While a plethora of studies has been conducted to explore demotivation and its impact on mental health in second language(L2)education,scanty research focuses on demotivation in L2 speaking learning.Particularly,littl...While a plethora of studies has been conducted to explore demotivation and its impact on mental health in second language(L2)education,scanty research focuses on demotivation in L2 speaking learning.Particularly,little research explores the measures to quantify L2 speaking demotivation.The present two-phase study attempts to develop and validate an English Speaking Demotivation Scale(ESDS).To this end,an independent sample of 207 Chinese tertiary learners of English as a Foreign Language(EFL)participated in the development phase,and another group of 188 Chinese EFL learners was recruited for the validation of the scale.Exploratory Factor Analysis(EFA)and Confirmatory Factor Analysis(CFA)were employed to determine the factor structure of the scale.The EFA results revealed a six-factor solution with Teacher-related Factors in Learning Spoken English(TFLSE),Interest and Valence in Learning Spoken English(IVLSE),Self-efficacy in Learning Spoken English(SELSE),Negative Peer Influence in Learning Spoken English(NPILSE),Undesirable Environment for Learning Spoken English(UELSE),and Negative Influence of Assessment and Learning Materials in speaking class(NIALM).In the validation phase,Confirmatory Factor Analysis(CFA)was performed to validate the internal structure of the scale.The CFA results showed that the model fits the data well.Overall,the ESDS is a robust and trustworthy psychometric tool that could be utilized to examine L2 speaking demotivation.Implications for diminishing EFL learners’demotivation,lessening their aversive emotions and promoting their mental health are also discussed.展开更多
This paper investigates how the type of written feedback provided by teachers affects learners’ ability to revise essays. A total of 120 participants participated in two rounds of essay composition and feedback deliv...This paper investigates how the type of written feedback provided by teachers affects learners’ ability to revise essays. A total of 120 participants participated in two rounds of essay composition and feedback delivery. The findings indicate that learners who receive comments in the form of questions are more prone to make revisions compared to those receiving statements or imperatives. These results hold significant implications for educators and the ways they utilize written feedback to enhance learners’ writing skills.展开更多
The importance of listening as one of the communication skills cannot be overstated.However,in many areas,listening is neglected.For young learners,learning to listen is even more beneficial for their future studies,t...The importance of listening as one of the communication skills cannot be overstated.However,in many areas,listening is neglected.For young learners,learning to listen is even more beneficial for their future studies,therefore,listening skills should be given due importance.展开更多
Assessment exercises constitute a crucial component of the teaching and learning process,serving the purpose of gauging the degree to which learning objectives have been accomplished.This study aims to assess the math...Assessment exercises constitute a crucial component of the teaching and learning process,serving the purpose of gauging the degree to which learning objectives have been accomplished.This study aims to assess the mathematics performance of Grade 7 learners using the 50-30-20 exercise.Specifically,this study seeks to determine the learners’pre-test and post-test mean scores,identify significant differences between the pre-test and post-test results,evaluate learners’exercises,and propose enhanced exercises.The research employs a quasi-experimental design,with 40 Grade 7 learners in the school year 2023-2024 as participants,selected through purposive non-random sampling.Statistical data analysis involves the use of mean,standard deviation,paired t-test,and Cohen’s D effect size.Ethical considerations were paramount,as evidenced by a letter of authorization from the school head outlining the strict adherence to voluntary participation,informed parental consent,anonymity,confidentiality,risk mitigation,results-sharing protocols,and the commitment to keeping research data confidential.The data yielded a remarkable outcome:the experimental group exhibited improvement in both the pre-test and post-test.This result substantiates the initial objective of the study,showcasing a noteworthy and favorable performance among the participants.Consequently,it suggests that a majority of the participants strongly agree that the 50-30-20 exercises contribute to enhancing their understanding and problem-solving skills,as well as their ability to grasp mathematical concepts and improve their overall performance in mathematics.Therefore,the 50-30-20 exercises not only facilitated students in understanding mathematics lessons but were also aligned with the Department of Education’s development plan.展开更多
