Nowadays,the Communicative Language Teaching Approach has gained significant popularity in the field of foreign language teaching.However,there appears to be a stagnation in its application effects.Therefore,this thes...Nowadays,the Communicative Language Teaching Approach has gained significant popularity in the field of foreign language teaching.However,there appears to be a stagnation in its application effects.Therefore,this thesis aims to investigate the present state of CLT implementation and identify the factors influencing its execution within English major classrooms at Chinese universities from a student perspective.30 students responded to the questionnaire and 5 students participated in interviews to provide detailed insights.Through analysis,it was observed that CLT has been widely used in English classes and received positive feedback from students.Factors including the Test-oriented Educational system,teacher factors,student factors,and the Chinese traditional Confucius idea about teaching have an important impact on its implementation.Additionally,this article offers potential recommendations aimed at reconciling the CLT Approach with the Chinese educational context.展开更多
One of the most obvious markers of an individual’s identity is their language.However,in some ways,the relationship between identity and language acquisition seems to be missed.In fact,a lot of studies have shown tha...One of the most obvious markers of an individual’s identity is their language.However,in some ways,the relationship between identity and language acquisition seems to be missed.In fact,a lot of studies have shown that identity may influence the reasons behind language acquisition,especially in bilingual or multilingual societies.Learning English can provide EFL(English as a Foreign Language)students with a good sense of identity and encourage them to practice their agency,which can improve learning efficiency and effectiveness.This paper examines how the efficacy and results of language learning are influenced by the learner’s identity.展开更多
Foreign language education involves not only language education but also cultural education.It is the new mission of today’s foreign language education to integrate Chinese traditional culture into foreign language t...Foreign language education involves not only language education but also cultural education.It is the new mission of today’s foreign language education to integrate Chinese traditional culture into foreign language teaching and cultivate foreign language talents who can tell Chinese stories well and spread Chinese voice.As a basic course for English majors,English Listening and Speaking faces many challenges when it is integrated into Chinese traditional culture,such as complex teaching content,limited teaching resources,insufficient teachers’literacy,and students’listening and speaking difficulties.In order to solve these problems,teachers and universities should work together to sort out the connotation of Chinese traditional culture,develop audio-visual teaching materials,organize teacher training,and innovate teaching methods,so as to effectively promote the connection between Chinese traditional culture and English Listening and Speaking curriculum system.展开更多
The teaching of speaking has been neglected in EFL (English as a Foreign Language) settings throughout language history which led to negative effects on EFL teachers' and learners' attitudes. While teachers exhibi...The teaching of speaking has been neglected in EFL (English as a Foreign Language) settings throughout language history which led to negative effects on EFL teachers' and learners' attitudes. While teachers exhibit hesitation having no preset teaching paradigms at their disposal, learners experience withdrawal in speaking situations that demand interactional ease and socio-pragmatic awareness. Indeed, both the type of instruction and the complexity of this skill make of the teaching of spoken language a highly controversial issue especially with the implicit dichotomy that speaking entails and which opposes accurate mastery of linguistic patterns to ease or facility in meaning transmission. This paper aims at reconsidering the way this dormant skill has been tackled and the interfering variables that should be rethought and revisited while dealing with it.展开更多
people used to be negative on the use of code-switching in English foreign language classroom.However,more and moreresearches begin to argue that code-switching does have its practical significance.Some basic concepts...people used to be negative on the use of code-switching in English foreign language classroom.However,more and moreresearches begin to argue that code-switching does have its practical significance.Some basic concepts of code-switching will first-ly be introduced in the article.Then,there is a literature review of the previous studies on the code-switching in English foreignlanguage class.By exposing detailed researches on it,some implications for teaching pedagogy will be explicated.From differentperspectives of the use of code-switching,this article aims to explore the necessity of code-switching in a context of foreign lan-guage teaching classroom by presenting some latest researches on it and reviewing different views on the use of code-switching inEnglish Foreign Language class.展开更多
