences of language customs reflecting in different cultures among different languages （between European languages such as English, Russian and Asian languages such as Kazakh, Chinese）. The analysis of diversity of different social cultures and different language customs of commtmication shows that the culture has a great influence upon the language. It includes the next components： （1） diversity of different geographies, natural environment, and customs, （2） differences of the history, religion, and belief, and （3） diversity of different thoughts of understanding objectivities. Further suggestions concerning how to use culture factors in the teaching procedure are also introduced in detail, such as： （1） the teacher＇s role; （2） the way of explanation, （3） the way of contrast; and （4） the way of practice. In order to conduct foreign language teaching well, teachers must take up the teaching of culture and the teaching of language at the same time. As long as the emphasis is laid both linguistic skills and communicative competence, the goals of language teaching will be achieved satisfactorily.展开更多
文摘What happened to the Olympic torch relay abroad reveals how little and superficially the western countries, in particular, know of china. Meanwhile there also exists a lack or vacancy of English teaching in English teaching at home. The failure of expressing Chinese culture and conditions correctly and fluently among the English learners has already resulted in negative impact on our international image, which is related to our teaching policy of strengthening western culture and neglecting the export of our own culture. Therefore, in the English teaching at all levels, great attention should be paid to the cross-cultural communication between home culture and the culture of target language, the promotion of expressing mother culture in foreign languages, and exporting and broadcasting Chinese culture.
文摘Along with the accelerated pace of reform and opening, and the frequent external exchanges, and the increasingly widespread exchanges between countries, especially the improving information technology, and the use of the Internet, more and more people have been involved in cross-cultural communication. However, there are many differences between Chinese people and people from other cultures in the way of thinking, social and cultural life habits, and all of them can lead cross-cultural communication barriers. Therefore, a higher demand to English language teaching has been put forward, English language teaching not only imparts knowledge, the more important thing is to train students in the interpersonal skills, and develop their applications in English cross-cultural communication ability.
文摘A literature-based review concerning why and how to evaluate language-teaching materials is presented with the purpose to facilitate English Language Teachers＇ awareness of material evaluation and assist their conduction.
文摘College English Test Band IV has aroused argument among students and English teachers, especially about its validity and reliability. The key problem of CET4 lies in that it lack of validity and its shortcoming results in some negative influence on language teaching. In order to improve the positive backwash of CET4, we must first make clearly six questions concerning validity of test. At the same time we should consider other factors when we reform the CET4.
文摘This paper tries to explore the effect of question-generation reading strategy on the reading comprehension of Iranian intermediate EFL （English as a Foreign Language） learners. Since the researchers did not have any control over randomization of students and it was considered as one of the features of experimental method, this study is not a true experimental method. This method is called Intact Group Study. In this research there were experimental and control groups. The age range of the learners in both groups was between 19 to 22; the age range difference was so limited that we could neglect the difference concem. The number of students in both groups was closely the same. One of these groups received question-generation reading strategy instruction and the other group---control group--did not receive this instruction. Participants in both groups studied a task-based course book called New Interchange 3 by Richards （2005）. They studied the last eight units of this book during a whole term. The instruction was the same for both groups except for the reading parts. Participants in experimental group were taught how to generate questions as being linked to the main ideas of the text they were reading. They were also given feedback on the correctness of the questions they generated. Then they answered the follow-up questions However, participants in control group received a traditional method of reading for comprehension; they read the text on their own and answered the follow-up questions. Of course both groups enjoyed a warm-up before reading each text. The statistical independent group T-test of the reading comprehension posttest showed that participants in the experimental group performed better than the students in the control group
文摘The aim of the study was to determine the development of syntax in language development of children who are deaf or hard-of-hearing, who are taught to new dynamic linguistic features with the help of computers. The sample consisted of 70 children who are deaf or hard-of-hearing, aged 7-17 years. To assess language development were applied following variables： total number of words used, the total number of different words used, the correct and incorrect statements （sentences） of the respondents. We calculated the basic statistical parameters on which it was found that the experimental program computer teaching children who are deaf or hard-of-hearing gave better results in the development of syntax. Also, canonical discriminate analysis revealed a statistically significant difference in the applied variables between the control and experimental groups the level of statistical significance ofp = 0.000. The results showed a significant improvement of the experimental group and that dynamic computer programming activities, which were challenged participants of the experimental group, contribute to a better linguistic competence of children who are deaf or hard-of-hearing.
