Systematizing Teacher Development:A Review of Foreign Language Teacher Learning

Foreign language teaching practice is developing rapidly,but research on foreign language teacher learning is currently relatively fragmented and unstructured.The book Foreign Language Teacher Learning,written by Professor Kang Yan from Capital Normal University,published in September 2022,makes a systematic introduction to foreign language teacher learning,which to some extent makes up for this shortcoming.Her book presents the lineage of foreign language teacher learning research at home and abroad,analyzes both theoretical and practical aspects,reviews the cuttingedge research results,and foresees the future development trend,painting a complete research picture for researchers in the field of foreign language teaching and teacher education as well as front-line teachers interested in foreign language teacher learning.This is an important inspiration for conducting foreign language teacher learning research in the future.And this paper makes a review of the book from aspects such as its content,major characteristics,contributions and limitations.

Reading Loss in Arabic Language During COVID-19 in the UAE and Proposed Solutions:The Perspectives of Primary-Grade Arabic Language Teachers

The COVID-19 pandemic caused significant disruptions in the field of education worldwide,including in the United Arab Emirates.Teachers and students had to adapt to remote learning and virtual classrooms,leading to various challenges in maintaining educational standards.The sudden transition to remote teaching could have a negative impact on students’reading abilities,especially in the Arabic language.To gain insight into the unique challenges encountered by Arabic language teachers in the UAE,a survey was conducted to explore their assessment of teaching quality,student-teacher interaction,and learning outcomes amidst the COVID-19 pandemic.The results of the survey revealed a significant decline of student reading abilities and identified several major issues in online Arabic language teaching.These issues included limited interaction between students and teachers,challenges in monitoring students’class participation and performance,and challenges in effectively assessing students’reading skills.The results also demonstrated some other challenges faced by Arabic language teachers,including a lack of preparedness,a lack of subscription to relevant platforms,and a lack of resources for online learning.Several solutions to these challenges are proposed,including reevaluating the balance between depth and breadth in the curriculum,integrating language skills into the curriculum more effectively,providing more comprehensive teacher professional development,implementing student grouping strategies,utilizing retired and expert teachers in specific content areas,allocating time for interventions,and improving support from both teachers and parents to ensure the quality of online learning.

Research on the Status Quo and Improvement Needs of Foreign Language Teachers’ Teaching Competence in Curriculum-Based Ideological Education in Xinjiang Colleges and Universities

This study investigated the status quo and further improvement needs of foreign language teachers’teaching competence in curriculum-based ideological education(CIE)in Xinjiang colleges and universities.The results show that the teachers’teaching competence in CIE is generally good,with the“cultivating quality”being the highest and the“scientific research quality”the lowest;there still exist several problems,such as teachers’lack of theoretical knowledge in CIE,lack of teaching resources,and insufficient abilities in teaching design and research.It is hoped that with the support and efforts from university administrations,teachers can improve their teaching competence in CIE through various approaches adopted and multiple measures taken,thus optimizing their teaching effectiveness,promoting the construction of CIE in Xinjiang colleges and universities in the new era,and contributing to Xinjiang’s high-quality development.

Evaluating the role of large language models in inflammatory bowel disease patient information

This letter evaluates the article by Gravina et al on ChatGPT’s potential in providing medical information for inflammatory bowel disease patients.While promising,it highlights the need for advanced techniques like reasoning+action and retrieval-augmented generation to improve accuracy and reliability.Emphasizing that simple question and answer testing is insufficient,it calls for more nuanced evaluation methods to truly gauge large language models’capabilities in clinical applications.

The Role and Value of Sociolinguistics in English Language Teaching

This paper aims to explore how the study of sociolinguistics can benefit teachers,particularly in the context of teaching English as a Foreign Language(EFL)in China.The article will first examine how sociolinguistic knowledge can reshape teachers’perceptions of“English,”focusing on aspects such as English varieties,World Englishes,and Chinese English.Following that,the article discusses the necessity of rethinking current practices in English language teaching,including the nativeness paradigm and the concept of communicative competence based on a reconceptualized view of“English.”Additionally,the discussion will focus on how teachers,informed by sociolinguistic awareness of non-native teachers’identities and teacher agency,can address and resolve existing challenges in EFL teaching.Finally,the article will conclude by summarizing the key issues discussed and highlighting the significance of studying sociolinguistics for language practitioners in China.