Young learners’English(YLE)tests have become increasingly prevalent among and important to Chinese English learners and their parents.In China,parents are actively involved in their children’s education and test-tak...Young learners’English(YLE)tests have become increasingly prevalent among and important to Chinese English learners and their parents.In China,parents are actively involved in their children’s education and test-taking decisions,and their participation has given rise to a series of social impacts.Although parent involvement has received increasing public and academic attention in newspaper and scholarly articles,there exists no thorough analysis of current research on parents’roles in young learners’test-taking.To address this gap,we systemically analyzed Chinese newspaper articles and academic articles between 2011 and 2021 to elicit Chinese parents’roles in YLE test-taking.Our thematic analysis of the literature identifies the ways in which parents influence their children’s test-taking experiences,and how the tests affect this influence.Specifically,our results elicit 1)parents’engagement in YLE testing;2)parents’understanding of the intended uses of YLE tests;3)parents’perception and consequences of their involvement in YLE testing;and 4)parents’backgrounds.This analysis reveals the popularity of YLE tests among young learners and their parents in China and public concern over test-related issues.It also broadens our understanding of YLE testing impact and suggests future potential research directions.展开更多
This study aimed to identify the effectiveness of explicit vocabulary instruction on productive vocabulary learning in writing among intermediate school learners in Saudi Arabia,verify the existence of any statistical...This study aimed to identify the effectiveness of explicit vocabulary instruction on productive vocabulary learning in writing among intermediate school learners in Saudi Arabia,verify the existence of any statistically significant differences at the significance level of 0.01 between the mean scores of the post-test of the control group and the experimental group in the vocabulary test,and verify the existence of any statistically significant differences at the significance level of 0.01 between the mean scores of the pre-and post-test of the experimental group in the vocabulary test in favor of the post-test.The study community consisted of all intermediate school students in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia,while the study sample included 30 students.The experimental method was adopted to identify the effectiveness of explicit vocabulary instruction on productive vocabulary learning in writing and the achievement test was used as the study tool.The study reached many results including there were no statistically significant differences at the significance level of 0.01 between the mean scores of the post-test of the control group and the experimental group in the vocabulary test and there were no statistically significant differences at the significance level of 0.01 between the mean scores of the pre-and post-test of the experimental group in the vocabulary test in favor of the post-test.According to these results,some recommendations and proposals were made including training English teachers at the intermediate school level in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia,on explicit vocabulary instruction and conducting future researches on the trends of English teachers at the intermediate school level,in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia,regarding the adoption of explicit vocabulary instruction while teaching the English language.展开更多
EFL learners,who study English as a foreign language,often use different learning strategies in the learning process,with positive and negative results in their academic performance.Whether these learning strategies a...EFL learners,who study English as a foreign language,often use different learning strategies in the learning process,with positive and negative results in their academic performance.Whether these learning strategies are effective or not are questions to be explored.So,the author examined the relationship between Chinese EFL learners’test results and the use of motivated strategies for learning in English learning.Participants are students who have taken a high-stake standardized English proficiency test:IELTS(International English Language Testing System)with band score obtained.The results show that students’performance on high-stakes assessment is significantly associated with the use of motivated learning strategies like internal value in sharp contrast to test anxiety,which bears no relevance.Interviews are then implemented to candidates with different levels of English proficiency to figure out other related factors contributing to the test results.展开更多
