As far as we are concemed, one of the elements of assessing EFL/ESL （English as a Foreign Language/English as a Second Language） learners＇ language proficiency in institutions and universities in our country ＂lran...As far as we are concemed, one of the elements of assessing EFL/ESL （English as a Foreign Language/English as a Second Language） learners＇ language proficiency in institutions and universities in our country ＂lran＂ are multiple-choice reading comprehension tests. We also know that, it comprises one major section of the standard and TOEFL （Test of English as a Foreign Language） tests. Taking into account its importance and the problems which EFL learners have answered them, I get motivated to uncover some of the test-taking strategies which they employ to answer multiple-choice reading comprehension questions when dealing with familiar versus unfamiliar topics. To get a better conclusion, I choose 20 advanced male and female candidates whose English proficiency is at an acceptable level and at least at the same age level, and they major in English language from different colleges and universities. They are given two reading comprehension passages （familiar and unfamiliar）, each one with five final questions and allotted time to answer the questions. Two main instruments in this study are a retrospective think-aloud protocol and a semi-structured interview. The results of the reading comprehension tests and interview part revealed that advanced learners＇ high scores in the familiar topic were not because of their strategy use but because of their high linguistic and background knowledge on the topic. I also concluded that the number, kind, and sequence of strategies employed, were greatly dependent on the degree of testees＇ familiarity on the topic. In other words, test-takers used more strategies to compensate for their lack of linguistic knowledge.展开更多
English is used an important course of higher vocational colleges, which can greatly improve stuctents＂ language application ability to a great extent and it can also make students understand western culture knowledg...English is used an important course of higher vocational colleges, which can greatly improve stuctents＂ language application ability to a great extent and it can also make students understand western culture knowledge through foreign language learning. But in current higher vocational colleges, it faces many dilemmas. Only by correctly analyzing these dilemmas will it propose corresponding reasonab!e solutions, which is good for English education development of higher vocational colleges and improving English level of higher vocational college students.展开更多
Due to the increasing role and importance of foreign languages in the context of globalization, it is becoming more important to teach foreign languages for professional communication in different types of educational...Due to the increasing role and importance of foreign languages in the context of globalization, it is becoming more important to teach foreign languages for professional communication in different types of educational institutions including nonlinguistic colleges. In this regard, both the approaches to teaching foreign languages should be reconsidered, and also training programs that meet the requirements of future specialists should be created. One of the possible ways out is to use the competence-based approach, i.e., forming a set of special competences in future professionals to solve practical problems. For training a competitive IT-specialist, in teaching foreign languages it is necessary to form a number of language subcompetences in students that are on the basis of their professional competence. The proposed model can be used for teaching any foreign language, where the language component is invariable, and is filled with professional content.展开更多
What language competence a learner has can she/he achieve an effective communication？ This question is the main concern for applied linguists and English teachers in TEFL, for the recognition of language competence d...What language competence a learner has can she/he achieve an effective communication？ This question is the main concern for applied linguists and English teachers in TEFL, for the recognition of language competence directly influences the goal of teaching, curriculum design, textbook writing and classroom practice. This paper discusses the various points of views on language competence and explores its characteristics which, the author believes, will shed some light on foreign language teaching.展开更多
This study reports the development, piloting and initial validation of a test measuring language analytic ability - one foreign language aptitude component for Chinese learners of foreign languages （FL）. A test with...This study reports the development, piloting and initial validation of a test measuring language analytic ability - one foreign language aptitude component for Chinese learners of foreign languages （FL）. A test with 50 items was constructed and administered to 53 third-year English majors. Rasch analyses showed that the subtest of inductive language learning ability was too easy. After removing misfitting items, the reduced grammatical sensitivity subtest showed satisfactory psychometric properties. The Rasch measures of the students＇ grammatical sensitivity were also found to be correlated significantly with their TEM-4 scores and their English reading grades, thus providing further evidence for the validity of the this subtest.展开更多
