A Collaborative Learning Perspective on EFL Large Class Meaning Negotiation

The increasing enrollment in China pushed EFL teaching to confront with new challenges： the inexorable trend of large-class English teaching in many universities. On analyzing the problems and essential tips in large class teaching, this paper sheds new light on how to implement collaborative learning （CL） in English large classes to improve students＇ negotiation of meaning. To effectively promote students＇ communication, detailed and careful design has been made to carry out various CL structural approaches. Under the quantitative analysis of the statistics, the findings indicate that students obviously talked more with CL approaches in the task-based activities.

A Brief Analysis of Meaning Negotiation between Teachers and Students

Meaning negotiation builds the connection that speakers communicate and cooperate.It is also the interaction to solve dif⁃ficulties in comprehension.By researching the problems of English classroom teaching,this paper finds the necessity and the ad⁃vantages of meaning negotiation between teachers and students that is compared with traditional classroom teaching.It makes sug⁃gestions on how teachers take teaching activities and introductory ways to make meaning negotiation work.

An Empirical Study of Meaning Negotiation from the Perspective of Task Characteristics——Task Difficulty and Task Complexity

文章首先概括了意义协商的概念、分类、基本模式、重要作用及其与任务特性——任务难度、复杂度的关系。以此为基础,本研究着重探讨了任务特性——任务复杂度及任务难度对意义协商的质与量的影响。实验中的受试为吉林大学英语专业40名本科生。本实验采用了三种研究方法:4项以小组讨论为主的任务、问卷调查和访谈。本研究的主要发现是:任务复杂度对意义协商的质的影响错综复杂、极不均衡;协调作用不容忽视——认知难度较大的任务,受试所运用语言的复杂度越高,但其准确度、流利度较低;反之亦然;任务的认知难度与意义协商的量相互作用;任务复杂度与任务难度呈正相关。

Autonomy in Scaffolding as Learning in Teacher-Student Negotiation of Meaning in a University EFL Classroom

Based upon sociocultural theory, this study investigates the dynamics of the teacher＇s roles and learner autonomy in the process of scaffolding in teacher-student negotiation of meaning in an EFL classroom, The participants were 25 undergraduate students and a Chinese teacher of English at a university in China. The teacher-student dialogue was the central mechanism mediating the construction of negotiation of meaning and form in language learning. The analysis of classroom discourse and the teacher＇s retrospection from an interview illustrated the teacher＇s different roles in interaction, where scaffolding acted as a structured pedagogical tool. The study revealed that the learners were afforded assistance to progress from other- regulation to self-regulation, and consequently, the teacher exploited opportunities to enhance learner autonomy in negotiation of spaces for autonomy in classroom teaching. The study has probed into the significance of the teacher＇s capacity of controlling scaffolding effectively and generated implications for teacher development and learner training.

Conversing in Spanish at a Seniors Center： A Brief Experience of Community-Based and Foreign-Language Learning

This pilot study explored the linguistic gains of intermediate level Spanish learners who completed community-based learning at a Spanish-speaking seniors center. Leamers had the opportunity, rare in foreign-language instruction, to discuss topics from their textbook in authentic native/non-native dyads. The interactions also allowed the seniors to fulfill an identified community needed by socializing in Spanish. Analyses of a post-service survey revealed that learners assessed the experience positively, because they spoke Spanish creatively. Seniors were described as cooperative and fun interlocutors, suggesting that age difference minimally affected the interactions. Direct observation revealed that learners managed to produce L2 Spanish output in connected speech for an extended period of time. Likewise, the seniors enjoyed a moment of socialization and first language use while sharing their views on the topics of discussion with the young visitors. Seniors＇ active participation likely encouraged learners to cope with sudden switches of topics that required negotiating for meaning and pushing the still limited interlanguages. A new service leaming study proposes to investigate the use of native/non-native dyads in Spanish in fulfilling a dual function： socialization and first language maintenance for the seniors at the center and language learning for the students.

An Empirical Study on Interaction in EFL Classrooms in Middle Schools in Western Areas of China

Interaction in EFL （English as a foreign language） classrooms has received much attention in recent years However, little research exists that has investigated interaction in Chinese EFL classrooms. To bridge this gap, the current research investigates interaction in EFL classrooms in middle schools in China in terms of： （1） the amount of teacher talk and interaction; （2） the type of teacher questions and teacher feedbacks; and （3） the amount and forms of meaning negotiation. The data set include observation records and observation reports of 140 naturally occurring lessons in middle schools in China. The findings reveal that there is not much interaction in EFL lessons in middle schools in western areas of China, which is shown by class time dominated by TTT （teacher talking time）, teacher questions and feedbacks that do not encourage students＇ responses and very little negotiation of meaning Possible causes are analyzed, and implications of this research for EFL teaching in China, teacher development and further research are also discussed