This historical study investigates the concept of learner autonomy in the national English language curricula for Chinese universities.It seeks to understand the meaning of learner autonomy in China and the intentiona...This historical study investigates the concept of learner autonomy in the national English language curricula for Chinese universities.It seeks to understand the meaning of learner autonomy in China and the intentionality of promoting this concept through the curricula from 1978 to 2007.By adopting Quentin Skinner’s intentionalist approach to analyzing the history of ideas,this study conducted a systematic document analysis of three national curricula in relation to their linguistic and practical contexts constituted of 169 Chinese academic articles in total.The study revealed that learner autonomy mainly referred to students’motivation and ability to work hard on their own outside the classroom in the Chinese context.Importing this concept,however,caused ideological confusion and exacerbated the disempowerment of teachers within the dynamics of China’s English language education at the tertiary level.The study raises awareness for borrowing concepts across different cultural contexts and has implications for research,policymaking,teacher development,and pedagogical practice in second language education 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
Native language transfer is a common phenomenon in foreign language learning and is all the time influencing the learners＇ language. As to us English teachers in China, how to use or avoid the Chinese transfer in stu...Native language transfer is a common phenomenon in foreign language learning and is all the time influencing the learners＇ language. As to us English teachers in China, how to use or avoid the Chinese transfer in students＇ English learning is an issue we need to further explore. The paper, based on the theory of SLA （second language acquisition） and language transfer, discusses this phenomenon, analyzes the factors that cause the transfer, and puts forward some suggestions to deal with the influence of transfer in teaching English as a foreign language Contrastive analysis, with examples, is employed to find the similarities and difficulties in students＇ learning Some of the difficulties can be predicted and positive transfer indeed plays a positive role in language acquisition.展开更多
Sometimes foreign language teachers find formal instructions unrewarding. This paper intends to find answers to the problems found in the English teaching classroom at university level in China by reviewing the SLA th...Sometimes foreign language teachers find formal instructions unrewarding. This paper intends to find answers to the problems found in the English teaching classroom at university level in China by reviewing the SLA theories on formal instruction and some pedagogical implications drawn from the findings are discussed.展开更多
This paper explores how to implement effective strategy training for part-time Chinese adult English learners in a tertiary FLT （Foreign Language Teaching） classroom. Through a study of threx~ semesters during which...This paper explores how to implement effective strategy training for part-time Chinese adult English learners in a tertiary FLT （Foreign Language Teaching） classroom. Through a study of threx~ semesters during which six sessions of learner training workshops and constant, integrated task-based instruction were carried out, empirical evidence was collected via the instrument of questionnaires, interviews, learners＇ regular written reports, and the findings indicate that： （1） The students reported a statistically significant increase of the overaU average frequency of language strategy use over all SILL （The Strategy Inventory for Language Learning） items with 2.95 at the beginning and 3.61 at the end; and （2） Well-organized, explicit, and discrete leaner training workshops combined with frequent, explicit, and integrated task-based strategy instruction are an effective and helpful way to improve learners＇ awareness, selection, and frequency of strategy use, which can further foster learner autonomy.展开更多
基金This work was supported by the MOE Project of Key Research Institute of Humanities and Social Sciences in Universities in China.
文摘This historical study investigates the concept of learner autonomy in the national English language curricula for Chinese universities.It seeks to understand the meaning of learner autonomy in China and the intentionality of promoting this concept through the curricula from 1978 to 2007.By adopting Quentin Skinner’s intentionalist approach to analyzing the history of ideas,this study conducted a systematic document analysis of three national curricula in relation to their linguistic and practical contexts constituted of 169 Chinese academic articles in total.The study revealed that learner autonomy mainly referred to students’motivation and ability to work hard on their own outside the classroom in the Chinese context.Importing this concept,however,caused ideological confusion and exacerbated the disempowerment of teachers within the dynamics of China’s English language education at the tertiary level.The study raises awareness for borrowing concepts across different cultural contexts and has implications for research,policymaking,teacher development,and pedagogical practice in second language education 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Native language transfer is a common phenomenon in foreign language learning and is all the time influencing the learners＇ language. As to us English teachers in China, how to use or avoid the Chinese transfer in students＇ English learning is an issue we need to further explore. The paper, based on the theory of SLA （second language acquisition） and language transfer, discusses this phenomenon, analyzes the factors that cause the transfer, and puts forward some suggestions to deal with the influence of transfer in teaching English as a foreign language Contrastive analysis, with examples, is employed to find the similarities and difficulties in students＇ learning Some of the difficulties can be predicted and positive transfer indeed plays a positive role in language acquisition.
文摘Sometimes foreign language teachers find formal instructions unrewarding. This paper intends to find answers to the problems found in the English teaching classroom at university level in China by reviewing the SLA theories on formal instruction and some pedagogical implications drawn from the findings are discussed.
文摘This paper explores how to implement effective strategy training for part-time Chinese adult English learners in a tertiary FLT （Foreign Language Teaching） classroom. Through a study of threx~ semesters during which six sessions of learner training workshops and constant, integrated task-based instruction were carried out, empirical evidence was collected via the instrument of questionnaires, interviews, learners＇ regular written reports, and the findings indicate that： （1） The students reported a statistically significant increase of the overaU average frequency of language strategy use over all SILL （The Strategy Inventory for Language Learning） items with 2.95 at the beginning and 3.61 at the end; and （2） Well-organized, explicit, and discrete leaner training workshops combined with frequent, explicit, and integrated task-based strategy instruction are an effective and helpful way to improve learners＇ awareness, selection, and frequency of strategy use, which can further foster learner autonomy.