This study presents a comparative analysis of verb-noun collocation errors made by Chinese EFL learners with different language proficiency.Linguistic data from two sub-corpora of CLEC(Chinese Learner English Corpus,G...This study presents a comparative analysis of verb-noun collocation errors made by Chinese EFL learners with different language proficiency.Linguistic data from two sub-corpora of CLEC(Chinese Learner English Corpus,Gui&Yang,1999)consist of the compositions written freely by Chinese senior high school students(ST2)and the 3rd-and 4th-year English majors of Chinese universities(ST6).The study results show that four types of verb-noun collocation errors are frequently made due to incorrect L1 translation,misuse of relative synonyms,misuse of delexical verbs,and misuse of part of speech;the number of errors decreases with the development of language proficiency,especially errors by incorrect L1 translation and relative synonyms.And for both ST2 and ST6 EFL learners,errors resulted from incorrect L1 translation account for nearly a half with the same high-frequency words.It is also found that ST6 learners’competence in collocation and synonym identification doesn’t grow with the increase of their vocabulary,as is shown in the case of overusing delexical verbs in collocation,the same error made by ST2 learners,who have a significantly weaker command of delexical verbs.Implications of the findings are also discussed with the purpose of raising the awareness of collocation pedagogy and enhancing EFL learners’collocation competence.展开更多
Idiom acquisition plays an important role in the process of second language learning and acquisition.Proper understanding of linguistic transfer in terms of English idiom acquisition is helpful for EFL learners to imp...Idiom acquisition plays an important role in the process of second language learning and acquisition.Proper understanding of linguistic transfer in terms of English idiom acquisition is helpful for EFL learners to improve the efficiency of learning English and also facilitates the process of English teaching.This study examines the Chinese learner’s language transfer features manifested in their understanding of English idioms which are classified into five different types according to their linguistic forms and conceptual bases.The results suggest that equivalent linguistic forms and equivalent conceptual bases of idioms are helpful to cause positive transfer while different conceptual bases of idioms may result in negative cross-linguistic transfer.This article may contribute to the development of language transfer theory and provide pedagogical implications of how English idioms should be learned by students and taught by English teachers.展开更多
“Attention”is a very vital cognitive mechanism.Cognitive psychology considers“attention”as the focus of mental activity and consciousness on an object.People engage their senses and memory to actively process the ...“Attention”is a very vital cognitive mechanism.Cognitive psychology considers“attention”as the focus of mental activity and consciousness on an object.People engage their senses and memory to actively process the object in front of them.Theories of second language acquisition suggest that a large amount of input is the basis for language acquisition.At the same time,what is actively noticed by the learner can be effectively internalized.Thus,“attention”is also a non-linguistic factor that plays a significant role in language acquisition.The subjunctive mood is a major challenge in the teaching of English grammar.Generally speaking,the verbs in a sentence are used to distinguish between subjunctive and declarative sentences.In this paper,experimental utterances were written based on previous research by using verbs that are easy to cause ambiguity and confusion,and then set up the reinforced and non-reinforced attention conditions with different levels of“attention”to investigate whether there are different results and effects on subjects’comprehension of sentences under different levels of“attention”conditions.Under the different levels of“attention”,the subjects were examined to see whether there were different results in comprehension of the sentences and the impact of the different levels of“attention”.It was found that subjects in the reinforced“attention”condition comprehended sentences better,answered questions faster,and answered questions more correctly than subjects in the non-reinforced condition.This study also shed some light on English second language grammar teaching.展开更多
Mobile-assisted language learning(MALL)has been regarded as an excellent tool in the field of language acquisition as modern technology develops.The popularity of using mobile devices in education makes it possible fo...Mobile-assisted language learning(MALL)has been regarded as an excellent tool in the field of language acquisition as modern technology develops.The popularity of using mobile devices in education makes it possible for people to learn languages through platforms like tablets and smartphones from anywhere and at any time.However,the application of MALL in a collaborative student-centered environment has received comparatively little attention.Since spoken fluency and vocabulary size are the two crucial components of language proficiency,this study aims to investigate if young learners can improve their native language level through learning online beyond the classroom.The quantitative data reveal that MALL does make a difference in students’linguistic skills.The results show that the incorporation of mobile applications into language learning could better help learners achieve the learning outcomes and improve their communication skills than simply using conventional methods.In addition,the data of the questionnaire exposed some issues that need to be continuously improved.The viable suggestions are also discussed to share ideas about building a more sustainable learning environment in a data-driven age.展开更多
