刊讯｜SSCI 期刊 《应用语言学评论》 2024年第1-3期

Applied Linguistics Review

Volume 15, Issue 1-3, 2024

Applied Linguistics Review（SSCI一区，2023 IF：2.1，排名：37/194）2024年第1-3期共发文44篇，其中研究性论文35篇，评论9篇。研究论文涉及二语使用搭配、语言景观、外语教学、英语写作、社会文化、文本类型、多语言环境归属感、警务语言、语料库研究、概念隐喻、社区语言多元能力、语言文化等。欢迎转发扩散！

往期推荐：

刊讯｜SSCI 期刊《应用语言学评论》2023年第5-6期

刊讯｜SSCI 期刊 《应用语言学评论》2023年第3-4期

刊讯｜SSCI 期刊《应用语言学评论》2023年第1-2期

目录

Issue 1

ARTICLES

■ Communicating across educational boundaries: accommodation patterns in adolescents’ online interactions, by Lisa Hilte, Walter Daelemans, Reinhild Vandekerckhove, Pages 1–29.

■ Tracking telecollaborative tasks through design, feedback, implementation, and reflection processes in pre-service language teacher education, by Semih Ekin, Ufuk Balaman, Fatma Badem-Korkmaz, Pages 31–60.

■ Individual versus pair work on L2 speech acts: production and cognitive processes, by Ming-Fang Lin, Yuan-shan Chen, Hui-Ju Wu, Pages 61–82.

■ Self-identity construction and pragmatic compensation in a Chinese DAT elder’s discourse, by Lihe Huang, Qi Zhu, Deyu Zhou, Pages 83–117.

■ Verbal and nonverbal disagreement in an ELF academic discussion task, by Chen Liu, Kim McDonough, Pavel Trofimovich, Pakize Uludag, Pages 119–134.

■ Relationships between struggling EFL writers’ motivation, self-regulated learning (SRL), and writing competence in Hong Kong primary schools, by Barry Bai, Wenjuan Guo, Chuang Wang, Pages 135–159.

■ Chinese university students’ self-regulated writing strategy use and EFL writing performance: influences of self-efficacy, gender, and major

, by Bin Shen, Barry Bai, Pages 161–188.

■ Does one size fit all? The scope and type of error in direct feedback effectiveness, by Chian-Wen Kao, Pages 189–218.

■ Immersing learners in English listening classroom: does self-regulated learning instruction make a difference?, by Jian Xu, Kaizhou Luo, Pages 219–240.

■ The pedagogical potential of speech-language therapy materials for the teaching of idiomatic expressions in a foreign language, by Francisco J. Rodríguez-Muñoz, Pages 241–261.

■ “This topic was inconsiderate of our culture”: Jordanian students’ perceptions of intercultural clashes in IELTS writing tests, by Abdel Rahman Mitib Altakhaineh, Sílvia Melo-Pfeifer, Pages 263–286.

■ Positioning of female marriage immigrants in South Korea: a multimodal textbook analysis, by So-Yeon Ahn, Gordon Blaine West, Pages 287–307.

■ Hearing parents learning American Sign Language with their deaf children: a mixed-methods survey, by Amy M. Lieberman, Julie Mitchiner, Elana Pontecorvo, Pages 309–333.

■ Teacher resilience and triple crises: Confucius Institute teachers’ lived experiences during the Covid-19 pandemic, by Xiuchuan Lu, Zhu Hua, Pages 335–354.

■ Translanguaging in self-praise on Chinese social media

, by Wei Ren, Yaping Guo, Pages 355–376.

Issue 2

ARTICLES

■ ELF- or NES-oriented pedagogy: enhancing learners’ intercultural communicative competence using a dual teaching model, by Antonio Taglialatela, Pages 377–401.

■ “You can’t start a fire without a spark”. Enjoyment, anxiety, and the emergence of flow in foreign language classrooms, by Jean-Marc Dewaele, Peter MacIntyre, Pages 403–426.

■ “You have to repeat Chinese to mother!”: multilingual identity, emotions, and family language policy in transnational multilingual families, by Fei Tang, Raees Calafato, Pages 427–448.

■ On the influence of the first language on orthographic competences in German as a second language: a comparative analysis, by Hans-Georg Müller, Christoph Schroeder, Pages 449–473.

■ Validating the conceptual domains of elementary school teachers’ knowledge and needs vis-à-vis the CLIL approach in Chinese-speaking contexts, by Mei-Jung Wang, Li-Zu Yang, Wen-Hsien Yang, Pages 475–503.

■ Agentive engagement in intercultural communication by L2 English-speaking international faculty and their L2 English-speaking host colleagues, by Dae-Min Kang, Pages 505–530.

REVIEWS

■ Illuminating insights into subjectivity: Q as a methodology in applied linguistics research, by Athip Thumvichit, Pages 531–554.

ARTICLES

■ Making sense of trans-translating in blogger subtitling: a netnographic approach to translanguaging on a Chinese microblogging site, by Yifei Mao, Zhong Lin, Feng Wang, Pages 555–583.

■ The shape of a word: single word characteristics’ effect on novice L2 listening comprehension, by Allie Patterson, Pages 585–610.

■ Success factors for English as a second language university students’ attainment in academic English language proficiency: exploring the roles of secondary school medium-of-instruction, motivation and language learning strategies, by Kevin W. H. Tai, Yiran Vicky Zhao, Pages 611–641.

■ LexCH: a quick and reliable receptive vocabulary size test for Chinese Learners, by Shiwei Qi, Mark Feng Teng, Ailan Fu, Pages 643–670.

■ Examining the role of writing proficiency in students’ feedback literacy development, by Yu Zhou, Shulin Yu, Bihao Liu, Lianjiang Jiang, Pages 671–697.

■ Confucius Institute and Confucius Classroom closures: trends, explanations and future directions, by Jeffrey Gil, Pages 699–712.

■ Translanguaging as decoloniality-informed knowledge co-construction: a nexus analysis of an English-Medium-Instruction program in China, by Yang Song, Pages 713–736.

■ The effects of task complexity on L2 English rapport-building language use and its relationship with paired speaking test task performance, by Tzu-Hua Chen, Pages 737–769.

Issue 3

ARTICLES

■ Exploring open consonantal environments for at-home testing of vowel perception in advanced L2 speakers, by Johnathan Jones, Pages 771–792.

■ “Writing-to-learn”: the influence of task repetition on CSL writers’ attention to form, by Yachong Cui, Shaoqian Luo, Pages 793–820.

