A Critique of Ali Shehadeh's Non-native Speakers'Production of Modified Comprehensible Output and Second Language Learning

This study examined the NNSs' ability of modifying their interlanguage utterances in modified comprehensible output to give response to other-initiation and self-initiation,which was studied in both NS-NNS and NNS-NNS interactions.It was the qualitative study by using two different tasks which were picture-dictation task and opinion-exchange task to collect the data.There were 32 participants whose age ranged of 22 to 37.The author proposed two hypotheses based on his expectation that NNS-NNS interactions would provide more opportunities for NNS participants to give comprehensible output for other-initiated clarification requests and self-initiated clarification attempts than NS-NNS interactions.The author was good at using numbers to illustrate and describe the data in his writing.

Native Speaker and L2 User in Language Teaching

The target of much language teaching and learning is to make students approximate to native speakers.The only rightful speak ers of a language are its native speakers.Contrary to these contemporary views,however,this paper argues that the obligation of the lan guage teacher is to help students to use L2 effectively not to simply imitate native speaker.A successful L2 user who comes from the group of L2 learners can be a model for students.Therefore,non-native teachers with a high degree of language proficiency and good teaching skills can be ideal and qualified language teachers.

In the Age of ‘World Englishes’,Native Speaker Teachers or Non-native Speaker Teachers?

This paper attempts to argue that in the age of‘World Englishes', it is not necessary to differentiate native speaker teachers from non-native speaker teachers. It is concluded that non-native speaker teachers can be as effective as their native colleagues and they have equal chance to achieve professional success, even though native speaker teachers have great advantages over non-native teachers in some aspects. It is time for employers, as well as ELT professionals to shut their eyes to the glaring differences between native speaker teachers and non-native speaker teachers and optimize such unique resources.

The Potential Cultural Differences in Native-speaker Teacher's Language Classroom

While the majority of nonnative speaker English teachers teach alongside NS teachers,research on the role of native speaker English teachers in China's teaching context and the attitudes of university students towards them have been rarely conducted.This essay discusses the implications of cultural differences for the language classroom,and the different cultures of learning with regard to language teaching and learning in China and the Wes.The conclusion suggests that it is of great importance to have a good sense of cultural awareness and an open mind for cultural interactions,in order to benefit both language learners and native speaker teachers in the cross-cultural classroom.

Chinese Native Speakers' Counterfactuals Revisited

This paper examines whether or not Chinese native speakers (CNSs) have difficulties in understanding English counterfactuals, whether CNSs have counterfactual reasoning problems in their own language, what the causes of these difficulties may be, and the problems in teaching English subjunctives. It also proposes on how to improve CNSs’ English counterfactual comprehension.

Chinese Students' Views on the Native- speaker English Teachers——A Case Study of One University

It is believed by both educationalists and policy makers that qualified native speaker English teachers with sound educational background and training play an important role in EFL teaching in China.But research on the attitudes of Chinese university students towards native English teachers has rarely been conducted.This paper aims to investigate the students'perceptions of their own experience in the native speaker teachers'classrooms and identify the students'attitudes towards native speaker English teachers.The conclusion suggests that native speaker teachers use the communicative approach in teaching,and they are also aware of the cultural difference in class and willing to adapt either culturally or pedagogically.The Chinese students have positive attitudes towards native English teachers and would like to work with them for some courses.Meanwhile,they also agree that Chinese teachers of English play an important role,and they need teachers from both cultures.

Native/Non-native English Speakers’Attitudes:Addressing Learners’Goals and Needs Towards Pronunciation Issues

The study attempts to explore native and non-native English speakers’attitudes towards accents and pronunciation-related issues.The sample group surveyed is composed of non-native English speakers,specifically,Italian students studying at the University of Calabria(Italy)and native English speakers from Alberta University(Canada)and Florida Atlantic University(USA).An online link to a questionnaire was sent via email to all participants and was used as a research instrument to collect quantitative data.The research questions will investigate learners’attitudes in relation to the following aspects:accent and identity,beliefs about native/non-native accents,impact of pronunciation on communication,and learners’expectations towards pronunciation teaching.Firstly,mean scores in relation to the aforementioned aspects will be examined.Secondly,differences between native/non-native speakers’responses will be statistically analysed.Thirdly,non-native learners’responses will be correlated with their proficiency level in English to identify the extent to which language competence may affect learners’attitudes.The study aims to gain useful insights that may hopefully raise students and teachers’awareness of what models we expect learners to imitate and attain in the English language classroom,how appropriate and relevant these may be especially in the globalized English world where non-native speakers will increasingly use English in a diversity of forms to achieve their communicative goals.The preliminary results will be presented and pedagogical considerations suggested.