文摘Abstract. In recent years content-based instruction has become increasingly popular as a means of developing linguistic ability. It has strong connections to project work, task-based learning and a holistic approach to language instruction and has become particularly popular within the state school secondary （11 - 16 years old） education sector. This paper discusses about the definition, types, ways to create a CBI lesson, advantages and the problems of CBI, as well as the assessment of CBI.
文摘To enhance students＇ all-around development and personal potential is the main purpose that teachers want to obtain in their teachings. The author believes that it can be achieved only in a relaxed and safe class atmosphere. The article introduces the humanistic psychology and illustrates how to apply humanistic psychology to the foreign language class and establish an effective emotional class climate in China.
文摘Culture is a result of the accumulation of human society; language is the important carrier of culture. Infiltration of Western culture and the widely use of English seriously hinder the globalization of the Chinese culture and it results in ＂cultural aphasia＂ phenomenon. After having studied foreign language for several years, many foreign language learners still cannot express Chinese traditional culture correctly in international communication. This is mainly due to the neglect of Chinese culture in the process of foreign language teaching. With the development of globalization, the communication between different cultures has become more and more frequent It is necessary to pay more attention to the output of native language culture as well as the input of target language culture. As the main places of cultivating high-level talents in China, colleges and universities are focusing on how to change this phenomenon in the foreign language teaching reform. This paper begins with the introduction of ＂cultural aphasia＂ phenomenon in China, then analyzes the reasons, finally proposes suggestions and teaching strategies to overcome the culture aphasia in cross-cultural communication.
文摘Acoustic terms are useful academic tools to help EFL （English as a Foreign Language） learners to perceive pronunciation visually. Pratt is worldewide famous free acoustic professional software applied to the articulation with the help of the graph of ampplitude plotted and spectrogram. The paper will apply the professional acoustic tool Praat to pronunciation pedagogy to facilitate discrimination and articulation and suggests that the program can be adapted for the teaching of pronunciation to Chinese EFL learners.
文摘English teachers in China have seldom employed communicative teaching methodology. This paper reviews the research on communicative teaching in various areas, including the foundations of the approach, the principles, the methodology and some techniques as well as the test in communicative teaching. This paper argues that the essence of communicative approach is that the students are prepared to meet the need of communication in the real world and this approach has a positive effect on students＇ achievements. Accordingly, it is hoped that communicative teaching approach will be more widely used in China.
文摘This paper discusses the issue of the hidden curriculum in the setting of a language classroom. The author first talks about the definition of the hidden curriculum from a theoretical perspective and proposes her own working definition. She then elaborates on the reasons and main manifestations of the hidden curriculum from the teachers＇ and learners＇ angles respectively with examples taken from language classrooms. Based on some profound reflections, some feasible suggestions on how to minimize the negative impacts of the hidden curriculum are suggested. On the basis of the previous discussion, the author reaches a conclusion： Language teachers should not avoid or ignore the hidden curriculum existing in the language teaching processes; rather, they are expected to face it positively and try their very best to solve the problems it brings. A sound attitude towards the hidden curriculum can help language teachers better understand and implement the formal or official curriculum made by the school or the state.
文摘Culture plays a very important role in language teaching. A deep study of the relationship between language and culture is not only necessary but also urgent in language teaching and learning. The paper briefly points out that in order to make teaching more effective, teachers should not only teach the language itself, but also teach the culture in the language while teaching the foreign language. It analyzes the differences of language customs reflecting in different cultures among different languages （between European languages such as English, Russian and Asian languages such as Kazakh, Chinese）. The analysis of diversity of different social cultures and different language customs of commtmication shows that the culture has a great influence upon the language. It includes the next components： （1） diversity of different geographies, natural environment, and customs, （2） differences of the history, religion, and belief, and （3） diversity of different thoughts of understanding objectivities. Further suggestions concerning how to use culture factors in the teaching procedure are also introduced in detail, such as： （1） the teacher＇s role; （2） the way of explanation, （3） the way of contrast; and （4） the way of practice. In order to conduct foreign language teaching well, teachers must take up the teaching of culture and the teaching of language at the same time. As long as the emphasis is laid both linguistic skills and communicative competence, the goals of language teaching will be achieved satisfactorily.