In the field of second language acquisition(SLA),weight has been increasingly attached to the role that a problem-pos ing model of education plays in English as second/foreign language(ES/FL)teaching and learning.By e...In the field of second language acquisition(SLA),weight has been increasingly attached to the role that a problem-pos ing model of education plays in English as second/foreign language(ES/FL)teaching and learning.By exploring various concepts of the problem-posing approach,also known as critical pedagogy,and its implications for English language teaching(ELT)in the Chinese postsecondary EFL context,the paper makes a tentative attempt to acknowledge the future directions of implementing critical pedagogy in the EFL context.Therefore,the paper is inspired by the ever-increasing popularity of the critical pedagogical approach in the ESL context.The application of critical orientation in language education derives from critical theories of the Frankfurt School,which centers on Marxist societal beliefs of struggling against social inequalities.With the concept of critical pedagogy drawing increasing attention from language educators and teachers alike in English-speaking countries;non-native English teachers who teach in the EFL context has also begun to focus their attention on the educational philosophy as a means to help transform traditional oppressed status of the Chinese EFL learners.From this perspective,this paper,by investigating the multi-dimensional implied meanings of implementing critical pedagogy in the EFL context,unraveling how it works as a way of"doing"in second language(L2)teaching and learning,identifying the probable contexts of critical pedagogy and the contesta tions surrounding critical pedagogy,aims to address the significance of implementing critical pedagogy as an effective way of re forming the ailing English education condition in China.展开更多
1. Introduction In educational theory, as with most things, there exist fashions and trends. Within the field of foreign language teaching the communicative approach is with good reason very fasharable in the west. Th...1. Introduction In educational theory, as with most things, there exist fashions and trends. Within the field of foreign language teaching the communicative approach is with good reason very fasharable in the west. The name certainly makes it difficult to argue with, who would want to use the ’non-communicative’ approach to teaching a foreign language? The need to communicate in a language is what makes language teaching different from teaching many other subjects. If you study geography, you learn about places, but if you only learn about a language it is not enough.展开更多
English language teaching in the post-method condition demands the preparation of critical professionals capable of developing their teaching practice to enhance their pupils' language learning process. These profess...English language teaching in the post-method condition demands the preparation of critical professionals capable of developing their teaching practice to enhance their pupils' language learning process. These professionals should also be able to recognize their prior knowledge as a potential tool to teach and to act autonomously in different educational contexts. Therefore, pre-service teacher education courses need to provide favorable conditions for teacher candidates to engage in reflective practice in order to foster continuous professional development. The main goal of this paper is to discuss the complexity of the pedagogical knowledge (re)construction process in an English as a foreign language (EFL) teacher education course, attempting to understand prospective teachers' pedagogical actions and strategies used to cope with classroom problems in their teaching practice. For this reason, some examples of this dynamic process, obtained by class recordings and reflective sessions with future teachers were examined. Results indicated that through self-assessment and reflection, stimulated by these sessions, student-teachers were able to recognize problems in their teaching procedures, as well as analyze their teaching practice and (re)construct their pedagogical knowledge, favoring their students' language learning process and their own teaching approach.展开更多
While there are several research studies that planned to discover what drives students' motivation to learn English as a foreign/second language, to our knowledge there have been no pragmatic studies in the field of ...While there are several research studies that planned to discover what drives students' motivation to learn English as a foreign/second language, to our knowledge there have been no pragmatic studies in the field of EFL that examined Sudanese college-level students learning motivation. This study, therefore, intends to investigate Sudanese college-level students' motivation and its correlation to student's achievement. With strong emphasis on motivation, this study is, also examining the relationship between students' motivation and achievement when learning English as foreign language. The participants in this study were college-level students in Sudan. The data was collected from 60 college level students. This quantitative study employed both Pearson Correlation methods of analysis as well as ANOVA Regression analysis. The results of this study revealed that there is strong correlation between students' motivation and students' achievement.展开更多
