This paper is a report of an experimental undergraduate composite program of Tourism Business Management and English. It introduces the characteristics of the program structure, faculty, learning materials, teaching a...This paper is a report of an experimental undergraduate composite program of Tourism Business Management and English. It introduces the characteristics of the program structure, faculty, learning materials, teaching and learning methods, and assessment approaches. The achievements of the program as well as the major problems it has experienc.ed are also discussed.展开更多
The importance of follow-up education of college English has been obvious in recent years, but there are still many problems which need to be solved as soon as possible, such as how to carry out the follow-up educatio...The importance of follow-up education of college English has been obvious in recent years, but there are still many problems which need to be solved as soon as possible, such as how to carry out the follow-up education effectively and in what way to conduct the follow-up education and the course arrangement. The thesis hopes to solve the above problems to some extent.展开更多
This paper first summarizes that traditional EFL teaching considers target language isolatedly beyond its culture. It, therefore, stresses the interdependence of language and culture. It analyzes the existing problems...This paper first summarizes that traditional EFL teaching considers target language isolatedly beyond its culture. It, therefore, stresses the interdependence of language and culture. It analyzes the existing problems and their predominant causes in basic EFL teaching, and discusses the possible solutions to be taken to solve such problems. It suggests that there is culture-based instruction for high achievement in classroom acquisition of the target culture. It deems undoubtedly that the systematic permeation of cross-cultural communication aiming at developing cross-cultural awareness is one of the most effective steps toward cultural appropriateness in authentic communication.展开更多
Initial teacher preparation and teachers’ continuing professional development are two significant pillars of the teacher education enterprise. The former encompasses a wide range of teachereducation initiatives at th...Initial teacher preparation and teachers’ continuing professional development are two significant pillars of the teacher education enterprise. The former encompasses a wide range of teachereducation initiatives at the levels of diploma, bachelor’s degree, postgraduate diploma, and even master’s degree for teacher licensure purposes. These are widely documented in the literature.What is important is how teacher professional development contributes to bolstering the teachereducator force, which is relatively insufficiently documented due to the very fact that different educational systems have somewhat different expectations of such programs in relation to the ideologies and theories underpinning the teacher professional development program design and curriculum offering. Taking stock of a postgraduate diploma program in English language teaching(PGDELT) for teachers’ continuing professional development with a 31-year history housed at a premier teacher education institution in Singapore, which has successfully graduated over 1, 000 English language teachers for colleges and universities in China, I intend to highlight some of its key features, as a former student and then a lecturer on the program, in order to draw implications for sustainable growth of language teacher education programs, especially those whose main purposes are to prepare teachers of English as a second or foreign language(ESL/EFL) and provide continuing professional development opportunities for such inservice teachers.展开更多
This paper reports on part of the findings of a large-scale study exploring the viewpoints of Chinese ELT stakeholders(students,teachers and administrators)on native speakerism in order to find out whether current EFL...This paper reports on part of the findings of a large-scale study exploring the viewpoints of Chinese ELT stakeholders(students,teachers and administrators)on native speakerism in order to find out whether current EFL education in China is still affected by this chauvinistic ideology.The analysis of data via a critical lens reveals that the vast majority of the participants conferred upon NS products(teacher,language,culture and teaching methodology)a status superior to that granted to the NNS counterparts and failed to see linguacultural and epistemological inequalities between the English speaking West and traditional NNS countries,inter alia,China.These findings suggest that the three participant groups as an entirety succumb to native speakerism,and by extension that ELT in China is still haunted to a great degree by this ideology.Given that this study treats each participant group separately,future studies are expected to explore inter-group interactions in ideology.展开更多
Greek schools are witnessing widening gaps between traditional definitions and applications of literacy, which include reading, writing and speaking in terms of exercises from school textbooks and contemporary literac...Greek schools are witnessing widening gaps between traditional definitions and applications of literacy, which include reading, writing and speaking in terms of exercises from school textbooks and contemporary literacy practices like digital storytelling, interactive multimedia use and online communications. Language and literacy teachers of primary education are called upon daily to bridge these contradictions through pedagogical and textual choices they make in classroom teaching. This paper reports an experimental study with children of the fifth grade at public Greek schools to apply modernist literacy approaches involving digital storytelling and online communication in improving language skills. The paper analytically presents the didactic examples of a thematic union within the framework of the Greek curriculum and the alternative assessment for the experimental teaching on digital technologies among mother tongue learners. The findings have implications for teacher's and student's education and also for the integration of a pedagogical-technological content of curriculum within the continuing debate of being culturally and equally literate in today's education.展开更多