■ Tourism, commodification of Dongba script and perceptions of the Naxi minority in the linguistic landscape of Lijiang: a diachronic perspective, by Peng Nie, Xiaofang Yao, Pages 821–847.

■ The early the better? Or, the more the merrier? The relative effects of onset age and exposure hours on EFL learners’ implicit and explicit grammatical attainment, by Yeu-Ting Liu, Wen-Ta Tseng, Pages 849–870.

■ Stylistic alignment in natural conversation involving second language speakers, by YeonJoo Jung, Scott Crossley, Pages 871–900.

■Learner-internal and learner-external factors for boredom amongst Chinese university EFL students, by Chengchen Li, Ye Han, Pages 901–926.

■ Epistemic positioning by science students and experts: a divide by applied and pure disciplines, by Youneng Dong, Jingjing Wang, Feng (Kevin) Jiang, Pages 927–954.

■ Sociocultural influence on engineering students’ collaborative design project: an Activity Theory perspective, by Peter I. De Costa, Jongbong Lee, Wendy Li, Pages 955–981.

■ Interplay between language and identity: Chinese returnee scholars in the internationalisation of higher education, by Xujia Du, Jian Tao, Xuesong Gao, Pages 983–1008.

■ The pedagogical remit of test preparation: the case of writing acquisition on an IELTS course, by Tony Clark, Guoxing Yu, Pages 1009–1045.

■ Contributions of morphological awareness and lexical inferencing ability to L2 vocabulary knowledge among Chinese EFL learners: a structural equation modeling analysis, by Tuoxiong Wang, Haomin Zhang, Pages 1047–1085.

■ Syntactic variation and Pan-Hispanic awareness in teachers of Spanish as a second language, by Julio Borrego Nieto, Álvaro Recio Diego, Carmela Tomé Cornejo, Pages 1087–1120.

■ Strategic competence, task complexity, and foreign language learners’ speaking performance: a hierarchical linear modelling approach, by Weiwei Zhang, Lawrence Jun Zhang, Aaron J. Wilson, Pages 1121–1149.

■ Effects of working memory capacity and distance-based complexity on agreement processing: a crosslinguistic competition account, by Sonthaya Rattanasak, Nattama Pongpairoj, Kiel Christianson, Pages 1151–1176.

REVIEWS

■Oral corrective feedback on lexical errors: a systematic review, by Xiaochen Tan, Barry Lee Reynolds, Xuan Van Ha, Pages 1177–1221.

摘要

Communicating across educational boundaries: accommodation patterns in adolescents’ online interactions

Lisa Hilte, Department of Linguistics, Universiteit Antwerpen

Walter Daelemans, Department of Linguistics, Universiteit Antwerpen

Reinhild Vandekerckhove, Department of Linguistics, Universiteit Antwerpen

Abstract This paper studies linguistic accommodation patterns in a large corpus of private online conversations produced by Flemish secondary school students. We use Poisson models to examine whether the teenagers adjust their writing style depending on their interlocutor’s educational profile, while also taking into account the extent to which these adaptation patterns are influenced by the authors’ own educational background or by other aspects of their socio-demographic profiles. The corpus does reveal accommodation patterns, but the adjustments do not always mirror variation patterns related to educational profiles. While salient features like expressive markers seem to lead to pattern-matching, less salient features appear less prone to ‘adequate’ adjustment. Lack of familiarity with the online behavior of students from other educational tracks is a factor too, since online communication clearly proceeds primarily within ‘same-education’ networks. The focus on cross-educational communication is quite unique in this respect and highly relevant from a sociological perspective.

Key words accommodation; adolescents; education; 

online communication; social media

Tracking telecollaborative tasks through design, feedback, implementation, and reflection processes in pre-service language teacher education

Semih Ekin, Faculty of Education, Hacettepe University, Ankara, Turkey

Ufuk Balaman, Faculty of Education, Hacettepe University, Ankara, Turkey

Fatma Badem-Korkmaz, Faculty of Education, Hacettepe University, Ankara, Turkey

Abstract Telecollaborative exchanges between students from different countries are increasingly becoming a common practice in foreign language education and calling for new teacher competences for task design in order to maximize interactional opportunities in these settings. Considering that tasks are dynamic in nature and subject to constant change from their initial design to implementation by L2 learners, there is a need for teacher training activities promoting opportunities for improving the required digital and pedagogical competences. With this in mind, this paper sets out to explore the interactional architecture of the multiple steps involved in the training of pre-service language teachers in pedagogical task design for telecollaboration-oriented video-mediated interactional settings. We describe the procedural unfolding of the telecollaborative tasks by analyzing (i) pre-service teachers’ collaborative design meetings and (ii) written design reports; (iii) peer and mentor evaluation of these design ideas in whole-class feedback sessions in teacher training classrooms; (iv) written reports of redesigns after the feedback session, (v) video-mediated implementation by telecollaborative task participants, and finally (vi) pre-service teachers’ written reflections based on the implementation of their own designs. We use Conversation Analysis to closely examine audio and screen-recording data and draw on the textual data to present the procedural unfolding of two tasks over multiple phases, namely design, feedback, implementation, and reflection. The findings show that a telecollaborative task is a co-construction by the pre-service teachers as task designers, the teacher trainer as the mentor, and the L2 learners as the end users in interactionally trackable ways across the teacher education events. The results bring insights into the novel sets of digital, pedagogical, and interactional competencies in L2 contexts. We conclude that task enhanced telecollaboration holds great potential to critically advance research and practice in L2 teaching and teacher education worldwide.

Key words conversation analysis; feedback; reflective practice; task design; teacher education; video-mediated interaction; virtual exchange

Individual versus pair work on L2 speech acts: production and cognitive processes

Ming-Fang Lin, Kaohsiung Municipal Shanlin Junior High School; Language Center, Shih Chien University

Yuan-shan Chen, Department of Applied English, National Chin-Yi University of Technology

Hui-Ju Wu, Center for Teacher Education, Cheng Shiu University

Abstract This study aims to examine the extent to which peer collaboration affects EFL learners’ speech act production and cognitive processes. Eleven EFL students in the individual group and 22 students (11 pairs) in the collaborative groups were asked to report their cognitive processes when working on a written discourse completion task (WDCT). The WDCT performances were rated on a five-point Likert-type scale, and the verbalizations were analyzed in terms of pragmatic-related episodes (PREs). Results showed that the individual group scored higher on content, whereas the collaborative group outperformed their counterparts on forms. Regarding the cognitive processes, the individual group tended to plan the general direction of their writing before writing the WDCT and paid more attention to sociopragmatic content while writing. In contrast, the collaborative group planned specific details before the task and attended to pragmalinguistic forms more often while writing.