After assuming the Chinese presidency in March 2013, Xi Jinping introduced the new political slogan ＂the Chinese Dream,＂ which he does not only address to the domestic audience but also aims to promote to the world....After assuming the Chinese presidency in March 2013, Xi Jinping introduced the new political slogan ＂the Chinese Dream,＂ which he does not only address to the domestic audience but also aims to promote to the world. Since his inaugural trip abroad, Xi has repeatedly speeches when addressing international catchphrase received as much appeal as used the term ＂Chinese Dream＂ in his audiences. However, nowhere has the in Africa. Simultaneously, African academics and other interested parties have observed the promotion of the idea of an African Dream by the Chinese Communist Party （CCP） with great suspicion as they view it simply as a projection of China＇s own foreign policy onto Africa. But what do the Chinese Dream and African Dream actually mean？ How can we make sense out of these terms？ In order to decode or demystify the meaning behind the Chinese Dream narrative in the context of China＇s foreign policy, this paper argues that it is essential to examine how it is constructed and projected to the international audience, in particular to Africa. The Chinese Dream is understood as a narrative which is strategically used by the CCP in order to shape perceptions and behavior of other international actors according to their own agenda. Moreover, the dynamic interactions between the media and politics and how they impinge on the formation and projection of the Chinese Dream and African Dream narrative will also be taken into account.展开更多
This article presents a longitudinal profile of the advanced learner＇s use of verb morphology in L2 French, with the aim of tracking how such usage evolves within the advanced learner variety over a two-year period, ...This article presents a longitudinal profile of the advanced learner＇s use of verb morphology in L2 French, with the aim of tracking how such usage evolves within the advanced learner variety over a two-year period, as well as exploring how use of particular morphological forms relates to use of others. The forms are wide-ranging, and concern markers of past time, futurity, conditionality, reverse-order, as well as the subjunctive and 3rd person plural present tense irregular forms which are deemed to constitute ＂fragile zones＂ in the advanced learner variety. Results are presented in quantitative terms which allow frequently used forms to be identified against less frequent forms as the study progresses. The effect for naturalistic exposure through study abroad as opposed to regular classroom instruction is explored in terms of the effect of such differential exposure conditions on the emergence and use of the various forms concerned. Findings point to the complexity of morphological development in the advanced learner, whereby development is neither linear nor uniform across the morphological forms, while there is also considerable individual variation between learners. Results are discussed in relation to the advanced learner＇s acquisitional profile.展开更多
文摘As far as we are concemed, one of the elements of assessing EFL/ESL （English as a Foreign Language/English as a Second Language） learners＇ language proficiency in institutions and universities in our country ＂lran＂ are multiple-choice reading comprehension tests. We also know that, it comprises one major section of the standard and TOEFL （Test of English as a Foreign Language） tests. Taking into account its importance and the problems which EFL learners have answered them, I get motivated to uncover some of the test-taking strategies which they employ to answer multiple-choice reading comprehension questions when dealing with familiar versus unfamiliar topics. To get a better conclusion, I choose 20 advanced male and female candidates whose English proficiency is at an acceptable level and at least at the same age level, and they major in English language from different colleges and universities. They are given two reading comprehension passages （familiar and unfamiliar）, each one with five final questions and allotted time to answer the questions. Two main instruments in this study are a retrospective think-aloud protocol and a semi-structured interview. The results of the reading comprehension tests and interview part revealed that advanced learners＇ high scores in the familiar topic were not because of their strategy use but because of their high linguistic and background knowledge on the topic. I also concluded that the number, kind, and sequence of strategies employed, were greatly dependent on the degree of testees＇ familiarity on the topic. In other words, test-takers used more strategies to compensate for their lack of linguistic knowledge.
