巧用微课开展自然拼读课,提升学生词汇学习能力

发展学生核心素养成为当下教育教学研究的热点话题之一,新课程标准指出各年级、各学科在教学中应重视核心素养的培养。传统的小学英语教学模式相对枯燥,容易分散学生的注意力,不利于更多知识内容的学习。自然拼读法可以有效地解决此类问题。通过在微课过程中良好地融入自然拼读法,将单一的学习内容变得生动形象,有效地激发学生的朗读兴趣,提升学生的学习积极性,一举多得。

人机对话智能测评系统对农村初中生词汇学习的作用研究

在新课改如火如荼的推行下,中小学生的英语学习已经被提高到了一定的高度,各学校对英语学科的要求也越来越高,但是,在农村和偏远地区,这里的英语学习存在一定环境和氛围上的缺陷。幸运的是,如今互联网 背景发展地越来越好,人工智能的研究也得到了一定的突破和大范围的使用。本文将从人机对话的智能测评系统入手,对农村初中生词汇学习的作用进行探讨和研究。

Thinking differences and language output： Lexical problems arising from non-English majored graduate writing

Non-English majored learners are poor in language out. It is pointed out the widespread problem reflected in their writing is that the learners are lack of the consciousness of the thinking differences between Chinese and English, and a negative Chinese transfer brings about expressing barriers. Five main lexical problems are presented to illustrate. It is suggested that the learners＇ awareness of the thinking differences be raised so as to improve language output.

Orthographic,Semantic,and Contextual Influences on Initial Processing and Learning of Novel Words During Reading:Evidence From Eye Movements

This study investigates how orthographic,semantic and contextual variables—including word length,concreteness,and contextual support—impact on the processing and learning of new words in a second language(L2)when first encountered during reading.Students learning English as a foreign language(EFL)were recruited to read sentences for comprehension,embedded with unfamiliar L2 words that occurred once.Immediately after this,they received a form recognition test,a meaning recall test,and a meaning recognition test.Eye-movement data showed significant effects of word length on both early and late processing of novel words,along with effects of concreteness only on late-processing eye-tracking measures.Informative contexts were read slower than neutral contexts,yet contextual support did not show any direct influence on the processing of novel words.Interestingly,initial learning of abstract words was better than concrete words in terms of form and meaning recognition.Attentional processing of novel L2 words,operationalized by total reading time,positively predicted L2 learners’recognition of new orthographic forms.Taken together,these results suggest:1)orthographic,semantic and contextual factors play distinct roles for initial processing and learning of novel words;2)online processing of novel words contributes to L2 learners’initial knowledge of unfamiliar lexical items acquired from reading.

The Role of Lexis in Developing EFL Learners＇ Speaking Skill

EFL （English as a Foreign Language） speaking is a very demanding skill that requires learners＇ socio-pragmatic as well as strategic competence in any interactional situation, and lexis proves to play a crucial role in this process. However, few studies have investigated how both EFL teachers and learners view and analyze situations in which learners are not producing enough spoken language in class, and the reasons behind them. The present study will pinpoint the significant role of lexis in Moroccan learners＇ speaking production. To this end, 40 EFL teachers and 200 Moroccan high school students are surveyed and interviewed to reveal their perceptions of the speaking skill and the corresponding high significance of lexis in this instance. Results show that both teachers and learners identify vocabulary deficiency as the main factor behind students＇ inability to speak English. In the present paper, among the many suggestions that could be proposed to deal with this situation, it is argued that one efficient way would be to assist the students during the process of L2 （second language） vocabulary learning through vocabulary learning strategy instruction. Pedagogical and research implication will be given in response to the difficulties encountered in this area as have been identified by the EFL teachers and learners surveyed.

The Discussion on Teaching of Writing Based on the Error Analysis of Vocabulary in College Students＇ English Writing

At first, this paper presents the origin, developments and main view of Error Analysis. Then, based on the theories of Error Analysis, this paper collected and analyzed 398 errors in 30 compositions randomly selected from CLEC, written for the exam of CET-4. The results showed that errors were mainly expressed form the aspects of usage of words and forms, and rooted from three sources, the shortage on knowledge of grammar and the lack of standardization on language usage, intralingual transfer and the interlingual transfer. Then, this paper touched upon the principles and methods of English writing to provide with some suggestions for the teaching of English writing in China.

Attention Strategy Training Affecting Second Language Vocabulary Acquisition of College Students

This paper analyzes attention theory in the cognitive psychology and introduces second language vocabulary acquisition. The filter theory and attention resource theory in the attention theory points out that attention has a key effect on the learner＇s cognitive vocabulary learning by raising students＇ expectations for new words, by increasing the frequency of exposure to them, by enhancing their perceptual salience, and by increasing the task demand for word study. The fact proves that enhancing attention in input could promote students＇ vocabulary acquisition and help them form efficient vocabulary learning strategy suitable for their levels of proficiency.