Key words cognitive processes; individual work; pair work; production; speech act

Self-identity construction and pragmatic compensation in a Chinese DAT elder’s discourse

Lihe Huang, School of Foreign Languages, Research Center for Ageing, Language and Care, Tongji University

Qi Zhu, School of Foreign Languages, Research Center for Ageing, Language and Care, Tongji University

Deyu Zhou, School of Foreign Languages, Research Center for Ageing, Language and Care, Tongji University

Abstract This study explores how the identity is constructed of elders who have Dementia of the Alzheimer Type (DAT) by examining the communicative disorder in daily interactions with other interlocutors. Specifically, this paper evaluates a conversation between one Chinese elder with early-stage DAT and the interviewer. It analyzes the identity construction processes in the discourse in depth, using the age-identity taxonomy, self-identity representation theory, and the pragmatic emergentist model. Based on the case study, this paper confirms the five dimensions of age-identity taxonomy provided by Coupland as: (1) disclosure of chronological age, (2) age-related categories/role reference, (3) age-identity concerning health, decrement, and death, (4) adding time-past perspective, and (5) self-association with the past. Meanwhile, two more approaches to the age-identity taxonomy were developed, i.e., address behavior and cross-generational contrast. Self-identity to realize interactional goals is typically constructed at the individual level, although rarely at the relational level. The DAT elder conducts compensation in the interaction by adopting verbal and non-verbal strategies to bridge cognitive disorders such as memory loss, word-finding difficulty, or meeting the desire to enhance the pragmatic effects of their identity. This shows that the self-identity construction also facilitates the DAT elders in generating a discourse strategy when encountering pragmatic impairment.

Key words age-identity; dementia; discourse strategy; gerontolinguistics; pragmatic compensation

Verbal and nonverbal disagreement in an ELF academic discussion task

Chen Liu, Department of Education, Concordia University

Kim McDonough, Department of Education, Concordia University

Pavel Trofimovich, Department of Education, Concordia University

Pakize Uludag，Department of Education, Concordia University

Abstract Recent English as a Lingua Franca (ELF) studies have examined the linguistic features of disagreements during interactive academic tasks and casual conversations. Fewer studies, however, have explored nonverbal cues of disagreement, and even less is known about how interlocutors perceive disagreements. Therefore, using data from a corpus of ELF interaction, this study examined the verbal features and visual cues used by ELF university students to disagree during an academic discussion task. The disagreement episodes were selected through a content analysis of stimulated recall protocols in which a speaker stated that a disagreement had occurred. Transcripts were analyzed to classify the speaker’s verbal strategies as being mitigated or unmitigated. Video recordings were examined for facial expressions, body movements, and hand gestures. Findings revealed that ELF students used mitigated linguistic strategies, such as hedges, during disagreement while gaze aversion, smiling, and head nods were the most frequent nonverbal cues. The stimulated recall data showed that disagreements were perceived as an opportunity to listen, think, and share different opinions. Implications are discussed in terms of how to interpret features of disagreement in language classrooms.

Key words Englishas a lingua franca (ELF); paired speaking tasks; verbal disagreements; visual cues

Relationships between struggling EFL writers’ motivation, self-regulated learning (SRL), and writing competence in Hong Kong primary schools

Barry Bai, Faculty of Education, The Chinese University of Hong Kong

Wenjuan Guo, School of Education, Shanghai Jiaotong University

Chuang Wang, University of Macau

Abstract This study investigated the relationships between struggling writers’ motivation (i.e., interest, self-efficacy, and growth mindset) and their use of self-regulated learning (SRL) strategies (i.e., planning, text-generating, self-monitoring, and collaborative learning) and writing competence in an English as a foreign language (EFL) context. Participants were 368 primary students in Hong Kong who scored 15 or less out of 48 marks in a writing test. They reported a generally moderate level of motivation and lower medium level of SRL strategy use. Especially, the participants reported a low level of interest. Results of structural equation modelling (SEM) suggested that growth mindset had the strongest positive correlations with the struggling EFL writers’ use of SRL strategies. Both self-efficacy and interest also had positive correlations with the students’ SRL strategy use, but only self-efficacy had significant and positive relations with their writing competence. Implications for English teachers to improve instruction for struggling EFL writers’ in order to promote their motivation and SRL strategy use are provided and suggestions for future research are also discussed.

Key words EFL writing; growth mindset; interest; self-efficacy; self-regulated learning strategies; struggling EFL writers

Chinese university students’ self-regulated writing strategy use and EFL writing performance: influences of self-efficacy, gender, and major

Bin Shen, School of Foreign Languages, Fuzhou University

Barry Bai, Faculty of Education, The Chinese University of Hong Kong

Abstract Self-regulated (SRL) writing strategy use is considered a potent method for improving writing performance. Motivational regulation, an underresearched aspect of SRL, has become more recognized in SRL models recently. The present study aims to depict the interplay among SRL writing strategies and English writing performance. It also examined the influences of motivational regulation writing strategies on English writing performance, and whether such relationship would be mediated by other SRL writing strategies. Endeavors were also made to evaluate the moderation effects of gender and major, and the predictive effects of self-efficacy. Teng, L. S. & L. J. Zhang. 2016a. A questionnaire-based validation of multidimensional models of self-regulated learning strategies. Modern Language Journal 100(3). 674–701. Writing Strategies for Self-regulated Learning Questionnaire was administered to 340 university students in China, and their English writing test scores were collected. Structural equation modeling results verified the hypothesized partial mediation model with both direct and indirect paths from motivational regulation strategies to English writing performance. Cognitive and metacognitive strategies both served as mediators while social strategies failed to do so. No moderation effect of gender and major was found. Learners’ writing self-efficacy beliefs predicted their use of SRL writing strategies, with the strongest effects on motivational regulation strategies. Pedagogical implications are drawn.