The debate on grammar in second language acquisition: past, present, and future, is a well written summary of both explicit and implicit grammar instruction in second language acquisition from past to present and wit...The debate on grammar in second language acquisition: past, present, and future, is a well written summary of both explicit and implicit grammar instruction in second language acquisition from past to present and with future projections. The thesis holds that explicit grammar instruction plays a very important role in foreign language learning and teaching and argues that English education in China should lay emphasis on how to assist students' grammar internalization and promote the conversion from explicit learning to implicit learning.展开更多
In this report, the author found out that the materials on hand imposed undue cognitive load on students. In order to maximize learning, the author changed her instructional design, kept a close eye on the whole proce...In this report, the author found out that the materials on hand imposed undue cognitive load on students. In order to maximize learning, the author changed her instructional design, kept a close eye on the whole process, and ultimately discovered that reducing the cognitive load of the learning materials is beneficial for the increase of learners' interest and the liven-up of the classroom atmosphere, which can finally maximize learners' language learning.展开更多
In the present paper, a comparison is made of the three formats in the history of EECU (English education in China's universities). In the first period (1904-1949), English education was conducted separately in g...In the present paper, a comparison is made of the three formats in the history of EECU (English education in China's universities). In the first period (1904-1949), English education was conducted separately in government-managed educational institutions and in institutions sponsored by church-related organizations; English education was well-knit with both general education and specialty education; and self-motivating learning was encouraged. In the second period (1950-1966), almost everything was tinted with a shady color of politics: A halt was addressed drastically to EEC (English education in China) in 1952. In the gradual recovery that started four years later, the second format was sawed and hammered, showing the following features: All non-government-mamaged institutions vanished from the stage; English was taught solely as a language or a system of verbal parts, almost deprived of all cultural loading. The third period (1978 onwards) has witnessed a barrier-free and rapid development of over three decades, resulting in the unprecedented pervasion of EECU. Yet in the third tbrmat, learners' efforts have turned wholly test-oriented, degenerating into the saddening disintegrity of learning as a process into isolated charges to the target of a test at a time; the ignorant reduction of the learning methods to "Vocabulary Booklets Plus Collections of Test Papers". Such a comparison not only provides a multi-dimensional perspective of EECU and a better understanding of it, but also offers some important experiences and lessons for the search of an effective solution to the pervasive problem of"Time-Consumingness and Low-Efficiency".展开更多
Every day communication is an event in which there is an interactional relationship between interlocutors. This interaction needs whole language in which language skills of speaking, listening, reading and writing; as...Every day communication is an event in which there is an interactional relationship between interlocutors. This interaction needs whole language in which language skills of speaking, listening, reading and writing; associated knowledge of vocabulary, meaning, syntax, etc.; and also, thinking skills are interwoven. This means that language should be kept whole and "if language isn't kept whole, it isn't language anymore" (Rigg, 1991, p. 522, cited in Richards & Rodgers, 2001, p. 109). In English as a Second Language/English Foreign Language (ESL/EFL) learning settings, improvement in one skill can affect the development of other skills. A particular course may highlight certain skills, but if the teacher is creative or specific tasks and problems are used in language learning settings, learners are provided with the opportunity to improve multiple, integrated skills. This paper aims at elaborating on critical thinking approach to language learning and introducing practical ideas for helping teachers to integrate language and thinking skills. It introduces 3 critical thinking activities (Dialogue journals, reading logs and literacy portfolios), and also discusses how implementing them can serves as a way to integrate language skills. It also maintains that engaging learners in these activities helps them use authentic materials and solve problems of their own interest that in turn has a positive effect on student's motivation.展开更多