This study investigated the general situation of metalinguistic awareness of third language learners in Chinese universities.Data analyses showed that the level of metalinguistic awareness in those learners was signif...This study investigated the general situation of metalinguistic awareness of third language learners in Chinese universities.Data analyses showed that the level of metalinguistic awareness in those learners was significantly higher than that of second language learners.And learning a third language can improve metalinguistic awareness.展开更多
This study is a comparative research based on corpus. This article compares China's English learners with English na?tive speakers about the use of "at last" and "in the end" from three aspects...This study is a comparative research based on corpus. This article compares China's English learners with English na?tive speakers about the use of "at last" and "in the end" from three aspects: frequency of use, location, semantic prosody. The study shows that the use of the two words are greatly different between China's English learners and English native speakers. In addition, this study discusses about causes of obvious differences and teaching enlightenments.展开更多
It has long been in dispute about whether explicit grammar teaching is more effective in second language learning or implicit grammar teaching is.However,there are more than one factor to take into consideration while...It has long been in dispute about whether explicit grammar teaching is more effective in second language learning or implicit grammar teaching is.However,there are more than one factor to take into consideration while discussing which way is better for L2 learners.This short essay aims at depicting three respects concerning grammar teaching,namely learning context,language learners'beliefs and needs,and grammar instruction.When educators and practitioners try to adopt grammar instruction either implicitly or explicitly in L2 learners'writing development,they probably need to consider the above three factors and to find out the best way to produce more effective teaching results among their students.展开更多
The goal of teaching English speaking is to improve students' communicative efficiency, or make students speak the target language clearly, coherently, accurately and fluently (Xu, 2005). However, in China, a numb...The goal of teaching English speaking is to improve students' communicative efficiency, or make students speak the target language clearly, coherently, accurately and fluently (Xu, 2005). However, in China, a number of students in an English speaking class tend to be passive and reluctant to speak out or be singled out publicly mainly due to their high anxiety, which, of course, becomes a significant constraint on improving their English proficiency. Therefore, how to create a relaxed atmosphere with a sense of security in the English speaking class to alleviate Chinese learners' anxiety and to provide them with as many opportunities as possible to practice speaking English and improve their English proficiency is one of the central tasks for language teachers.his paper will firstly outline my teaching context in China in physical, pedagogical, institutional and personal aspects. This will be followed by the definition and classification of language learning anxiety, and the analysis of various factors contributing to foreign language learners' anxiety as well as some suggestions of how to reduce the learners' anxiety in the oral class according to the current literature. Finally, some applications will be presented in my teaching context in the hope of decreasing Chinese students' anxiety to enhance their English speaking proficiency.展开更多
Among the two commonly identified ways of assessment,summative assessment aims to measure,or summarize,what a student has grasped,and typically occurs at the end of a course or unit of instruction.While the formative ...Among the two commonly identified ways of assessment,summative assessment aims to measure,or summarize,what a student has grasped,and typically occurs at the end of a course or unit of instruction.While the formative assessment,which is characterized by the needs of insiders,is distinct in that it focuses on learning through assessment and the role of the learners in this process.As is well known,teachers' role in the classroom assessment is geared to formulating and scaffolding learning on the basis of on-going feedback from internal and external assessment sources.Peer review,on the other hand,is also an important component of the process of developing assessment.During the formative assessment in the EFL classroom,classroom teachers' evaluation as well as students' active peer scaffolding in group works play important roles in the decision making process.Although the formative and for learning perspective is quite different from the summative and of learning perspective in terms of theoretical and educational orientation.Neither students nor teachers should be ignored in the whole process for formative assessment.展开更多