This study aimed at investigating the effect of Facebook on grammar discussion and writing skill in English as a foreign language for university students, The study sample consisted of 60 students at Oklt AI Sqoor Col...This study aimed at investigating the effect of Facebook on grammar discussion and writing skill in English as a foreign language for university students, The study sample consisted of 60 students at Oklt AI Sqoor College of Science and Arts in Saudi Arabia and was divided into two groups: 30 students for the experimental group and 30 students for the control group. The instrument of the study was an EFL grammar and writing test. Students in both the experimental and the control group were pre-tested using the EFL (English as a Foreign Language) grammar and writing test, After that the experimental group was taught using Facebook while the control group was taught using the traditional method. Finally, students in both groups were post-tested using the EFL grammar and writing test. Results of the study showed that the experimental group outperformed the control group in the post-test of EFL grammar and writing. This difference can be attributed to using Facebook.展开更多
This paper reports findings from a longitudinal qualitative study that investigated the use of children's literature for Taiwan Residents University English as a Foreign Language (EFL) students' reading. During th...This paper reports findings from a longitudinal qualitative study that investigated the use of children's literature for Taiwan Residents University English as a Foreign Language (EFL) students' reading. During the course of their sophomore year, 17 students participated and each student held two to seven individual reading sessions, to which they brought a self-selected children's picture storybook or children's novel they had finished reading on their own and orally read it to the researcher. Their oral reading and the discussion of each book with the researcher were audio recorded. To gain insight into the reading progress, these oral data were categorized and analyzed in terms of mispronunciation patterns, misunderstanding of vocabulary, misinterpretation of sentence or passage, and researcher's guidance. General findings of the 17 participants were presented in three categories: (1) vocabulary acquisition, (2) common comprehension problems, and (3) common pronunciation problems. Further analysis of two motivated students who read five to seven books revealed that (1) these two EFL learners gradually developed conscious awareness of their own pronunciation and comprehension errors and (2) they progressively acquired better competence to apply the pronunciation tips and reading comprehension techniques provided by the researcher during previous sessions. These findings and corresponding implications are discussed and further research suggestions are made.展开更多
Based on discussion of the second language acquisition theories,the thesis aims at improving foreign language teaching,and states the implications on our teaching ideas,and what we teachers should do in our EFL practice.
This paper attempts to explain the advantages and disadvantages of different foreign language teaching methods.Then the present situation of college English class will be discussed and it will then point out that a co...This paper attempts to explain the advantages and disadvantages of different foreign language teaching methods.Then the present situation of college English class will be discussed and it will then point out that a combination of several methods is most suitable for most college students.展开更多
In college English learning, many learning variables are considered to influence the proficiency of studying, among which, anxiety is one of the most important affective variables. There is a negative correlation betw...In college English learning, many learning variables are considered to influence the proficiency of studying, among which, anxiety is one of the most important affective variables. There is a negative correlation between anxiety and foreign language learning. The present study explores the correlation between foreign language anxiety and language performance. It put forward two suggestions concerning what language teachers can do to help Non-English Major students lower their foreign language anxiety.展开更多
During the last three decades, attitudes have played a major role in second/foreign language learning research. Scholars have found that a more positive attitude towards the target language improves second/foreign lan...During the last three decades, attitudes have played a major role in second/foreign language learning research. Scholars have found that a more positive attitude towards the target language improves second/foreign language learning. In order to contribute to this area of research, this study focuses on Chilean EFL learners with different proficiency levels (i.e., beginner, intermediate, and advanced) and their attitudes toward learning English, the English language itself, and the L2 community. By gathering data through a questionnaire and analysing it using SPSS, significant differences were found among the learners' groups, and their attitudes toward English. These findings will be discussed further in this study together with previous research.展开更多