Reflections on Conducting Kindergarten Language Education Activities Based on Children’s Literature

In early childhood education,language education is a crucial component,yet in kindergarten teaching,there often exists issues such as“emphasis on knowledge and neglect of practice.”To address this problem,teachers need to incorporate children’s literature in a reasonable manner to create a conducive environment for language education for young children.This article analyzes and discusses the significance of integrating children’s literature into kindergarten language education activities,and proposes strategies for addressing the current issues in kindergarten language education activities and conducting them based on children’s literature.

A Lonely Journey:An Autoethnography of the Fifteen-Year Identity Construction of a Female ESP Teacher in China

This autoethnographic study explores from a sociocultural perspective the author’s identity construction journey as a female English-for-specific-purposes(ESP)teacher at a university in China for more than 15 years.It delves into the author’s evolving exercise between teacher agency and language policy within both institutional and national contexts.The author aims to voice for marginalized ESP teachers and create a space for them to better negotiate with English-for-general-purposes(EGP)colleagues,academic staff,and policy makers.This study highlights the significance of autoethnography in teacher identity research,particularly for niche ESP teachers who direct novel enterprises through bottom-up implementation.Furthermore,the author emphasizes humanism behind ESP instruction,which significantly expands the view that the ESP features instrumental value.She also advocates for comprehensive support to sustain ESP teaching innovation,ESP teachers’identity construction,and their professional development.These insights have implications for all accountable parties in the context of educational reform to enable constructive negotiation,for ESP teachers to develop their sense of empowerment,and for inclusive education to become more accessible.

Language teachers should develop students' vocabulary learning skills

It is self-evident that vocabulary work is the most essential and necessary task in foreign language accepition. English language teachers should develop students’ vocabulary learning skills.

Interpreting the Adaptation of Vague Language in English Teacher Talk

Vagueness is a linguistic phenomenon which ubiquitously exists in the communication of human languages. The use of vague language in teacher talk has an important effect on classroom interaction and teaching results. This paper, based on Verschueren's Adaptation Theory, mainly explores the adaptability of vague language in English teacher talk in the communicative classroom context. The study shows that employment of vague language in English teacher talk adapts to the communicative contextual factors. Interpreting vague language in teacher talk is conducive to understanding the dynamic process of language use.

The Role of Teachers’Apperception in Herbart’s Theory for Chinese Teaching in Shenzhen Primary Schools of China

This paper deeply analyzes the practical application of Herbart’s educational concept in contemporary education and teaching,especially its guiding significance to the primary school Chinese classroom in Shenzhen area.Herbart proposed that teachers should play a key role in students’cognitive process,that is,help students better understand and master new knowledge by combining it with existing knowledge.The survey results show that although teachers have some understanding of Herbart’s educational philosophy,it is not widely used in the concrete teaching process.However,the study also shows that there is a positive relationship between Herbart’s theory and students’academic performance,indicating that it plays an important role in improving students’interest and engagement in learning.The research also reveals the differences between educational concepts and practices,as well as the uneven distribution of educational resources,and puts forward measures to alleviate these contradictions,such as strengthening teacher training,improving teaching methods,and emphasizing moral education.At the same time,the study also highlights the critical role of teachers in promoting knowledge integration,arousing learning enthusiasm,shaping students’moral character,and promoting personal and professional growth.

Vagueness in Teachers' Spoken Language

Politeness symbolizes human civilization,and is one of conduct codes of human beings.As a social activity,language use is subject to this code as well.Pragmatic vagueness is a common phenomenon in spoken discourse.Furthermore,it is an important strategy widely used in teachers' spoken language.Based on the politeness principle,this thesis explores the pragmatic vagueness by analyzing teachers' spoken discourse.Employing pragmatic vagueness in teacher's spoken language can smooth the relationship between teachers and students,and help teachers gain foremost effect on the education to their students.

Critically Evaluate Foreign Language Teachers Training in Culture and Intercultural Communication

The aim of foreign language teaching in the contemporary is to develop foreign language talents who own intercultural competence.Thus,it is necessary to improve teachers’cultural quality and intercultural awareness.The paper explores some relevant training courses on culture and intercultural awareness,and discusses the deficiency of these courses.

Intercultural Language Education and the Challenges Chinese College English Teachers Face

Currently,intercultural language education is a topic which receives much interest due to the rise of globalization,but theories and practice in this field are on the preliminary stage of development in China.To understand ILE better,its background,theory basis,goals,related researches are reviewed and analyzed.Since ILE is relatively new in China,language teachers are facing new challenges in developing intercultural teaching competence to achieve the success of language education.Such challenges consist of understanding the language itself,the difficulty in understanding and teaching culture,designing practical classroom activities and selecting content.