文摘English is used an important course of higher vocational colleges, which can greatly improve stuctents＂ language application ability to a great extent and it can also make students understand western culture knowledge through foreign language learning. But in current higher vocational colleges, it faces many dilemmas. Only by correctly analyzing these dilemmas will it propose corresponding reasonab!e solutions, which is good for English education development of higher vocational colleges and improving English level of higher vocational college students.
文摘Due to the increasing role and importance of foreign languages in the context of globalization, it is becoming more important to teach foreign languages for professional communication in different types of educational institutions including nonlinguistic colleges. In this regard, both the approaches to teaching foreign languages should be reconsidered, and also training programs that meet the requirements of future specialists should be created. One of the possible ways out is to use the competence-based approach, i.e., forming a set of special competences in future professionals to solve practical problems. For training a competitive IT-specialist, in teaching foreign languages it is necessary to form a number of language subcompetences in students that are on the basis of their professional competence. The proposed model can be used for teaching any foreign language, where the language component is invariable, and is filled with professional content.
文摘What language competence a learner has can she/he achieve an effective communication？ This question is the main concern for applied linguists and English teachers in TEFL, for the recognition of language competence directly influences the goal of teaching, curriculum design, textbook writing and classroom practice. This paper discusses the various points of views on language competence and explores its characteristics which, the author believes, will shed some light on foreign language teaching.
基金supported by the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities(105563GK)
文摘This study reports the development, piloting and initial validation of a test measuring language analytic ability - one foreign language aptitude component for Chinese learners of foreign languages （FL）. A test with 50 items was constructed and administered to 53 third-year English majors. Rasch analyses showed that the subtest of inductive language learning ability was too easy. After removing misfitting items, the reduced grammatical sensitivity subtest showed satisfactory psychometric properties. The Rasch measures of the students＇ grammatical sensitivity were also found to be correlated significantly with their TEM-4 scores and their English reading grades, thus providing further evidence for the validity of the this subtest.
文摘After assuming the Chinese presidency in March 2013, Xi Jinping introduced the new political slogan ＂the Chinese Dream,＂ which he does not only address to the domestic audience but also aims to promote to the world. Since his inaugural trip abroad, Xi has repeatedly speeches when addressing international catchphrase received as much appeal as used the term ＂Chinese Dream＂ in his audiences. However, nowhere has the in Africa. Simultaneously, African academics and other interested parties have observed the promotion of the idea of an African Dream by the Chinese Communist Party （CCP） with great suspicion as they view it simply as a projection of China＇s own foreign policy onto Africa. But what do the Chinese Dream and African Dream actually mean？ How can we make sense out of these terms？ In order to decode or demystify the meaning behind the Chinese Dream narrative in the context of China＇s foreign policy, this paper argues that it is essential to examine how it is constructed and projected to the international audience, in particular to Africa. The Chinese Dream is understood as a narrative which is strategically used by the CCP in order to shape perceptions and behavior of other international actors according to their own agenda. Moreover, the dynamic interactions between the media and politics and how they impinge on the formation and projection of the Chinese Dream and African Dream narrative will also be taken into account.
文摘This article presents a longitudinal profile of the advanced learner＇s use of verb morphology in L2 French, with the aim of tracking how such usage evolves within the advanced learner variety over a two-year period, as well as exploring how use of particular morphological forms relates to use of others. The forms are wide-ranging, and concern markers of past time, futurity, conditionality, reverse-order, as well as the subjunctive and 3rd person plural present tense irregular forms which are deemed to constitute ＂fragile zones＂ in the advanced learner variety. Results are presented in quantitative terms which allow frequently used forms to be identified against less frequent forms as the study progresses. The effect for naturalistic exposure through study abroad as opposed to regular classroom instruction is explored in terms of the effect of such differential exposure conditions on the emergence and use of the various forms concerned. Findings point to the complexity of morphological development in the advanced learner, whereby development is neither linear nor uniform across the morphological forms, while there is also considerable individual variation between learners. Results are discussed in relation to the advanced learner＇s acquisitional profile.