In today' s society, there are increasingly more new requirements on English education in local colleges and universities, and also there are some problems to be exposed. A great difference exists between the languag...In today' s society, there are increasingly more new requirements on English education in local colleges and universities, and also there are some problems to be exposed. A great difference exists between the language application ability of learners and the actual conditions of teaching; great investments are put by both schools and teachers into teaching, but the teaching quality is not improved and also the teaching effect is not very ideal; the pass rate and excellent rate of CET4 and CET6 are pursued by many Chinese colleges and universities, and the strategy with an ocean of paper and examination-oriented intensive training methods are even applied, so that the internal rules of language teaching are seriously damaged.展开更多
Spelling error corpora can be collected from students' written essays, homework, dictations, translations, tests and lecture notes. Spelling errors can be classified into whole word errors, faulty graphemes and fault...Spelling error corpora can be collected from students' written essays, homework, dictations, translations, tests and lecture notes. Spelling errors can be classified into whole word errors, faulty graphemes and faulty phonemes in which graphemes are deleted, added, reversed or substituted. They can be used for identifying phonological and orthographic problems; spelling strategies that EFL students use in spelling English; spelling error causes or sources and relationship between spelling and decoding weaknesses. The paper gives examples of spelling errors and shows how spelling errors are quantified. Recommendations for remediation are also given.展开更多
The English teaching of Tertiary vocational education is an important issue that we must pay close attention to. Through the analysis of the present situation, the paper brings some new ideas about the English teachin...The English teaching of Tertiary vocational education is an important issue that we must pay close attention to. Through the analysis of the present situation, the paper brings some new ideas about the English teaching methods. (1) The new concepts about the teaching goals and plans. (2) The new concepts about the teaching ideas. (3) The new concepts about the teaching arrangement and so on. In addition, the paper points out that the English teachers in the vocational colleges should not only follow with interest in teaching, but also enhance personal quality, in order to realize the intention of career-leading and practical talents training in the tertiary vocational education.展开更多
This paper is based on a study that was done to explore the perspectives of teacher candidates and faculty members of teacher education programs of a university of Arizona. The purpose of the study was to look into K-...This paper is based on a study that was done to explore the perspectives of teacher candidates and faculty members of teacher education programs of a university of Arizona. The purpose of the study was to look into K-12 language teacher education programs in the backdrop of globalization. The data of the study came from a sample of 200 prospective teachers/candidates and students, and 24 faculty members/program administrators of teacher education programs of a university of Arizona. The results of the study showed that the majority of teacher candidates felt underprepared to teach diverse student populations. Similarly, most participants expressed their concerns over English-only policy of Arizona and they reported it as a major barrier for the education of English language learners.展开更多
In the 21 st century, the transformation of higher education toward application orientation is posing challenges to the university teachers, especially to the teachers of humanities. Combining the teaching practice wi...In the 21 st century, the transformation of higher education toward application orientation is posing challenges to the university teachers, especially to the teachers of humanities. Combining the teaching practice with the teaching methods and theories of domestic and foreign scholars, this article intends to explore the strategies for teaching courses of English literature in such a transformational period, including multiple teaching strategies and the cultivation of innovative thinking, cultivation of students' ability to use English with the works of English literature as language materials, use of realistic contexts to spread classic western language and culture. These teaching strategies can enhance the practicability and effectiveness of the curricula, and expand the teaching space of literature.展开更多
Globalization and the soaring development of Chinese economy impose new requirements on bilingual instruction in Chinese higher education. It is the market economy mode of thinking that plays an important role in ever...Globalization and the soaring development of Chinese economy impose new requirements on bilingual instruction in Chinese higher education. It is the market economy mode of thinking that plays an important role in every respect of the cultivation of bilingual instruction. On this basis, the thesis explores the role of universities and colleges in terms of the strategy of bilingual instruction and the mechanism to inspire bilingual faculty and students.展开更多
In modem English language teaching, the right processing of English and the culture teaching is very important, contributing to both the acceleration of the students' comprehension and the command of the language. Th...In modem English language teaching, the right processing of English and the culture teaching is very important, contributing to both the acceleration of the students' comprehension and the command of the language. This article intends to inquire into the relations between culture and English language teaching, the meanings of culture teaching and how to carry on culture teaching in the teaching of comprehensive English.展开更多