Nowadays, the actualities of slow learners in English class are not satisfying in China. Confronted with such kind of situation, as language teachers, how to promote the slow students' learning, is one of the bigg...Nowadays, the actualities of slow learners in English class are not satisfying in China. Confronted with such kind of situation, as language teachers, how to promote the slow students' learning, is one of the biggest problems in our teaching. The paper focuses on the features of slow learners, e.g., little or improper motivation, debilitative anxiety, introversion, inhibition, etc. and the roles the slow learners play in English class, and some of the writer's personal suggestions for promoting their learning in English class as well.展开更多
This paper is organized into three main sections.In the first section,theories and related research on rhetorical patterns are reviewed.The second section analyzes and discusses the rhetorical patterns demonstrated in...This paper is organized into three main sections.In the first section,theories and related research on rhetorical patterns are reviewed.The second section analyzes and discusses the rhetorical patterns demonstrated in the essays of ESL learners in China and Canada.The paper is ended with a third section that discusses the implications of this research for the future studies and the teaching of ESL writing.展开更多
Pronunciation often gets ignored over grammar and vocabulary in EFL programs.However,words stressed incorrectly or with inappropriate pitch or intonation will impede the learner in getting the intended message across....Pronunciation often gets ignored over grammar and vocabulary in EFL programs.However,words stressed incorrectly or with inappropriate pitch or intonation will impede the learner in getting the intended message across.Phonology,then,should be an integral part of any EFL lesson.This paper examines the current situation of English pronunciation of Chinese students and aiming to present a procedural approach for incorporating phonological elements into an EFL syllabus.展开更多
基金the Humanities and Social Sciences Project,China’s Ministry of Education(Grant Number:22YJA740016)the Key Project of Hubei Provincial Department of Education Philosophy and Social Science Research Fund(No.21ZD051)the Teaching and Research Fund of Hubei University of Technology(No.Xiao2022018).
文摘While a plethora of studies has been conducted to explore demotivation and its impact on mental health in second language(L2)education,scanty research focuses on demotivation in L2 speaking learning.Particularly,little research explores the measures to quantify L2 speaking demotivation.The present two-phase study attempts to develop and validate an English Speaking Demotivation Scale(ESDS).To this end,an independent sample of 207 Chinese tertiary learners of English as a Foreign Language(EFL)participated in the development phase,and another group of 188 Chinese EFL learners was recruited for the validation of the scale.Exploratory Factor Analysis(EFA)and Confirmatory Factor Analysis(CFA)were employed to determine the factor structure of the scale.The EFA results revealed a six-factor solution with Teacher-related Factors in Learning Spoken English(TFLSE),Interest and Valence in Learning Spoken English(IVLSE),Self-efficacy in Learning Spoken English(SELSE),Negative Peer Influence in Learning Spoken English(NPILSE),Undesirable Environment for Learning Spoken English(UELSE),and Negative Influence of Assessment and Learning Materials in speaking class(NIALM).In the validation phase,Confirmatory Factor Analysis(CFA)was performed to validate the internal structure of the scale.The CFA results showed that the model fits the data well.Overall,the ESDS is a robust and trustworthy psychometric tool that could be utilized to examine L2 speaking demotivation.Implications for diminishing EFL learners’demotivation,lessening their aversive emotions and promoting their mental health are also discussed.
文摘This paper investigates how the type of written feedback provided by teachers affects learners’ ability to revise essays. A total of 120 participants participated in two rounds of essay composition and feedback delivery. The findings indicate that learners who receive comments in the form of questions are more prone to make revisions compared to those receiving statements or imperatives. These results hold significant implications for educators and the ways they utilize written feedback to enhance learners’ writing skills.
文摘The importance of listening as one of the communication skills cannot be overstated.However,in many areas,listening is neglected.For young learners,learning to listen is even more beneficial for their future studies,therefore,listening skills should be given due importance.