This article reports on part of the findings of an investigation into the perceptions of Chinese English as a foreign language(EFL)education stakeholders on native-speakerism.Data were collected via semi-structured in...This article reports on part of the findings of an investigation into the perceptions of Chinese English as a foreign language(EFL)education stakeholders on native-speakerism.Data were collected via semi-structured interviews with 26 students,14 teachers and eight EFL program administrators from six Chinese universities.The analysis of data reveals that the three groups of participants as an entirety expected their universities to hire native English speaker teachers(NESTs),particularly those from Britain and/or America and a certain proportion of them expressed preference for white native English speaker(NES)teachers.The vast majority of the students and teachers were also found to be unaware of workplace inequalities between NNESTs and local Chinese EFL teachers,contending that NESTs deserve better treatment.Although many administrators displayed critical awareness on this issue,they argued that the inequalities need tolerating for the well-being of their EFL programs.All these findings are indicative of the persistence of native-speakerism among Chinese ELT stakeholders and by extension the tenacity of this chauvinistic ideology across the terrain of EFL education in China.展开更多
Listening has been considered as the most important language skill by many researchers but in Chinese context it has been overlooked for years.The Foreign Language(FL)listening problems gradually reveal when students ...Listening has been considered as the most important language skill by many researchers but in Chinese context it has been overlooked for years.The Foreign Language(FL)listening problems gradually reveal when students attend to the Listening Course in universities or colleges.This paper at first illustrates the importance of listening in foreign language learning and provides a discussion on the top-down and bottom-up processes with the analysis of Anderson's three-model of language comprehension[9]as well as the factors affecting listening comprehension in Foreign Language in general,aiming at the illustration of the necessity on one of the bottom-up processes-the Spoken Word Recognition(SWR).The analysis of two issued official guiding documents for Chinese university students and the current situation of English listening teaching in Chinese universities are followed,providing a general background on English listening teaching in Chinese context.Three possible foreign language listening problems and their causes are proposed,followed by the pedagogical suggestions to EFL learners who are improving their listening skills and instructors who are advancing their teaching procedures.展开更多
This research is designed to investigate interlanguage fossilization in Chinese college students' written output. Twelve common linguistic errors from 20 Chinese EFL (English as a foreign language) learners' writi...This research is designed to investigate interlanguage fossilization in Chinese college students' written output. Twelve common linguistic errors from 20 Chinese EFL (English as a foreign language) learners' writing assignments are observed. Results show that among 12 typical errors, five types of errors are declining while the rest are increasing, indicating a tendency towards fossilization. Analysis shows that negative/corrective feedback has played a key role in reducing fossilization of some errors, but it does not work in every case. Some errors tend to be fossilized for several reasons. First, language items that do not have a direct form-function relationship are likely to be fossilized. Second, advanced learners create their own language system and neglect the basic rules of grammar. Third, task difficulty takes learners' attention away from form to meaning. Fourth, ingrained thinking patterns have a great impact on how learners organize their thoughts in writing. It is true that many Chinese EFL advanced learners reach a plateau in the process of acquiring English. However, attention, consciousness, and training of self-monitoring ability will help destabilize their interlanguage system.展开更多
Recently, the view that classroom knowledge is socially constructed rather than being merely transmitted from teacher to student has made a significant impact in English language teaching. Based on social constructivi...Recently, the view that classroom knowledge is socially constructed rather than being merely transmitted from teacher to student has made a significant impact in English language teaching. Based on social constructivism theory, this article gives a brief discussion on the role of motivation in the language classroom. Then it suggests some ways of improving language teaching and incorporating constructivism into the traditional language classroom.展开更多
文摘Nowadays,the Communicative Language Teaching Approach has gained significant popularity in the field of foreign language teaching.However,there appears to be a stagnation in its application effects.Therefore,this thesis aims to investigate the present state of CLT implementation and identify the factors influencing its execution within English major classrooms at Chinese universities from a student perspective.30 students responded to the questionnaire and 5 students participated in interviews to provide detailed insights.Through analysis,it was observed that CLT has been widely used in English classes and received positive feedback from students.Factors including the Test-oriented Educational system,teacher factors,student factors,and the Chinese traditional Confucius idea about teaching have an important impact on its implementation.Additionally,this article offers potential recommendations aimed at reconciling the CLT Approach with the Chinese educational context.