At present, quality education is proceeding in full swing in China. English education provided by colleges and universities of China has gone through a series of reform and gained relatively rapid development to a cer...At present, quality education is proceeding in full swing in China. English education provided by colleges and universities of China has gone through a series of reform and gained relatively rapid development to a certain degree. English has become an international language, and most companies have listed English proficiency as an important requirement for hiring employees, which indicates that English teaching in classrooms of colleges and universities is of great importance. However, cultural conflict between teachers and students in English classes provided by colleges and universities has been gradually drawing people's attention and has an impact on quality of English teaching provided by colleges and universities. In this paper, the current situation of cultural conflict is introduced and several solutions for solving such cultural conflicts are put forward, which may be viewed as a reflection.展开更多
In recent years, liberal education has been a focus of English majors' education in China. Although it was wished and emphasized, there are many problems and difficulties when liberal education is asked to be achieve...In recent years, liberal education has been a focus of English majors' education in China. Although it was wished and emphasized, there are many problems and difficulties when liberal education is asked to be achieved in the real sense. English majors' liberal education is yet at its primary stage. An analysis of the existing problems is made on the basis of the situation and characteristics of current English majors' education展开更多
文摘This paper is a report of an experimental undergraduate composite program of Tourism Business Management and English. It introduces the characteristics of the program structure, faculty, learning materials, teaching and learning methods, and assessment approaches. The achievements of the program as well as the major problems it has experienc.ed are also discussed.
文摘The importance of follow-up education of college English has been obvious in recent years, but there are still many problems which need to be solved as soon as possible, such as how to carry out the follow-up education effectively and in what way to conduct the follow-up education and the course arrangement. The thesis hopes to solve the above problems to some extent.
文摘This paper first summarizes that traditional EFL teaching considers target language isolatedly beyond its culture. It, therefore, stresses the interdependence of language and culture. It analyzes the existing problems and their predominant causes in basic EFL teaching, and discusses the possible solutions to be taken to solve such problems. It suggests that there is culture-based instruction for high achievement in classroom acquisition of the target culture. It deems undoubtedly that the systematic permeation of cross-cultural communication aiming at developing cross-cultural awareness is one of the most effective steps toward cultural appropriateness in authentic communication.
文摘Initial teacher preparation and teachers’ continuing professional development are two significant pillars of the teacher education enterprise. The former encompasses a wide range of teachereducation initiatives at the levels of diploma, bachelor’s degree, postgraduate diploma, and even master’s degree for teacher licensure purposes. These are widely documented in the literature.What is important is how teacher professional development contributes to bolstering the teachereducator force, which is relatively insufficiently documented due to the very fact that different educational systems have somewhat different expectations of such programs in relation to the ideologies and theories underpinning the teacher professional development program design and curriculum offering. Taking stock of a postgraduate diploma program in English language teaching(PGDELT) for teachers’ continuing professional development with a 31-year history housed at a premier teacher education institution in Singapore, which has successfully graduated over 1, 000 English language teachers for colleges and universities in China, I intend to highlight some of its key features, as a former student and then a lecturer on the program, in order to draw implications for sustainable growth of language teacher education programs, especially those whose main purposes are to prepare teachers of English as a second or foreign language(ESL/EFL) and provide continuing professional development opportunities for such inservice teachers.
文摘This paper reports on part of the findings of a large-scale study exploring the viewpoints of Chinese ELT stakeholders(students,teachers and administrators)on native speakerism in order to find out whether current EFL education in China is still affected by this chauvinistic ideology.The analysis of data via a critical lens reveals that the vast majority of the participants conferred upon NS products(teacher,language,culture and teaching methodology)a status superior to that granted to the NNS counterparts and failed to see linguacultural and epistemological inequalities between the English speaking West and traditional NNS countries,inter alia,China.These findings suggest that the three participant groups as an entirety succumb to native speakerism,and by extension that ELT in China is still haunted to a great degree by this ideology.Given that this study treats each participant group separately,future studies are expected to explore inter-group interactions in ideology.