文摘Assessment exercises constitute a crucial component of the teaching and learning process,serving the purpose of gauging the degree to which learning objectives have been accomplished.This study aims to assess the mathematics performance of Grade 7 learners using the 50-30-20 exercise.Specifically,this study seeks to determine the learners’pre-test and post-test mean scores,identify significant differences between the pre-test and post-test results,evaluate learners’exercises,and propose enhanced exercises.The research employs a quasi-experimental design,with 40 Grade 7 learners in the school year 2023-2024 as participants,selected through purposive non-random sampling.Statistical data analysis involves the use of mean,standard deviation,paired t-test,and Cohen’s D effect size.Ethical considerations were paramount,as evidenced by a letter of authorization from the school head outlining the strict adherence to voluntary participation,informed parental consent,anonymity,confidentiality,risk mitigation,results-sharing protocols,and the commitment to keeping research data confidential.The data yielded a remarkable outcome:the experimental group exhibited improvement in both the pre-test and post-test.This result substantiates the initial objective of the study,showcasing a noteworthy and favorable performance among the participants.Consequently,it suggests that a majority of the participants strongly agree that the 50-30-20 exercises contribute to enhancing their understanding and problem-solving skills,as well as their ability to grasp mathematical concepts and improve their overall performance in mathematics.Therefore,the 50-30-20 exercises not only facilitated students in understanding mathematics lessons but were also aligned with the Department of Education’s development plan.
文摘Young learners’English(YLE)tests have become increasingly prevalent among and important to Chinese English learners and their parents.In China,parents are actively involved in their children’s education and test-taking decisions,and their participation has given rise to a series of social impacts.Although parent involvement has received increasing public and academic attention in newspaper and scholarly articles,there exists no thorough analysis of current research on parents’roles in young learners’test-taking.To address this gap,we systemically analyzed Chinese newspaper articles and academic articles between 2011 and 2021 to elicit Chinese parents’roles in YLE test-taking.Our thematic analysis of the literature identifies the ways in which parents influence their children’s test-taking experiences,and how the tests affect this influence.Specifically,our results elicit 1)parents’engagement in YLE testing;2)parents’understanding of the intended uses of YLE tests;3)parents’perception and consequences of their involvement in YLE testing;and 4)parents’backgrounds.This analysis reveals the popularity of YLE tests among young learners and their parents in China and public concern over test-related issues.It also broadens our understanding of YLE testing impact and suggests future potential research directions.
文摘This study aimed to identify the effectiveness of explicit vocabulary instruction on productive vocabulary learning in writing among intermediate school learners in Saudi Arabia,verify the existence of any statistically significant differences at the significance level of 0.01 between the mean scores of the post-test of the control group and the experimental group in the vocabulary test,and verify the existence of any statistically significant differences at the significance level of 0.01 between the mean scores of the pre-and post-test of the experimental group in the vocabulary test in favor of the post-test.The study community consisted of all intermediate school students in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia,while the study sample included 30 students.The experimental method was adopted to identify the effectiveness of explicit vocabulary instruction on productive vocabulary learning in writing and the achievement test was used as the study tool.The study reached many results including there were no statistically significant differences at the significance level of 0.01 between the mean scores of the post-test of the control group and the experimental group in the vocabulary test and there were no statistically significant differences at the significance level of 0.01 between the mean scores of the pre-and post-test of the experimental group in the vocabulary test in favor of the post-test.According to these results,some recommendations and proposals were made including training English teachers at the intermediate school level in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia,on explicit vocabulary instruction and conducting future researches on the trends of English teachers at the intermediate school level,in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia,regarding the adoption of explicit vocabulary instruction while teaching the English language.
文摘EFL learners,who study English as a foreign language,often use different learning strategies in the learning process,with positive and negative results in their academic performance.Whether these learning strategies are effective or not are questions to be explored.So,the author examined the relationship between Chinese EFL learners’test results and the use of motivated strategies for learning in English learning.Participants are students who have taken a high-stake standardized English proficiency test:IELTS(International English Language Testing System)with band score obtained.The results show that students’performance on high-stakes assessment is significantly associated with the use of motivated learning strategies like internal value in sharp contrast to test anxiety,which bears no relevance.Interviews are then implemented to candidates with different levels of English proficiency to figure out other related factors contributing to the test results.