The Contrary Effect of Collaborative Writing on ESL Students＇ Vocabulary Acquisition

Writing task is an integral part of education in ESL （English as a Second Language） at the foundation level. It has been observed that foundation level 3 students of Arab Open University have an insufficient knowledge of vocabulary which is reflected on their writing, as their usage of vocabulary is confined to a number of limited common words. This research explores the effect of collaborative writing on students＇ vocabulary acquisition. All the writing tasks were related to educational topics in order to provide students with the lexical items related to the same subject. This study took place in one of the foundation level 3 classes at Arab Open University, Oman branch. Fourteen anonymous Arab students for whom English is considered as the second language participated in this study. All students are in the intermediate level of English language proficiency. For each writing task, five collocations were selected to be taught in the class over a period of five weeks. The achieved outcomes revealed contrary results to the previous studies that had shown the effective impact of collaborative writing. This study has discussed the contrary impact of collaborative writing on improving the learners＇ vocabulary acquisition in addition to the challenges students faced during collaborative writing task. Finally, this research provides recommendations for the effective collaborative writing in the foundation students＇ language proficiency.

A Study on the Teaching of Lexical Phrases in Non-English Majors＇ Argumentative Writing

Compared structural approach with communicative approach, the former puts too much emphasis on linguistic knowledge and neglects the language application, while the latter lays too much emphasis on the communicative classroom activities and neglects the systematic study of linguistic knowledge. Both of them cannot meet the requirements of improving the non-English major students＇ argumentative writing scores. So based on the Lexical Approach theory, taking the College English Integrated Course 4 （LI, 2003） as the main teaching material and lexical phrases as teaching and learning units, this study explores the effectiveness of the Lexical Approach in improving non-English major students＇ argumentative writing through classroom activities of input, absorption, and output of lexical phrases. The results show that lexical phrases have more effects on students＇ English competence than single words. They can help to improve the argumentative writing scores and cultivate an interest in learning English independently.

Lexis in Dionysius the Areopagite

In his Commentary on Plato＇s Phaedo, Damascius establishes a close relation between destination （lexis）, divine Justice, and life dignity （kat＇aian） of every soul. Among several meanings of destination, the most relevant one is related to the condition of the soul after death. Consequently, the purpose of this paper is to consider how this neoplatonic term is conceived in Dionysius Areopagite. For that purpose, the author will analyze such term widely used in the chapter 7 of Ecclesiastic Hierarchy in which Dionysius deals with the funerary rite and in which the notes of the dionysian eschatology are found. In other words, Dionysius＇ use of this term combines a spiritual and a metaphysic perspective. The former is part of the representation of the dionysian universe in which even the angels receive the name of lexeis and are distinguished by their never ending movement around the Thearchia; the latter is present among humans as a call to imitate such angelic condition. Such imitation is not possible without the effort needed to behave in agreement with an honorable lifestyle （kat＇axian, neoplatonic expression also used by Dionysius） that opens the door to a condition or rank granted to man after death.

The Impacts of Co-creation of Local Culture English Books on EFL 5th Graders＇ English Vocabulary Ability and Local Cultural Knowledge

The purpose of this study aims to explore the impacts of task-based co-creation of local picture books on facilitating the development of vocabulary ability and cultural knowledge ofEFL 5th graders with different English proficiency levels in Taiwan. Twenty-one 5th graders participated in this study forty minutes per week, lasting for sixteen weeks. They were required to co-create English picture books of Pinghu through thematic task-based activities. Research data required for the study were collected through the pre-/post-tests of vocabulary and cultural knowledge, a participants＇ feedback questionnaire as well as semi-structured interviews. The results of this study showed that after experimental instruction, EFL 5th graders significantly improved their recognition of the connection between English word sounds and word meanings, word meanings and word forms, word forms and word meanings, as well as spellings. Moreover, their local cultural knowledge was improved significantly as well. Furthermore, based upon the 5th graders＇ responses to questionnaire and semi-structure interview, most of them developed a very positive attitude towards the activities of co-creating local picture books and their interest, self-confidence in English writing, and English learning behavior. Based on the findings, some suggestions were offered for the pedagogical applications and future studies.

A NEW EXPLORATION IN THE EVALUATION OF COLLEGE ENGLISH TEXTBOOKS

Textbook evaluation is of great importance for both teaching and learning. A review on several previouslypopular evaluation systems makes us believe that a more objective and quantitative evaluation approach isdesperately needed. Thus a new exploration to evaluate textbooks via corpus is discussed in this paper in lightof Second Language Acquisition studies.