文摘One of the most obvious markers of an individual’s identity is their language.However,in some ways,the relationship between identity and language acquisition seems to be missed.In fact,a lot of studies have shown that identity may influence the reasons behind language acquisition,especially in bilingual or multilingual societies.Learning English can provide EFL(English as a Foreign Language)students with a good sense of identity and encourage them to practice their agency,which can improve learning efficiency and effectiveness.This paper examines how the efficacy and results of language learning are influenced by the learner’s identity.
基金Special Group on Philosophy and Social Science Planning of Guangdong Province“The Construction and Practice of the POA-Based Teaching Mode of Integrating Chinese Excellent Traditional Culture into English Listening,and Speaking Course for English Majors”(GD23WZXY02-06)。
文摘Foreign language education involves not only language education but also cultural education.It is the new mission of today’s foreign language education to integrate Chinese traditional culture into foreign language teaching and cultivate foreign language talents who can tell Chinese stories well and spread Chinese voice.As a basic course for English majors,English Listening and Speaking faces many challenges when it is integrated into Chinese traditional culture,such as complex teaching content,limited teaching resources,insufficient teachers’literacy,and students’listening and speaking difficulties.In order to solve these problems,teachers and universities should work together to sort out the connotation of Chinese traditional culture,develop audio-visual teaching materials,organize teacher training,and innovate teaching methods,so as to effectively promote the connection between Chinese traditional culture and English Listening and Speaking curriculum system.
文摘The teaching of speaking has been neglected in EFL (English as a Foreign Language) settings throughout language history which led to negative effects on EFL teachers' and learners' attitudes. While teachers exhibit hesitation having no preset teaching paradigms at their disposal, learners experience withdrawal in speaking situations that demand interactional ease and socio-pragmatic awareness. Indeed, both the type of instruction and the complexity of this skill make of the teaching of spoken language a highly controversial issue especially with the implicit dichotomy that speaking entails and which opposes accurate mastery of linguistic patterns to ease or facility in meaning transmission. This paper aims at reconsidering the way this dormant skill has been tackled and the interfering variables that should be rethought and revisited while dealing with it.
文摘people used to be negative on the use of code-switching in English foreign language classroom.However,more and moreresearches begin to argue that code-switching does have its practical significance.Some basic concepts of code-switching will first-ly be introduced in the article.Then,there is a literature review of the previous studies on the code-switching in English foreignlanguage class.By exposing detailed researches on it,some implications for teaching pedagogy will be explicated.From differentperspectives of the use of code-switching,this article aims to explore the necessity of code-switching in a context of foreign lan-guage teaching classroom by presenting some latest researches on it and reviewing different views on the use of code-switching inEnglish Foreign Language class.
文摘In the field of second language acquisition(SLA),weight has been increasingly attached to the role that a problem-pos ing model of education plays in English as second/foreign language(ES/FL)teaching and learning.By exploring various concepts of the problem-posing approach,also known as critical pedagogy,and its implications for English language teaching(ELT)in the Chinese postsecondary EFL context,the paper makes a tentative attempt to acknowledge the future directions of implementing critical pedagogy in the EFL context.Therefore,the paper is inspired by the ever-increasing popularity of the critical pedagogical approach in the ESL context.The application of critical orientation in language education derives from critical theories of the Frankfurt School,which centers on Marxist societal beliefs of struggling against social inequalities.With the concept of critical pedagogy drawing increasing attention from language educators and teachers alike in English-speaking countries;non-native English teachers who teach in the EFL context has also begun to focus their attention on the educational philosophy as a means to help transform traditional oppressed status of the Chinese EFL learners.From this perspective,this paper,by investigating the multi-dimensional implied meanings of implementing critical pedagogy in the EFL context,unraveling how it works as a way of"doing"in second language(L2)teaching and learning,identifying the probable contexts of critical pedagogy and the contesta tions surrounding critical pedagogy,aims to address the significance of implementing critical pedagogy as an effective way of re forming the ailing English education condition in China.