Key words motivational regulation; self-efficacy; self-regulated learning (SRL) in English writing; structural equation modeling (SEM)

Does one size fit all? The scope and type of error in direct feedback effectiveness

Chian-Wen Kao, Department of Applied English, Chihlee University of Technology

Abstract This study is an attempt to investigate the scope and type of error in feedback effectiveness. This study consists of two experiments. One was conducted to investigate the feedback effects on a rule-based error type (i.e. subject–verb agreement errors) and the other was conducted to investigate the effects on a lexically-based error type (i.e. verb–noun collocation errors). In addition, the scope of error was investigated in both experiments. In terms of the rule-based error type, results for the immediate posttest writing task showed focused feedback to be effective for the narrowly defined subject–verb agreement errors (i.e. subject–verb agreement involving lexical verbs or copula be). In the delayed posttest writing task, the benefit still persisted for the narrowly defined subject–verb agreement errors. In terms of the lexically-based error type, results for the immediate posttest writing tasks showed focused feedback to be effective for the broadly defined verb–noun collocation errors (three or four collocation errors made and corrected in pretests). In the delayed posttest writing tasks, the benefit still persisted for the broadly defined verb–noun collocation errors broadly defined. These findings suggest that the notion of error type should influence the feedback effectiveness. Theoretical implications regarding the role of notice in the second language acquisition process were discussed based on the results obtained in this study.

Key words error type; focused feedback; grammar feedback; scope of error

Immersing learners in English listening classroom: does self-regulated learning instruction make a difference?

Jian Xu, School of Business English, Sichuan International Studies University

Kaizhou Luo, National Research Centre for Foreign Language Education, Beijing Foreign Studies University

Abstract Drawing on self-regulated learning (SRL) theory, this quasi-experimental research examined the effectiveness of SRL listening instruction and its influence on L2 listening motivation and strategy use. Quantitative data were collected from 80 undergraduate students who enrolled in an English listening course at a Chinese university. The experimental group (N = 40) received 17-week SRL English listening instruction, whereas the control group (N = 40) received traditional product-oriented listening instruction. All the participants completed pre- and post-listening proficiency tests along with questionnaires at the beginning and end of the intervention program. Results showed that influenced by SRL listening instruction, the experimental group outperformed the control group in the post-listening proficiency test with a large effect size, and SRL listening instruction also enhanced the students’ expectancy and the perceived importance of L2 listening comprehension, as well as fostering their top-down strategy use. Some pedagogical implications are discussed.

Key words intervention effect; L2 listening instruction; L2 listening motivation; self-regulated learning; strategy use

The pedagogical potential of speech-language therapy materials for the teaching of idiomatic expressions in a foreign language

Francisco J. Rodríguez-Muñoz, Department of Education, University of Almería

Abstract This work suggests that greater permeability exists between the fields of speech-language therapy and foreign language teaching. A materials analysis was carried out to assess the pedagogical potential of a set of resources emanating from the Anglo-Saxon context. Specifically, seven material sources were selected that focus on pragmatic impairment, and the difficulties in learning idiomatic expressions (or idiomaticity deficit); these cover a publication period from 1992 to 2016. In addition, the strengthening of the links between psycholinguistic experimental research and the teaching of languages is asked for, including in the design of didactic materials. In this sense, the paper discusses the way in which a person with a pragmatic impairment, or a foreign language learner, processes an idiomatic phrase, as it considers that these psycholinguistic data are useful not only for clinical intervention, but also for creating effective didactic materials for the teaching of idiomatic expressions in a foreign language. Finally, regarding the materials analysed here, the typology of activities included in the older examples is reminiscent of structural language teaching methods, whereas, in materials published more recently, the influence of communicative methodologies is present.

Key words idiomatic expression; materials analysis; 

pragmatic language impairment; speech-language therapy; teaching English as a foreign language

“This topic was inconsiderate of our culture”: Jordanian students’ perceptions of intercultural clashes in IELTS writing tests

Abdel Rahman Mitib Altakhaineh, English Language and Literature Department, The University of Jordan

Sílvia Melo-Pfeifer, Fakultät für Erziehungswissenschaft, Universitat Hamburg

Abstract In this contribution, we analyse how students perceive and comment on potential instances of intercultural clashes in the writing component of the International English Language Testing System. Following student accounts, we argue that intercultural bias is indeed perceived, preventing test takers from fully positioning themselves regarding cultural practices in general, and religious beliefs more particularly, as well as from expressing their sociocultural identities. Analysing a corpus of interviews in Amman (Jordan) with Jordanian students who took the test, we uncover how student perceptions of elements that reflect the culture of the test creator negatively influenced their performance, or at least their perception of what constitutes a good performance, which they implicitly identify with like-mindedness and alignment with the test creator’s cultural expectations.

Key words bias in assessment; cultural bias; IELTS writing test; intercultural clash

Positioning of female marriage immigrants in South Korea: a multimodal textbook analysis

So-Yeon Ahn, School of Digital Humanities and Computational Social Sciences

Gordon Blaine West, Doctoral Program in Second Language Acquisition, University of Wisconsin-Madison

Abstract This study examines a series of government textbooks used to teach Korean language and culture to spouses of South Korean nationals living in Korea. A multimodal analysis of textbook images and narratives explores how strictly defined gender identity discourses are constructed and circulated through these government textbooks in ways that not only seek to reinforce gender conventions, but also advance a conservative, assimilationist curriculum for these immigrants. The analysis reveals ways in which female marriage immigrants are positioned primarily as housekeepers; how they are subordinately positioned vis-à-vis in-laws and their husbands; and finally, how intercultural miscommunications are presented as the fault only of the immigrants. In this, the burden for intercultural communication and learning is placed solely on the immigrants in the multimodal narratives presented in the textbooks, without reciprocal burden ever placed on the spouse or spouse’s family, or effective ways of negotiating intercultural miscommunications being shared. Images and text work together in multimodal ensembles to craft narratives that position immigrant women in ways that textual or visual analysis alone would not fully capture. Thus, the study argues the use of multimodal analytical approach in examining language textbooks as a way of deconstructing broader discourses and disrupting problematic discourses.

Key words gender; marriage immigrants; sexism; South Korea; textbook

Hearing parents learning American Sign Language with their deaf children: a mixed-methods survey

Amy M. Lieberman, Wheelock College of Education and Human Development, Boston University

Julie Mitchiner, Department of Education, Gallaudet University

Elana Pontecorvo, Wheelock College of Education and Human Development, Boston University

Abstract Hearing parents with deaf children face difficult decisions about what language(s) to use with their child. Sign languages such as American Sign Language (ASL) are fully accessible to deaf children, yet most hearing parents are not proficient in ASL prior to having a deaf child. Parents are often discouraged from learning ASL based in part on an assumption that it will be too difficult, yet there is little evidence supporting this claim. In this mixed-methods study, we surveyed hearing parents of deaf children (n = 100) who had learned ASL to learn more about their experiences. In their survey responses, parents identified a range of resources that supported their ASL learning as well as frequent barriers. Parents identified strongly with belief statements indicating the importance of ASL and affirmed that learning ASL is attainable for hearing parents. We discuss the implications of this study for parents who are considering ASL as a language choice and for the professionals who guide them.