Native-speakerism in China:An Investigation of Foreign Language Education Policy and Learners’Attitudes

With the development of globalization,the use of English is no longer restricted to native speaker(NS)but also widely spread to non-native speaker(NNS).The importance of English learning is also acknowledged by Expanding and Outer Circle,and English as a foreign language(EFL)education plays a significant role in China’s education.Admitting the fact that non-native English teachers(NNESTs)take up a large proportion of English teachers,English language teaching(ELT)is still greatly influenced by native-speakerism.This research aims to investigate language ideologies reflected in Chinese foreign language education policy(FLEP)at higher education level,and Chinese English learners’attitudes towards native-speakerism and English teachers.A mixed method of policy analysis and survey is adopted in this research.After conducting analysing two FLEPs in higher education level,it is found that linguistic instrumentalism is the prominent language ideology,although native-speakerism and standard English ideology is implicitly demonstrated.Questionnaire is used to investigate 58 Chinese English learners’attitudes,revealing that most participants do not demonstrate bias towards either NESTs or NNESTs.Instead,the strengths and weaknesses of both NEST and NNEST are identified,though participants adhere to native-speakerism in terms of English variety.Overall,English learner’s attitudes are consistent with language ideologies in FLEPs.This research may provide implications for future studies on addressing native-speakerism in Chinese FLEPs,as well as relationship of students’attitudes and language policies.

Overview of Native-speaker English Teacher Versus Non-native-speaker English Teacher

As much more non-native-speaker English teachers teach alongside native-speaker English teachers, either in China or any other non-English-speaking country, research on the differences between native-speaker English teacher and non-native-speaker English teacher is necessary. This paper offers an overview of such difference between the two groups of English teachers in terms of their strengths and weaknesses, teaching styles and approaches. The conclusion suggests that cooperation and communication be emphsised and that the two groups of teachers communicate more and exchange their ideas on how to teach the same group of students more effectively.

Exploring Native-speakerism in EFL Textbooks in China

At present,in China,most EFL textbooks are dominated by inner circle norms.This dominance may fail to address the increasing need of developing students’multilingual negotiating abilities outside the inner-circle countries(Canagarajah,2006a),which makes students unprepared for the globalized context and postmodern discourses.Facing the tendency,how hegemony position of inner circle norms dominate English textbooks in the Chinese EFL classroom is analyzed here and some pedagogical implications to cultivate students’multilingual awareness are drawn so as to develop their multilingual competence in face of nativespeakerism surrounding the teaching materials and ELT pedagogy.

广州市粤、闽、客方言母语大学生语言态度与语言使用调查

广州市是我国重要的大都市,人口众多且来源复杂。粤、闽、客方言母语大学生是广州市外来人口的重要一支,他们的语言背景、语言能力不同。来到大学校园后,这些大学生的语言观念发生了一定的变化,由此带来了语言使用的改变。通过对这些大学生的语言能力、语言态度、语言使用的调查,可以发现三者相互影响。在调查中,被试对普通话的正面评价及使用普通话的频次明显高于其他方言,粤语位居第二。在与之相关的语言学习需求及语言消费意愿调查中,被试对粤语的学习需求及语言消费意愿明显高于其他方言。此研究有助于拓宽共同语和方言的态度研究,调查结果和结论对广州城市语言政策和语言规划的制定和调整,以及做好城市语言服务工作等,具有重要参考意义。

一部挑战翻译理论传统原则的学术新作——读Challenging the Traditional Axioms: Translation into a Non-Mother Tongue一书

翻译研究界一般认为译者只能译为其母语,即译者只能进行直接翻译,而译为非母语即逆向翻译则饱受责难。在Challenging the Traditional Axioms:Translation into a Non-Mother Tongue一书中,作者博康以理论分析、语料分析与问卷调查的方式,挑战了"译者只能译为其母语"的传统观念,指出这种观念所赖以生存的"母语"与"本族语者"两个概念的不客观性与非确定性,梳理了翻译理论中与逆向翻译相关的种种观点。此外,博康运用语料分析与问卷调查的方法,指出翻译界种种传统假定的片面性,并论证了"译为非母语"的可行性。

母语者和中高级水平留学生汉语逻辑义和语用义理解的在线实验

采用移动窗口技术和选择任务,考察了母语者和中高级水平留学生对时间型、等级型、数字型和完成型等4类汉语句子逻辑义和语用义的理解与选择特点。结果表明,在汉语句子理解中总体上表现为语用义占优势;中级水平留学生对时间型和等级型句子的理解逻辑义占有一定优势,对数字型句子的理解语用义占较大优势,对完成型句子的理解逻辑义和语用义的选择具有无偏性;母语者和高级水平留学生对各类汉语句子的理解均表现为语用义占优势;随着汉语水平提高,语用义的优势越明显。本研究初步表明,不同类型学习者在汉语句子阅读后所形成的心理表征中,语言形式与逻辑义及语用义的心理联结强度存在着差异,这可能影响了汉语句子的意义解读。