文摘1. Introduction In educational theory, as with most things, there exist fashions and trends. Within the field of foreign language teaching the communicative approach is with good reason very fasharable in the west. The name certainly makes it difficult to argue with, who would want to use the ’non-communicative’ approach to teaching a foreign language? The need to communicate in a language is what makes language teaching different from teaching many other subjects. If you study geography, you learn about places, but if you only learn about a language it is not enough.
文摘English language teaching in the post-method condition demands the preparation of critical professionals capable of developing their teaching practice to enhance their pupils' language learning process. These professionals should also be able to recognize their prior knowledge as a potential tool to teach and to act autonomously in different educational contexts. Therefore, pre-service teacher education courses need to provide favorable conditions for teacher candidates to engage in reflective practice in order to foster continuous professional development. The main goal of this paper is to discuss the complexity of the pedagogical knowledge (re)construction process in an English as a foreign language (EFL) teacher education course, attempting to understand prospective teachers' pedagogical actions and strategies used to cope with classroom problems in their teaching practice. For this reason, some examples of this dynamic process, obtained by class recordings and reflective sessions with future teachers were examined. Results indicated that through self-assessment and reflection, stimulated by these sessions, student-teachers were able to recognize problems in their teaching procedures, as well as analyze their teaching practice and (re)construct their pedagogical knowledge, favoring their students' language learning process and their own teaching approach.
文摘While there are several research studies that planned to discover what drives students' motivation to learn English as a foreign/second language, to our knowledge there have been no pragmatic studies in the field of EFL that examined Sudanese college-level students learning motivation. This study, therefore, intends to investigate Sudanese college-level students' motivation and its correlation to student's achievement. With strong emphasis on motivation, this study is, also examining the relationship between students' motivation and achievement when learning English as foreign language. The participants in this study were college-level students in Sudan. The data was collected from 60 college level students. This quantitative study employed both Pearson Correlation methods of analysis as well as ANOVA Regression analysis. The results of this study revealed that there is strong correlation between students' motivation and students' achievement.
文摘This study aimed at investigating the effect of Facebook on grammar discussion and writing skill in English as a foreign language for university students, The study sample consisted of 60 students at Oklt AI Sqoor College of Science and Arts in Saudi Arabia and was divided into two groups: 30 students for the experimental group and 30 students for the control group. The instrument of the study was an EFL grammar and writing test. Students in both the experimental and the control group were pre-tested using the EFL (English as a Foreign Language) grammar and writing test, After that the experimental group was taught using Facebook while the control group was taught using the traditional method. Finally, students in both groups were post-tested using the EFL grammar and writing test. Results of the study showed that the experimental group outperformed the control group in the post-test of EFL grammar and writing. This difference can be attributed to using Facebook.
文摘This paper reports findings from a longitudinal qualitative study that investigated the use of children's literature for Taiwan Residents University English as a Foreign Language (EFL) students' reading. During the course of their sophomore year, 17 students participated and each student held two to seven individual reading sessions, to which they brought a self-selected children's picture storybook or children's novel they had finished reading on their own and orally read it to the researcher. Their oral reading and the discussion of each book with the researcher were audio recorded. To gain insight into the reading progress, these oral data were categorized and analyzed in terms of mispronunciation patterns, misunderstanding of vocabulary, misinterpretation of sentence or passage, and researcher's guidance. General findings of the 17 participants were presented in three categories: (1) vocabulary acquisition, (2) common comprehension problems, and (3) common pronunciation problems. Further analysis of two motivated students who read five to seven books revealed that (1) these two EFL learners gradually developed conscious awareness of their own pronunciation and comprehension errors and (2) they progressively acquired better competence to apply the pronunciation tips and reading comprehension techniques provided by the researcher during previous sessions. These findings and corresponding implications are discussed and further research suggestions are made.
文摘Based on discussion of the second language acquisition theories,the thesis aims at improving foreign language teaching,and states the implications on our teaching ideas,and what we teachers should do in our EFL practice.