Key words American Sign Language; deaf children; hearing

parents; mixed-methods survey; second language learning

Teacher resilience and triple crises: Confucius Institute teachers’ lived experiences during the Covid-19 pandemic

Xiuchuan Lu, Fudan University

Zhu Hua, Institute of Education, University College London

Abstract This article aims to investigate Confucius Institute teachers’ lived intercultural experiences during the triple crises, i.e., the pandemic, hostility towards Confucius Institutes (CIs) and rampant racism. Through the analytical lens of teacher resilience, the article looks beyond what has gone wrong and foregrounds resourcefulness, strength, and agency of CI teachers. It draws the data from interviews with nine CI teachers based in US, Europe and Australia where CI closure has been reported, over a period of three months in 2020 and 2021. In addition to technological and pedagogical challenges and well-being issues, CI teachers found themselves in the vulnerable position of ‘being caught in the middle’ exacerbated by the changing political dynamics, rising anti-Chinese racism, cross-cultural differences in health behaviours and broken partnership with the host universities. Our analysis shows that despite these challenges, CI teachers built resilience and remain committed to their professional values. They adopted a pragmatic approach to depoliticise language teaching through ‘safe’ cultural activities and engaged in perspective-taking and reflexivity. The findings further demonstrate the importance of mutual support and co-learning for developing resilience, thus offering new insights on factors contributing to teacher resilience. Our research raises questions about the CI operational/partnership model and urges policy makers and senior management teams to put teachers and students’ needs first in their decisions.

Key words Confucius Institute;  crisis;  pandemic;  racism;  teacher resilience

Translanguaging in self-praise on Chinese social media

Wei Ren, School of Foreign Languages, Beihang University

Yaping Guo, School of Foreign Languages, Beihang University

Abstract Self-praise is very common on social media, and various translanguaging strategies are often used by internet users in online communication. Most of the existing studies on self-praise have centered on strategies for self-praise, ignoring the multimodal communication styles involved. On the other hand, although translanguaging has attracted significant research attention in linguistics and multilingual education, few studies have explored translanguaging in a specific speech act. Therefore, this study investigates the translanguaging practices involved in self-praising in Chinese netizens’ social media by analyzing 300 Chinese microblog posts containing self-praise. The results indicate that there are three major categories of translanguaging strategies in self-praise in microblogs, namely multimodal, multilingual and multi-semiotic resources, with various sub-strategies involved in each category. The study also discusses the possible factors motivating Chinese netizens to deploy translanguaging practices to self-praise on social media. This study contributes to the body of research on translanguaging pragmatics in social media communication.

Key words self-praise; social media; translanguaging; Weibo

ELF- or NES-oriented pedagogy: enhancing learners’ intercultural communicative competence using a dual teaching model

Antonio Taglialatela, Department of Modern Languages and Literatures, History, Philosophy and Law Studies, University of Tuscia

Abstract This study underpins the integration of an English as a lingua franca (ELF)-oriented approach into traditional English language teaching (ELT) to develop learners’ full intercultural awareness and intercultural communicative competence (ICC). The aim is to inform prospective and senior teachers as well as practitioners about the need for adequate preparation for learners to face any speech situations involving native and non-native English speakers. Using informal classroom observations from different Italian education cycles, this study adopts a multidimensional approach to traditional ELT, combining some main ICC and ELF pedagogy tenets. Our discussion indicates that a dual teaching model, including the native English speaker (NES) model for the structural section of language teaching and learning and the ELF intercultural competent communicator model for the intercultural section, can be attained by shifting conveniently from model to model. Therefore, this study offers a fresh perspective on an extensively addressed topic by clarifying and explicitly combining the underlying connections between the main ICC and ELF tenets. This study intends to encourage teachers and practitioners to change their attitudes, perceptions, and concerns towards integrating ELF-oriented approaches into traditional ELT to tackle today’s intercultural communicative challenges outside the classroom.

Key words dual teaching model; ELF pedagogy; English class; intercultural communicative competence; NES-oriented pedagogy

“You can’t start a fire without a spark”. Enjoyment, anxiety, and the emergence of flow in foreign language classrooms

Jean-Marc Dewaele, Birkbeck, University of London

Peter MacIntyre, Cape Breton University

Abstract The present study adopted a mixed-methods approach using a convergent parallel design to focus on the role that positive and negative emotions have in the Foreign Language (FL) classroom on the ontogenesis of positive flow. Participants were 1,044 FL learners from around the world. They provided quantitative and qualitative data on FL enjoyment (FLE), classroom anxiety (FLCA) and experience of flow via an on-line questionnaire (Dewaele, Jean-Marc & Peter D. MacIntyre. 2014. The two faces of Janus? Anxiety and enjoyment in the foreign language classroom. Studies in Second Language Learning and Teaching 4. 237–274). FLE was a significantly stronger predictor of frequency of flow experience than FLCA. Further statistical analyses revealed that flow experiences are typically self-centred, infrequent and short-lived at the start of the FL learning journey and when the perceived social standing in the group is low. They become an increasingly shared experience, more frequent, stronger and more sustained as learners reach a more advanced level in their FL. What starts as an occasional individual spark can turn into a true fire that extends to other group members. The findings are illustrated by participants’ reports on enjoyable episodes in the FL classroom in which some reported complete involvement in an individual or collective task, merging of action and awareness, joyful bonding with classmates, intense focus and joy, loss of self-consciousness, sense of time and place.

Key words classroom emotions; flow; foreign language classroom anxiety; foreign language enjoyment

“You have to repeat Chinese to mother!”: multilingual identity, emotions, and family language policy in transnational multilingual families

Fei Tang, Department of Ethnology and Sociology, Yunnan University

Raees Calafato, Department of Languages and Literature Studies, Faculty of Humanities, Sports and Educational Science, University of South-Eastern Norway

Abstract A growing number of family language policy studies have started to pay more attention to the emotions that transnational multilingual families (TMFs) identify regarding their multilingual identity, even if much of the research remains primarily focused on TMFs residing in Europe and North America. This article reports on a qualitative study that explored the emotions that five TMFs residing in Russia identified with their multilingual identity, and how these emotions affected their family language policy. The study combined ethnographic elements in the form of video recordings and two rounds of semi-structured interviews. The findings indicated that the parents felt pride and satisfaction in their own multilingual identity yet feared that their children were developing a monolingual identity, which led to them experiencing anger and frustration. Coupled with these negative emotions, they were found to adopt monolingual practices with their children in hopes of making them more multilingual. The study adds to our understanding of how emotions, multilingual identity, and family language policy interact in TMFs outside of Europe and North America and is one of the first studies to explore the experiences of such families in Russia.