文摘Greek schools are witnessing widening gaps between traditional definitions and applications of literacy, which include reading, writing and speaking in terms of exercises from school textbooks and contemporary literacy practices like digital storytelling, interactive multimedia use and online communications. Language and literacy teachers of primary education are called upon daily to bridge these contradictions through pedagogical and textual choices they make in classroom teaching. This paper reports an experimental study with children of the fifth grade at public Greek schools to apply modernist literacy approaches involving digital storytelling and online communication in improving language skills. The paper analytically presents the didactic examples of a thematic union within the framework of the Greek curriculum and the alternative assessment for the experimental teaching on digital technologies among mother tongue learners. The findings have implications for teacher's and student's education and also for the integration of a pedagogical-technological content of curriculum within the continuing debate of being culturally and equally literate in today's education.
文摘The debate on grammar in second language acquisition: past, present, and future, is a well written summary of both explicit and implicit grammar instruction in second language acquisition from past to present and with future projections. The thesis holds that explicit grammar instruction plays a very important role in foreign language learning and teaching and argues that English education in China should lay emphasis on how to assist students' grammar internalization and promote the conversion from explicit learning to implicit learning.
文摘In this report, the author found out that the materials on hand imposed undue cognitive load on students. In order to maximize learning, the author changed her instructional design, kept a close eye on the whole process, and ultimately discovered that reducing the cognitive load of the learning materials is beneficial for the increase of learners' interest and the liven-up of the classroom atmosphere, which can finally maximize learners' language learning.
文摘In the present paper, a comparison is made of the three formats in the history of EECU (English education in China's universities). In the first period (1904-1949), English education was conducted separately in government-managed educational institutions and in institutions sponsored by church-related organizations; English education was well-knit with both general education and specialty education; and self-motivating learning was encouraged. In the second period (1950-1966), almost everything was tinted with a shady color of politics: A halt was addressed drastically to EEC (English education in China) in 1952. In the gradual recovery that started four years later, the second format was sawed and hammered, showing the following features: All non-government-mamaged institutions vanished from the stage; English was taught solely as a language or a system of verbal parts, almost deprived of all cultural loading. The third period (1978 onwards) has witnessed a barrier-free and rapid development of over three decades, resulting in the unprecedented pervasion of EECU. Yet in the third tbrmat, learners' efforts have turned wholly test-oriented, degenerating into the saddening disintegrity of learning as a process into isolated charges to the target of a test at a time; the ignorant reduction of the learning methods to "Vocabulary Booklets Plus Collections of Test Papers". Such a comparison not only provides a multi-dimensional perspective of EECU and a better understanding of it, but also offers some important experiences and lessons for the search of an effective solution to the pervasive problem of"Time-Consumingness and Low-Efficiency".
文摘Every day communication is an event in which there is an interactional relationship between interlocutors. This interaction needs whole language in which language skills of speaking, listening, reading and writing; associated knowledge of vocabulary, meaning, syntax, etc.; and also, thinking skills are interwoven. This means that language should be kept whole and "if language isn't kept whole, it isn't language anymore" (Rigg, 1991, p. 522, cited in Richards & Rodgers, 2001, p. 109). In English as a Second Language/English Foreign Language (ESL/EFL) learning settings, improvement in one skill can affect the development of other skills. A particular course may highlight certain skills, but if the teacher is creative or specific tasks and problems are used in language learning settings, learners are provided with the opportunity to improve multiple, integrated skills. This paper aims at elaborating on critical thinking approach to language learning and introducing practical ideas for helping teachers to integrate language and thinking skills. It introduces 3 critical thinking activities (Dialogue journals, reading logs and literacy portfolios), and also discusses how implementing them can serves as a way to integrate language skills. It also maintains that engaging learners in these activities helps them use authentic materials and solve problems of their own interest that in turn has a positive effect on student's motivation.