文摘This study presents a comparative analysis of verb-noun collocation errors made by Chinese EFL learners with different language proficiency.Linguistic data from two sub-corpora of CLEC(Chinese Learner English Corpus,Gui&Yang,1999)consist of the compositions written freely by Chinese senior high school students(ST2)and the 3rd-and 4th-year English majors of Chinese universities(ST6).The study results show that four types of verb-noun collocation errors are frequently made due to incorrect L1 translation,misuse of relative synonyms,misuse of delexical verbs,and misuse of part of speech;the number of errors decreases with the development of language proficiency,especially errors by incorrect L1 translation and relative synonyms.And for both ST2 and ST6 EFL learners,errors resulted from incorrect L1 translation account for nearly a half with the same high-frequency words.It is also found that ST6 learners’competence in collocation and synonym identification doesn’t grow with the increase of their vocabulary,as is shown in the case of overusing delexical verbs in collocation,the same error made by ST2 learners,who have a significantly weaker command of delexical verbs.Implications of the findings are also discussed with the purpose of raising the awareness of collocation pedagogy and enhancing EFL learners’collocation competence.
文摘Idiom acquisition plays an important role in the process of second language learning and acquisition.Proper understanding of linguistic transfer in terms of English idiom acquisition is helpful for EFL learners to improve the efficiency of learning English and also facilitates the process of English teaching.This study examines the Chinese learner’s language transfer features manifested in their understanding of English idioms which are classified into five different types according to their linguistic forms and conceptual bases.The results suggest that equivalent linguistic forms and equivalent conceptual bases of idioms are helpful to cause positive transfer while different conceptual bases of idioms may result in negative cross-linguistic transfer.This article may contribute to the development of language transfer theory and provide pedagogical implications of how English idioms should be learned by students and taught by English teachers.
文摘“Attention”is a very vital cognitive mechanism.Cognitive psychology considers“attention”as the focus of mental activity and consciousness on an object.People engage their senses and memory to actively process the object in front of them.Theories of second language acquisition suggest that a large amount of input is the basis for language acquisition.At the same time,what is actively noticed by the learner can be effectively internalized.Thus,“attention”is also a non-linguistic factor that plays a significant role in language acquisition.The subjunctive mood is a major challenge in the teaching of English grammar.Generally speaking,the verbs in a sentence are used to distinguish between subjunctive and declarative sentences.In this paper,experimental utterances were written based on previous research by using verbs that are easy to cause ambiguity and confusion,and then set up the reinforced and non-reinforced attention conditions with different levels of“attention”to investigate whether there are different results and effects on subjects’comprehension of sentences under different levels of“attention”conditions.Under the different levels of“attention”,the subjects were examined to see whether there were different results in comprehension of the sentences and the impact of the different levels of“attention”.It was found that subjects in the reinforced“attention”condition comprehended sentences better,answered questions faster,and answered questions more correctly than subjects in the non-reinforced condition.This study also shed some light on English second language grammar teaching.
基金Youth Project of Philosophy and Social Science Planning of Henan Province“Study on the Influence of Foreign Language Learning on Chinese Students’Purity of Chinese Language”(Grant No.2023CYY038)General Project of Annual Research Topics of Henan Provincial Federation of Social Science and Technology“Study on Formation Factors and Cognitive Mechanisms of Network Harmonies and Chinese-English Mixed-Up Idioms”(Grant No.SKL-2023-1588).
文摘Mobile-assisted language learning(MALL)has been regarded as an excellent tool in the field of language acquisition as modern technology develops.The popularity of using mobile devices in education makes it possible for people to learn languages through platforms like tablets and smartphones from anywhere and at any time.However,the application of MALL in a collaborative student-centered environment has received comparatively little attention.Since spoken fluency and vocabulary size are the two crucial components of language proficiency,this study aims to investigate if young learners can improve their native language level through learning online beyond the classroom.The quantitative data reveal that MALL does make a difference in students’linguistic skills.The results show that the incorporation of mobile applications into language learning could better help learners achieve the learning outcomes and improve their communication skills than simply using conventional methods.In addition,the data of the questionnaire exposed some issues that need to be continuously improved.The viable suggestions are also discussed to share ideas about building a more sustainable learning environment in a data-driven age.