Key words emotions; family language policy;  identity;  multilingualism;  Russia;  transnationalism

On the influence of the first language on orthographic competences in German as a second language: a comparative analysis

Hans-Georg Müller, Department of German Studies, University of Potsdam

Christoph Schroeder, Department of German Studies, University of Potsdam

Abstract This article presents an empirical study on selected aspects of the orthographic performance of mono- and bilingual students in German. Particular attention is paid to the question whether a connection can be drawn between the orthographic performance of the bilingual students in German and their first language. For this purpose, a corpus is analyzed with data from approx. 800 test students. One group is monolingual in German, one is bilingual German–Turkish and one is bilingual German–Russian. A highly significant influence of Russian resp. Turkish on the performance to differentiate between tense and lax vowels is found. This corresponds to expectations insofar as in opposition to German, neither in Turkish nor in Russian, tense and lax vowels are distinguished phonologically. In other areas of orthography, this influence of the first language is not measurable or not to the same extent.

Key words German; orthography; Russian; 

second language writing; Turkish; vowels

Validating the conceptual domains of elementary school teachers’ knowledge and needs vis-à-vis the CLIL approach in Chinese-speaking contexts

Mei-Jung Wang, Department of Applied English, National Kaohsiung University of Hospitality and Tourism

Li-Zu Yang, Chung Jung Christian Unvieristy

Wen-Hsien Yang, Department of Applied English, National Kaohsiung University of Hospitality and Tourism

Abstract The purpose of this research is to validate the conceptual domains of teachers’ knowledge and needs vis-à-vis content and language integrated learning (CLIL) within bilingual taught programmes in the Chinese-speaking setting of Taiwan. A Chinese version of a ‘CLIL teachers’ conceptual domain’ scale was developed and administered to measure teachers’ competence in using CLIL, the challenges they may face, and the training to be offered in their CLIL classrooms. Using exploratory factor analysis and confirmatory factor analysis, the results show that the internal consistency was supported by satisfactory Cronbach’s alphas, the composite reliability of all three measures ranges from 0.75 to 0.93, and the AVE (average variance extracted) is between 0.43 and 0.70. These results suggest that the measures possess high internal validity, and there exists factorial and external convergent and discriminant validity. This validated questionnaire is an effective instrument for providing valuable insights for CLIL practitioners and training providers in Chinese-speaking contexts.

Key words Chinese-speaking contexts;  CLIL;  primary education;  professional development;  teacher’s training needs

Agentive engagement in intercultural communication by L2 English-speaking international faculty and their L2 English-speaking host colleagues

Dae-Min Kang, College of Foreign Studies, Guilin University of Electronic Technology

Abstract The present study investigated agentive one-on-one intercultural communication between L2 English-speaking international faculty and their L2 English-speaking host colleagues in relation to identity (re)construction. Two foreign professors and their Chinese faculty colleagues participated in the study. The research instruments consisted of reflective journal writing and in-depth, semi-structured interviews. The results indicated that the occasions of the faculty’s communication at Chinese universities were both influenced by and influenced a number of factors. These factors represented self- and other-positioning, agency, appropriation of native speakerism, face-threatening acts, and alterity. Based on the findings of the study, research implications are provided.

Key words host faculty; identity (re)construction; intercultural communication; international (foreign) faculty; international faculty relocation; L2 English

Illuminating insights into subjectivity: Q as a methodology in applied linguistics research

Athip Thumvichit, Research Institute for Languages and Cultures of Asia, Mahidol University

Abstract Applied linguistics (AL) is a broad field of study that often concerns subjective domains such as beliefs, opinions, perspectives, values and emotions. Q methodology (Q), a mixed methods approach to phenomenological and typological inquiry, is specifically designed to help researchers better understand individuals’ subjective viewpoints. Although Q has existed for eight decades, it rarely intersects with language-related research. This article offers AL researchers an overview of Q and examples of its application. The overview covers its brief history and underlying theoretical concepts. The application is illustrated using a case exemplar that investigates language learners’ perspectives regarding enjoyment in online learning. The advantages and limitations of Q are also discussed. There is plenty of room for AL researchers to advance Q, both as a standalone methodology and as an accompaniment to other methods.

Key words applied linguistics; by-person factor analysis; mixed methods research; Q methodology; subjectivity

Making sense of trans-translating in blogger subtitling: a netnographic approach to translanguaging on a Chinese microblogging site

Yifei Mao，Jinan University

Zhong Lin， Chang’an University

Feng Wang， Xidian University

Abstract The online digital sphere has recently witnessed a rapid growing of amateur audiovisual translation, which not only reinvigorates the current body of translation scholarship but also calls for a paradigm shift from the entrenched monolingualism. Though a plethora of studies have been conducted on fansubbing, little is known about blogger subtitling. Drawing on the netnographic data from a subtitling video blogger, @暴躁鸭仔 (baozao yazai, Grumpy Duckling for English) on a microblogging site (Weibo) in the mainland of China, we explored trans-translating by examining the translanguaging involved in the blogger’s subtitling translation. It is revealed that the blogger makes a hybrid, integrated use of multiple semiotic, orthographic, discursive and modal resources, without being confined by the boundaries amongst nameable languages, or linguistic/non-linguistic codes. The orchestration of the unified heterolingual repertoire builds up a social-media translanguaging space, wherein the tensions between translation and translanguaging due to distinct conceptual schemas are manipulated to yield synergy insofar as they dovetail into ingenious language making. We concluded that such creative translation can be retheorized as a process of trans-translating to encapsulate the subtitling experience in light of its dynamic and fluid nature, and transformative power of translanguaging. The results of this research might add to the picture of amateur subtitling and translation and that of translanguaging as well as their relation to one another.

Key words blogger subtitling; netnography; social media; trans-translating; translanguaging; translanguaging space

The shape of a word: single word characteristics’ effect on novice L2 listening comprehension

Allie Patterson， Musashi University

Abstract The purpose of this study was to expand upon available research which quantifies the relationship between single word characteristics and L2 listening comprehension. The effect of single word characteristics on L2 listening have been mostly studied in isolation in past research. Furthermore, little research exists on listening comprehension during the first years of L2 acquisition. To begin filling this gap, 172 English L2 novice participants were administered an isolated phrase transcription test in which participants must quickly attempt to transcribe phrases of four to five words they hear only one time. The independent variable word characteristics in this study were part of speech, phrasal position, word length, frequency, and Minkowski3 sensorimotor norms, an embodiment semantic variable. Word transcription probability (i.e., whether a word was transcribed or not) was analyzed using Rasch analysis and hierarchical linear mixed effects regression. Part of speech and phrasal position did not significantly predict word transcription probability. Word length, frequency, and Minkowski3 sensorimotor norms significantly predicted transcription probability. The findings of this study have implications for the creation of listening texts and theoretical models of L2 listening comprehension.