外语教师发展的有效策略——评介Jack C.Richards所著Professional Development for Language Teachers:Strategies for Teacher Learning

J.C.Richards教授在英语语言教学和教师培训领域的实践经历与理论研究,对其本人关于"语言教师发展"思想体系的构建起到了积极的促进作用。他于2005年出版的Professional Development for Language Teachers:Strategies for Teacher Learning(《语言教师专业发展:教师学习策略》)一书论述了"教师教育"的本质,分析了关于"教师发展"的六个重要观点,尤其是对语言教师发展策略进行系统性阐述,以章节形式对十一种发展策略进行全面细致的介绍,并附有具体事例、教师反思、参考书目等。该书是作者对英语语言教师发展领域的理论研究及实践经验的总结,其内容及框架在注重理论知识的科学性和系统性的同时,也突出了实践操作的必要性和可行性,可以作为我国外语教师开展职业发展、提升职业素质的有益参考。

Two Necessary Elements of Being A Good Language Teacher

How to be a good language teacher has always been a hot topic in both academic and practical areas.This passage discusses about two elements which are important in the view of the author.A good lesson and the role of a teacher have been discussed in this passage.

An Intervention Study of Language Cognition and Emotional Speech Community Method for Children’s Speech Disorders

Speech disorders are a common type of childhood disease.Through experimental intervention,this study aims to improve the vocabulary comprehension levels and language ability of children with speech disorders through the language cognition and emotional speech community method.We also conduct a statistical analysis of the inter-ventional effect.Among children with speech disorders in Dongguan City,224 were selected and grouped accord-ing to their receptive language ability and IQ.The 112 children in the experimental group(EG)received speech therapy with language cognitive and emotional speech community,while the 112 children in the control group(CG)only received conventional treatment.After six months of experimental intervention,the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test-Revised(PPVT-R)was used to test the language ability of the two groups.Overall,we employed a quantitative approach to obtain numerical values,examine the variables identified,and test hypotheses.Further-more,we used descriptive statistics to explore the research questions related to the study and statistically describe the overall distribution of the demographic variables.The statistical t-test was used to analyze the data.The data shows that after intervention through language cognition and emotional speech community therapy,the PPVT-R score of the EG was significantly higher than that of the CG.Therefore,we conclude that there is a significant difference in language ability between the EG and CG after the therapy.Although both groups improved,the post-therapy language level of EG is significantly higher than that of CG.The total effective rate in EG is higher than CG,and the difference is statistically significant(p<0.05).Therefore,we conclude that the language cogni-tion and emotional speech community method is effective as an interventional treatment of children’s speech dis-orders and that it is more effective than traditional treatment methods.

Sociocultural Theory on Interaction between Teachers and Learners in a Second Language Classroom

This article offers an overview of theoretical ideas and recent empirical research by referring to the interactive communication between teachers and learners in a second language classroom.Both the interaction of teacher-centered classroom and learner-centered classroom are reviewed within the context of sociocultural theory.The paper attempts to indicate the better effect of language learning can be achieved by complementing one another in the classroom of teacher-centeredness and learner-centeredness.

Curriculum Innovation in Language Teacher Education:Reflections on the PGDELT Program’s Contributions to EFL Teachers’Continuing Professional Development

Initial teacher preparation and teachers’ continuing professional development are two significant pillars of the teacher education enterprise. The former encompasses a wide range of teachereducation initiatives at the levels of diploma, bachelor’s degree, postgraduate diploma, and even master’s degree for teacher licensure purposes. These are widely documented in the literature.What is important is how teacher professional development contributes to bolstering the teachereducator force, which is relatively insufficiently documented due to the very fact that different educational systems have somewhat different expectations of such programs in relation to the ideologies and theories underpinning the teacher professional development program design and curriculum offering. Taking stock of a postgraduate diploma program in English language teaching(PGDELT) for teachers’ continuing professional development with a 31-year history housed at a premier teacher education institution in Singapore, which has successfully graduated over 1, 000 English language teachers for colleges and universities in China, I intend to highlight some of its key features, as a former student and then a lecturer on the program, in order to draw implications for sustainable growth of language teacher education programs, especially those whose main purposes are to prepare teachers of English as a second or foreign language(ESL/EFL) and provide continuing professional development opportunities for such inservice teachers.

The Perceptions of Chinese ELT Stakeholders on the Employment of Foreign English Language Teachers

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.