A CORPUS-BASED STUDY ON THE USE OF EMOTION VOCABULARY BY CHINESE EFL LEARNERS

The present paper examines gender effects on the use of emotion vocabulary in SECCL.The study reveals both inter-group and intra-group differences in the use of English emotion words by the female and male Chinese EFL learners,and the findings also show that Chinese learners use emotion vocabulary in ways different from native English speakers.The gender difference is attributed to the ways in which Chinese culture defines and values women and men in terms of emotion displaying.The paper suggests that learning English emotion words should be integrated with learning cultural meanings associated with them.

Multi-Faceted Morphological Awareness and Vocabulary Knowledge in English as a Second Language Learners: A Multivariate Analysis

This study investigates the role of morphological awareness in ESL vocabulary acquisition. Participants were 198 Chinese college students enrolled in a joint program which required them to study in China for the first two years and then study in the U.K. to complete their degrees. They completed a total of four paper-and-pencil tests： morpheme discrimination, morpheme recognition, vocabulary size test （VST） and word associates test （WAT）. We drew upon path analysis to explore the interconnected relationships among multiple explanatory variables （facets of morphological awareness） and outcome variables （facets of vocabulary knowledge）. The results demonstrated that English derivational awareness was strongly predictive of both ESL vocabulary breadth and ESL vocabulary depth, and that preexisting ESL vocabulary breadth could enhance the relation between derivational awareness and ESL vocabulary depth. To summarize, these results indicate that an improved English derivational awareness not only helps to expand ESL vocabulary size but can also consolidate learners＇ deep understanding of word properties, which will in turn assist them to establish connections with other associative words and phrases.

Degradable, absorbable or resorbable——what is the best grammatical modifier for an implant that is eventually absorbed by the body?

The adoption of grammatical modifier for im- plants or other kinds of biomaterials eventually absorbed by the body has been a long-standing confusing issue, and there are diverse terms in the large fields of research, which not only causes the difficulties when searching on the Internet, but also blurs the meaning and boundaries for researchers. Prior unification attempts at laws/standards set the basis for such research fields towards researching, labeling, marketing and instructions for use. Considering this, the typical gram- matical modifiers ＂biodegradable＂, ＂resorbable＂ ＂absorbable＂, along with their noun forms used in the decades of scien- tific research have been reviewed and explained, interdiscipli- nary in chemistry, ecology, materials science, biology, micro- biology, medicine, and based on usage customs, laws, stan- dards and markets. The term ＂biodegradable＂ has been not only used in biomaterials but also in ecology waste manage- ment, biomedicine and even natural environment. Mean- while, the term ＂resorbable＂ has long been used in biological reaction （osteoclast driven bone resorption）, but is inappro- priate for implants that do not carry the potential to grow back into their original form. The term ＂absorbable＂ focuses more on the host metabolism to the foreign biodegradation products of the implanted material/device compared with the term ＂degradable/biodegradable＂. Meanwhile the coherence and normalization of the term ＂absorbable＂ carried by its own in laws and standards contributes as well. In general, the au- thors consider the term ＂absorbable＂ to be the best grammat- ical modifier with respect to other adjectives which share the same inherence. A further internationally unified usage is proposed by us.

An Empirical Study of the Influence of Attention Strategy Training on Second Language Vocabulary Acquisition

This paper presents the results of a 14-week attention strategy training of 174 college freshmen. It illustrates the promoting function of attention in second language vocabulary acquisition by raising students＇ expectations for new words, by increasing the frequency of exposure to them, by enhancing their perceptual salience, and by increasing the task demand for word study. The results show that enhancing attention in input could promote students＇ vocabulary acquisition and help them form vocabulary learning strategy suitable for their levels of proficiency.

English Vocabulary Learning Strategy Use in a Chinese Key Middle School

This paper reports on a mixed method inquiry into the use of vocabulary learning strategies and their development as strategic vocabulary learners in a key middle school on the Chinese mainland. In the inquiry, 475 first year junior secondary school pupils （247 boys and 228 girls） were surveyed about their strategy use in learning English vocabulary. Sixteen pupils （8 boys and 8 girls） participated in paired semi-structured interviews about their experiences of learning English vocabulary. Drawing on socio-cultural perspectives on language learning, the inquiry established the interconnections between the participants＇ strategy use and beliefs and identified the roles that agency played in their vocabulary learning. The analysis of interview data further revealed that the participants＇ strategy use emerged from interaction between their agency and the mediation of contextual resources and social agents including parents and teachers. These findings suggest that it is important for language teachers to collaborate with social agents such as parents in their efforts to support young learners＇ strategic vocabulary learning.