Key words embodiment; frequency; L2 listening; 

word length

Success factors for English as a second language university students’ attainment in academic English language proficiency: exploring the roles of secondary school medium-of-instruction, motivation and language learning strategies

Kevin W. H. Tai, Academic Unit of Teacher Education and Learning Leadership, Faculty of Education, The University of Hong Kong

Yiran Vicky Zhao,  Faculty of Education, University of Cambridge

Abstract Displaying a strong competence in English as a second language (L2) is a major advantage for university graduates in personal development and career advancement. There are limited studies that have explored how the implementation of English-Medium-Instruction (EMI) in non-Anglophone universities can affect students’ academic English proficiency. This mixed-method study explores how both the learners’ variables (motivation and L2 learning strategies) and the medium-of-instruction policy implemented at secondary and university settings can contribute to students’ success in academic English learning at a bilingual university in Hong Kong. The findings of a large-scale questionnaire reveal that the effect of medium-of-instruction in students’ secondary school education is not a significant predictor of students’ academic English language proficiency at university. The findings suggest that university students who previously attended secondary schools which adopt medium-of-instruction other than English tend not to be disadvantaged in improving their academic English proficiency. Institutional factor (i.e. provision of EMI lectures at university) and learners’ variables, including students’ L2 strategy use and motivation, are statistically significant predictors of the student’s English language proficiency. The implications for higher education policy in Hong Kong and worldwide will be discussed.

Key words academic English language proficiency; higher education; Hong Kong; medium-of-instruction; success factors

LexCH: a quick and reliable receptive vocabulary size test for Chinese Learners

Shiwei Qi, Center for Linguistic Sciences, Beijing Normal University

Mark Feng Teng, Center for Linguistic Sciences, Beijing Normal University

Ailan Fu, Center for Linguistic Sciences, Beijing Normal University

Abstract The measurement of vocabulary size is crucial in applied linguistics research. Although increasing attention has been given to the study of Chinese vocabulary assessment, few reliable and valid tools are available to evaluate Chinese learners’ receptive vocabulary size, particularly for teenagers and adults. We aim to fill this gap by developing LexCH, a quick, reliable and free receptive vocabulary size assessment tool that researchers and language teachers can readily adopt. In developing LexCH, we chose items covering a range of difficulty levels and with strong discriminative power as test items for the final version of LexCH based on item response theory. In total, 480 students from a junior high school and a high school in China participated in this study. Our initial validation results suggest that LexCH is a reliable and valid receptive vocabulary size test for L1 Chinese speakers; it also shows great potential for use among L2 Chinese learners. Implications for assessing receptive vocabulary size in Chinese learning are provided.

Key words Chinese vocabulary acquisition; item response theory (IRT); receptive vocabulary; vocabulary assessment

Examining the role of writing proficiency in students’ feedback literacy development

Yu Zhou, Faculty of Education, University of Macau

Shulin Yu, Faculty of Education, University of Macau

Bihao Liu, Faculty of Education, University of Macau

Lianjiang Jiang, Faculty of Education, The University of Hong Kong

Abstract While student feedback literacy has received increasing attention in second language education, little is known about the role of writing proficiency in the development of student feedback literacy. This qualitative study examined the characteristics of high and low English writing proficiency (i.e., HP, LP) students’ feedback literacy in second language (L2) writing and identified the factors that shape these students’ feedback literacy. This study involved five LP and five HP students with data collected from semi-structured interviews, students’ drafts, teacher’s written corrective feedback and peer feedback. The results found that both the LP and HP students were cognitively prepared in terms of appreciating feedback value with distinct self-orientation in feedback process and emotionally ready in regulating their affect for gains from handling feedback. Yet, the LP students were found less prepared to benefit from their current feedback practice due to their passive perspective of learner roles. By contrast, HP students displayed their preparedness featured by proactive learner roles in feedback process, well-developed judgement criteria and broader revisions. The internal consistency across dimensions of feedback literacy was also identified for HP students but not for LP students. Factors contributing to the disparity include students’ perception of their writing proficiency, course engagement and their self-regulation ability. Pedagogical implications on enhancing feedback literacy for students with varied writing proficiency levels are provided.

Key words feedback literacy; L2 writing; writing assessment; writing instruction; writing proficiency

Confucius Institute and Confucius Classroom closures: trends, explanations and future directions

Jeffrey Gil, CHASS, Flinders University

Abstract Confucius Institutes (CIs) and Confucius Classrooms (CCs) have always been controversial, with concerns raised by politicians, academics, journalists and members of the public about their impact on the universities, schools and countries which host them. Such concerns have grown to the extent that closures of CIs and CCs have become common. This article analyses data on the closure of CIs and CCs to determine what they mean for this language and culture promotion project. It maps out the scope and scale of closures, explains the reasons behind them, outlines China’s reaction to them and finally speculates about the future of CIs and CCs. It finds that closures have been confined to North America, Australia and Europe due to deteriorating relations with China. However, closures have not occurred in South America, Africa or the Middle East, and new CIs continue to open in these regions. This is due to opinions towards China being largely positive and a need for resources for Chinese language and culture education. Overall, the number of closures is also small, with many times more CIs and CCs still in existence than those which have closed. It would take a long time for all CIs and CCs to be shut down based on current closure rates. China has also demonstrated a willingness to modify how CIs and CCs are managed to ensure their continued existence. The article concludes that the spate of closures which have taken place in recent years does not signal the end of CIs and CCs. Closures will likely keep occurring in North America, Australia and Europe, but CIs and CCs will continue in South America, Africa and the Middle East as long as China is willing and able to support them.