文摘This paper attempts to explain the advantages and disadvantages of different foreign language teaching methods.Then the present situation of college English class will be discussed and it will then point out that a combination of several methods is most suitable for most college students.
文摘In college English learning, many learning variables are considered to influence the proficiency of studying, among which, anxiety is one of the most important affective variables. There is a negative correlation between anxiety and foreign language learning. The present study explores the correlation between foreign language anxiety and language performance. It put forward two suggestions concerning what language teachers can do to help Non-English Major students lower their foreign language anxiety.
文摘During the last three decades, attitudes have played a major role in second/foreign language learning research. Scholars have found that a more positive attitude towards the target language improves second/foreign language learning. In order to contribute to this area of research, this study focuses on Chilean EFL learners with different proficiency levels (i.e., beginner, intermediate, and advanced) and their attitudes toward learning English, the English language itself, and the L2 community. By gathering data through a questionnaire and analysing it using SPSS, significant differences were found among the learners' groups, and their attitudes toward English. These findings will be discussed further in this study together with previous research.
文摘This article reports on part of the findings of an investigation into the perceptions of Chinese English as a foreign language(EFL)education stakeholders on native-speakerism.Data were collected via semi-structured interviews with 26 students,14 teachers and eight EFL program administrators from six Chinese universities.The analysis of data reveals that the three groups of participants as an entirety expected their universities to hire native English speaker teachers(NESTs),particularly those from Britain and/or America and a certain proportion of them expressed preference for white native English speaker(NES)teachers.The vast majority of the students and teachers were also found to be unaware of workplace inequalities between NNESTs and local Chinese EFL teachers,contending that NESTs deserve better treatment.Although many administrators displayed critical awareness on this issue,they argued that the inequalities need tolerating for the well-being of their EFL programs.All these findings are indicative of the persistence of native-speakerism among Chinese ELT stakeholders and by extension the tenacity of this chauvinistic ideology across the terrain of EFL education in China.
文摘Listening has been considered as the most important language skill by many researchers but in Chinese context it has been overlooked for years.The Foreign Language(FL)listening problems gradually reveal when students attend to the Listening Course in universities or colleges.This paper at first illustrates the importance of listening in foreign language learning and provides a discussion on the top-down and bottom-up processes with the analysis of Anderson's three-model of language comprehension[9]as well as the factors affecting listening comprehension in Foreign Language in general,aiming at the illustration of the necessity on one of the bottom-up processes-the Spoken Word Recognition(SWR).The analysis of two issued official guiding documents for Chinese university students and the current situation of English listening teaching in Chinese universities are followed,providing a general background on English listening teaching in Chinese context.Three possible foreign language listening problems and their causes are proposed,followed by the pedagogical suggestions to EFL learners who are improving their listening skills and instructors who are advancing their teaching procedures.
文摘This research is designed to investigate interlanguage fossilization in Chinese college students' written output. Twelve common linguistic errors from 20 Chinese EFL (English as a foreign language) learners' writing assignments are observed. Results show that among 12 typical errors, five types of errors are declining while the rest are increasing, indicating a tendency towards fossilization. Analysis shows that negative/corrective feedback has played a key role in reducing fossilization of some errors, but it does not work in every case. Some errors tend to be fossilized for several reasons. First, language items that do not have a direct form-function relationship are likely to be fossilized. Second, advanced learners create their own language system and neglect the basic rules of grammar. Third, task difficulty takes learners' attention away from form to meaning. Fourth, ingrained thinking patterns have a great impact on how learners organize their thoughts in writing. It is true that many Chinese EFL advanced learners reach a plateau in the process of acquiring English. However, attention, consciousness, and training of self-monitoring ability will help destabilize their interlanguage system.
文摘Recently, the view that classroom knowledge is socially constructed rather than being merely transmitted from teacher to student has made a significant impact in English language teaching. Based on social constructivism theory, this article gives a brief discussion on the role of motivation in the language classroom. Then it suggests some ways of improving language teaching and incorporating constructivism into the traditional language classroom.