英语媒介语在面向非英语母语者汉语教学中的支架作用

非英语母语国家的汉语学习者有不少将英语作为第二语言,汉语是其正在学习的第三语言。在汉语目的语环境下,特别是多国别混班教学中师生双方都会将英语作为共通的媒介语使用。本研究通过考察学界对英语媒介语的看法,师生对英语的接受程度,以及英语在教师教学、教材编写、学生学习中的功能表现,提出英语媒介语可作为对非英语母语者进行汉语教学的支架使用,其具有可选性,使用原则为适时提供、适度运用、适时撤除。

Unsuccessful letter–sound integration in English reading by native Chinese speakers: evidence from an event related potentials study

Integrating letters and sounds are essential for successful reading in alphabetic languages. It remains unclear if native speakers of non-alphabetic languages integrate letters and sounds in reading an alphabetic language in the same way as native alphabetic readers do.Chinese is a morpho-syllabic system(each character corresponds to one syllable) and contrasts sharply with alphabetic languages such as English. Several f MRI studies have shown that native Chinese speakers apply their native language system to read English words. By using the crossmodal mismatch negativity(MMN) paradigm, we directly investigated letter–sound integration for reading in English among native Chinese speakers. To investigate the effect of native language background on letter–sound integration in second language reading, a group of native Korean English learners served as a comparison group. We compared MMN responses between an auditory only condition(only vowels presented) and two audiovisual conditions(AV0,vowel presented synchronously with the corresponding letter; AV200, the letter presented 200 ms before the corresponding vowel) for both native Chinese and native Korean speakers. Native Chinese speakers demonstrated significantly attenuated MMN amplitudes in audiovisual conditions compared with the auditory only condition,regardless of their phonological decoding speed. In contrast, native Korean speakers showed amplified amplitude MMN in AV200 compared with that in the auditory only condition. The results suggest that native language may shape the brain responses of second language learners to reading a second language in the early stages. Native nonalphabetic language speakers may be unable to use visual information to facilitate their phonological processing in the early stage while native alphabetic language speakers are capable of integrating letter sounds automatically.

中国英语学习者加工英语反身代词歧义句的策略研究

本文通过移动窗口的自定步速阅读范式,考察中国英语学习者采取何种策略加工英语反身代词歧义句,以及如何理解歧义反身代词。实验表明,与带有性别线索的无歧义反身代词相比,中国英语学习者在加工英语歧义反身代词时,反应时没有显著增长。这一结果说明中国英语学习者与英语母语者的加工策略类似,支持非限制竞赛模型对结果的解释,不支持“足够好”理论、识解模型和不指定加工理论对结果的解释,同时否定了基于制约的加工模型。在解歧倾向上,两组被试对歧义反身代词回指的理解不同,具体表现为英语母语者倾向于理解为临近词(NP2),而中国英语学习者则理解为中心词(NP1),说明了跨语言影响在二语句法解歧中的作用。

藏语母语者汉语词汇识别的眼动研究

采用眼动技术,通过两个实验考察了藏语母语者在不同语境中阅读汉语句子时,字形、语音信息在词汇识别中分别发挥的作用以及词频效应。结果发现:(1)在高限制性句子语境中,字形和语音共同作用;(2)在低限制性句子语境中,语音作用显著;(3)词频效应出现在高限制性语境的晚期,以及低限制性语境的中期和晚期。该结果表明,在藏语母语者阅读汉语的过程中,句子语境影响词汇识别过程中字形、语音的作用及作用的时间进程,藏语母语者汉语词汇识别符合双通道理论。

从学习者视角看中外英语教师

在全球化的今天，虽然英语为非母语的教师在数量上占绝大多数，但语言能力上的制约使他们仍然不能与英语母语教师进行公平竞争。笔者通过调查了中国英语学习者对中国英语教师和外籍教师的看法发现，中国学生认为两者各有其独特优势。外籍教师擅长教授口语和词汇，而中国教师在读写、语法等课程上有优势，并且他们更理解学生并能提供情感上的支持。研究结果还表明：单凭语言能力并不能在教学上获得成功，英语为非母语教师虽然在语言上有其弱点，但完全应该享有与母语教师一样的成功机会。

听觉任务下汉语母语者对不同类型时间句的加工

采用听觉刺激-口头问答任务考察汉语母语者对指示性时间句和顺序性时间句的加工。结果表明:(1)对指示性时间句,被试的加工不受听觉刺激的呈现位置影响,时间概念与空间知觉之间无法形成对应的自动化联结;(2)对顺序性时间句,汉语母语者对出现在前方的"较早"事件和出现在后方的"较晚"事件反应快,出现了隐喻一致性效应,即汉语母语者更倾向于用"前"表示过去,用"后"表示未来。整个研究表明,对于汉语母语者而言,"自我参照点"和"时间参照点"两大时间隐喻系统都具有心理现实性,二者之间的区别在于是否有运动经验参与,并由此造成汉语母语者在听觉任务中对指示性时间句和顺序性时间句加工的差异。