文摘This study investigated the general situation of metalinguistic awareness of third language learners in Chinese universities.Data analyses showed that the level of metalinguistic awareness in those learners was significantly higher than that of second language learners.And learning a third language can improve metalinguistic awareness.
文摘This study is a comparative research based on corpus. This article compares China's English learners with English na?tive speakers about the use of "at last" and "in the end" from three aspects: frequency of use, location, semantic prosody. The study shows that the use of the two words are greatly different between China's English learners and English native speakers. In addition, this study discusses about causes of obvious differences and teaching enlightenments.
文摘It has long been in dispute about whether explicit grammar teaching is more effective in second language learning or implicit grammar teaching is.However,there are more than one factor to take into consideration while discussing which way is better for L2 learners.This short essay aims at depicting three respects concerning grammar teaching,namely learning context,language learners'beliefs and needs,and grammar instruction.When educators and practitioners try to adopt grammar instruction either implicitly or explicitly in L2 learners'writing development,they probably need to consider the above three factors and to find out the best way to produce more effective teaching results among their students.
文摘The goal of teaching English speaking is to improve students' communicative efficiency, or make students speak the target language clearly, coherently, accurately and fluently (Xu, 2005). However, in China, a number of students in an English speaking class tend to be passive and reluctant to speak out or be singled out publicly mainly due to their high anxiety, which, of course, becomes a significant constraint on improving their English proficiency. Therefore, how to create a relaxed atmosphere with a sense of security in the English speaking class to alleviate Chinese learners' anxiety and to provide them with as many opportunities as possible to practice speaking English and improve their English proficiency is one of the central tasks for language teachers.his paper will firstly outline my teaching context in China in physical, pedagogical, institutional and personal aspects. This will be followed by the definition and classification of language learning anxiety, and the analysis of various factors contributing to foreign language learners' anxiety as well as some suggestions of how to reduce the learners' anxiety in the oral class according to the current literature. Finally, some applications will be presented in my teaching context in the hope of decreasing Chinese students' anxiety to enhance their English speaking proficiency.
文摘Among the two commonly identified ways of assessment,summative assessment aims to measure,or summarize,what a student has grasped,and typically occurs at the end of a course or unit of instruction.While the formative assessment,which is characterized by the needs of insiders,is distinct in that it focuses on learning through assessment and the role of the learners in this process.As is well known,teachers' role in the classroom assessment is geared to formulating and scaffolding learning on the basis of on-going feedback from internal and external assessment sources.Peer review,on the other hand,is also an important component of the process of developing assessment.During the formative assessment in the EFL classroom,classroom teachers' evaluation as well as students' active peer scaffolding in group works play important roles in the decision making process.Although the formative and for learning perspective is quite different from the summative and of learning perspective in terms of theoretical and educational orientation.Neither students nor teachers should be ignored in the whole process for formative assessment.
文摘Nowadays, the actualities of slow learners in English class are not satisfying in China. Confronted with such kind of situation, as language teachers, how to promote the slow students' learning, is one of the biggest problems in our teaching. The paper focuses on the features of slow learners, e.g., little or improper motivation, debilitative anxiety, introversion, inhibition, etc. and the roles the slow learners play in English class, and some of the writer's personal suggestions for promoting their learning in English class as well.
文摘This paper is organized into three main sections.In the first section,theories and related research on rhetorical patterns are reviewed.The second section analyzes and discusses the rhetorical patterns demonstrated in the essays of ESL learners in China and Canada.The paper is ended with a third section that discusses the implications of this research for the future studies and the teaching of ESL writing.
文摘Pronunciation often gets ignored over grammar and vocabulary in EFL programs.However,words stressed incorrectly or with inappropriate pitch or intonation will impede the learner in getting the intended message across.Phonology,then,should be an integral part of any EFL lesson.This paper examines the current situation of English pronunciation of Chinese students and aiming to present a procedural approach for incorporating phonological elements into an EFL syllabus.