文摘In today' s society, there are increasingly more new requirements on English education in local colleges and universities, and also there are some problems to be exposed. A great difference exists between the language application ability of learners and the actual conditions of teaching; great investments are put by both schools and teachers into teaching, but the teaching quality is not improved and also the teaching effect is not very ideal; the pass rate and excellent rate of CET4 and CET6 are pursued by many Chinese colleges and universities, and the strategy with an ocean of paper and examination-oriented intensive training methods are even applied, so that the internal rules of language teaching are seriously damaged.
文摘Spelling error corpora can be collected from students' written essays, homework, dictations, translations, tests and lecture notes. Spelling errors can be classified into whole word errors, faulty graphemes and faulty phonemes in which graphemes are deleted, added, reversed or substituted. They can be used for identifying phonological and orthographic problems; spelling strategies that EFL students use in spelling English; spelling error causes or sources and relationship between spelling and decoding weaknesses. The paper gives examples of spelling errors and shows how spelling errors are quantified. Recommendations for remediation are also given.
文摘The English teaching of Tertiary vocational education is an important issue that we must pay close attention to. Through the analysis of the present situation, the paper brings some new ideas about the English teaching methods. (1) The new concepts about the teaching goals and plans. (2) The new concepts about the teaching ideas. (3) The new concepts about the teaching arrangement and so on. In addition, the paper points out that the English teachers in the vocational colleges should not only follow with interest in teaching, but also enhance personal quality, in order to realize the intention of career-leading and practical talents training in the tertiary vocational education.
文摘This paper is based on a study that was done to explore the perspectives of teacher candidates and faculty members of teacher education programs of a university of Arizona. The purpose of the study was to look into K-12 language teacher education programs in the backdrop of globalization. The data of the study came from a sample of 200 prospective teachers/candidates and students, and 24 faculty members/program administrators of teacher education programs of a university of Arizona. The results of the study showed that the majority of teacher candidates felt underprepared to teach diverse student populations. Similarly, most participants expressed their concerns over English-only policy of Arizona and they reported it as a major barrier for the education of English language learners.
文摘In the 21 st century, the transformation of higher education toward application orientation is posing challenges to the university teachers, especially to the teachers of humanities. Combining the teaching practice with the teaching methods and theories of domestic and foreign scholars, this article intends to explore the strategies for teaching courses of English literature in such a transformational period, including multiple teaching strategies and the cultivation of innovative thinking, cultivation of students' ability to use English with the works of English literature as language materials, use of realistic contexts to spread classic western language and culture. These teaching strategies can enhance the practicability and effectiveness of the curricula, and expand the teaching space of literature.
文摘Globalization and the soaring development of Chinese economy impose new requirements on bilingual instruction in Chinese higher education. It is the market economy mode of thinking that plays an important role in every respect of the cultivation of bilingual instruction. On this basis, the thesis explores the role of universities and colleges in terms of the strategy of bilingual instruction and the mechanism to inspire bilingual faculty and students.
文摘In modem English language teaching, the right processing of English and the culture teaching is very important, contributing to both the acceleration of the students' comprehension and the command of the language. This article intends to inquire into the relations between culture and English language teaching, the meanings of culture teaching and how to carry on culture teaching in the teaching of comprehensive English.
文摘At present, quality education is proceeding in full swing in China. English education provided by colleges and universities of China has gone through a series of reform and gained relatively rapid development to a certain degree. English has become an international language, and most companies have listed English proficiency as an important requirement for hiring employees, which indicates that English teaching in classrooms of colleges and universities is of great importance. However, cultural conflict between teachers and students in English classes provided by colleges and universities has been gradually drawing people's attention and has an impact on quality of English teaching provided by colleges and universities. In this paper, the current situation of cultural conflict is introduced and several solutions for solving such cultural conflicts are put forward, which may be viewed as a reflection.
文摘In recent years, liberal education has been a focus of English majors' education in China. Although it was wished and emphasized, there are many problems and difficulties when liberal education is asked to be achieved in the real sense. English majors' liberal education is yet at its primary stage. An analysis of the existing problems is made on the basis of the situation and characteristics of current English majors' education