Key words China; Confucius Classroom; Confucius Institute; external language spread

Translanguaging as decoloniality-informed knowledge co-construction: a nexus analysis of an English-Medium-Instruction program in China

Yang Song, Department of English Language and Literature, Fudan University

Abstract Recent studies have shown that translanguaging as a knowledge-construction process can be utilized to decolonize curricula that privilege English-mediated, class-specific knowledge and foster epistemic justice in educational settings. This study focuses on the process whereby translanguaging was mobilized by teachers, tutors, and international students to decolonialize the English-Medium Instruction (EMI) curriculum on an indigenous discipline in a top-rated Chinese university. Drawing on nexus analysis, this study delineates the ways the implemented EMI curriculum was shaped by two processes/practices: (1) intercultural translation as interdiscursive translanguaging, and (2) Chinese philosophy as an embodied way of life, as witnessed in both the teacher-directed interaction order in the classroom as well as in the dialogic interaction order in tutorial sessions, and mediated through the historical bodies of the participants. The analysis reveals that translanguaging provides valuable transknowledging opportunities that encourage negotiations among a plurality of discipline-specific knowledge systems and the construction of decoloniality-informed knowledge production and learning ecologies situated within the unequal geopolitics surrounding knowledge production; this aligns with translanguaging scholars’ decolonial agenda and contributes to developing an operational definition of “transknowledging” based on extant decolonial studies that emphasized the intertwined relationship between transknowledging and translanguaging in decolonializing the EMI curriculum.

Key words decoloniality;  English medium instruction;  internationalization of higher education;  nexus analysis;  transknowledging;  translanguaging

The effects of task complexity on L2 English rapport-building language use and its relationship with paired speaking test task performance

Tzu-Hua Chen, Education Department, Concordia University

Abstract Although task complexity effects on L2 oral production have been widely studied in teaching contexts, their application to task-based language assessment and pragmatic language use remains underexplored. Since pragmatic competence is part of effective communication and interactional abilities and is context-dependent, an investigation of the relationships among task complexity, pragmatic language use, and paired speaking test performance is needed. This study examined the effect of the resource-directing and resource-dispersing dimensions (the number of elements, causal reasoning demand, and planning time) of Robinson’s task complexity construct on fifty-two intermediate-level English as a Second Language (ESL) learners’ rapport-building language use during two decision-making tasks as the achievement test in an EAP program, and the relationships between rapport language use and three dimensions of paired speaking test performance: collaboration, task completion, and style. The results showed that frequency and variety of rapport-building language use did not significantly differ between the two tasks. However, the study found that only in the simple task did different types of rapport-building language have statistically significant positive or negative relationships with different dimensions of paired speaking test scores. Specifically, greeting language use had a strong or close to strong positive relationship with collaboration and style scores, whereas agreeing language had a strong negative relationship with collaboration scores. Additionally, thanking language had a strong negative association with task completion scores. The findings further suggest that task complexity effects learners’ production of rapport-building language in terms of alignment with their peer interlocutors and formality of style, and also impacts raters’ perceptions of paired speaking task performance. The findings highlight the importance of task effects, paired oral assessment rubrics development, and rapport-building language instruction.

Key words paired speaking test; rapport building; second language pragmatics; task-based language assessment; task complexity

Exploring open consonantal environments for at-home testing of vowel perception in advanced L2 speakers

Johnathan Jones, Centre for Research in English Language Learning and Assessment, University of Bedfordshire

Abstract Recent work has called for increased investigation into methods used to explore second language (L2) speech perception (Flege 2021). The present study attends to this call, examining a common practice for developing listening prompts in the context of at-home administrations. Vowel perception studies have historically used fixed consonantal frames to determine how well participants can discriminate between target L2 vowels, and the present study compares the effects of employing a fixed consonant-vowel-consonant frame (h-vowel-d) with open (phonologically diverse) consonantal environments using real and nonce words. Thirty-eight Mandarin (n = 31) and English (n = 8) first language speakers participated in a listening experiment and a post-experiment question. Data were framed within Best and Tyler’s (2007) Perceptual Assimilation Model-L2. Internal consistency and proportion correct were calculated and a generalised linear mixed model design was used to investigate how well performance with h-vowel-d prompts predicts performance with the more diverse prompt types. Results suggest an inflation of scores for the fixed frame prompt and support the use of diverse words for listening prompt designs. Findings have implications for vowel perception researchers as well as computer (and mobile) assisted language learning developers wishing to inform their designs with relevant empirical evidence.

Key words language assessment; pronunciation; second language learning; speech perception; vowel perception testing

“Writing-to-learn”: the influence of task repetition on CSL writers’ attention to form

Yachong Cui, School of Chinese Studies and Cultural Exchange, Renmin University of China

Shaoqian Luo, School of Foreign Languages and Literature, Beijing Normal University

Abstract The “writing-to-learn” dimension of the second language (L2) writing has generated theoretical and empirical intrigue in the past decade. Task repetition is one variable of interest; however, little attention has been given to its role in individuals’ writing processes. This study explores the influence of task repetition on L2 Chinese learners’ attention to form by analyzing their writing processes. Four advanced learners of Chinese as a second language (CSL) were asked to complete one writing task twice in 10 days under think-aloud conditions. Language-related episodes (LREs), the representation of writers’ attention to form, in participant-produced think-aloud protocols were analyzed along three dimensions: language-related problems, problem-solving strategies, and depth of processing. Results indicated that task repetition in individual writing contributed to learners’ Chinese acquisition, as learners 1) attended closely to the typological characteristics and new/complex forms of Chinese; 2) strove for precise language expression; and 3) were granted time to access external resources and expand their linguistic repertoire. Implications related to task repetition in L2 writing, L2 Chinese instruction, and associated research are discussed.

Key words attention to form; CSL learners; task repetition; writing to learn

Tourism, commodification of Dongba script and perceptions of the Naxi minority in the linguistic landscape of Lijiang: a diachronic perspective

Peng Nie, School of Humanities, Jiangxi University of Finance and Economics

Xiaofang Yao, Federation University Australia – Berwick Campus

Abstract Ongoing debates in the field of sociolinguistics are centred around the implications of the commodification of the languages and cultures of ethnic minorities. Previous research has adopted synchronic approaches to describing how ideologies of tourist consumption shape language choices in the linguistic landscape. However, such snapshot analyses have proved to be inadequate in revealing changes in the linguistic landscape over time, especially the nuanced perceptions of minority communities who are subjects to ethnic tourism. This paper examines the use of Dongba script in the linguistic landscape of the Naxi minority in Lijiang under the conditions of commodification in tourism. A diachronic comparison of photographic data collected in 2016 and 2021 revealed the increasing visibility and prominence of Dongba script on public signs; interviews with ordinary inhabitants, tourism industry practitioners and Dongba priests within the Naxi community further demonstrated the evolving attitudes towards linguistic commodification, from hesitation and objection to integration and creative accommodation. The study provides new insights into how a diachronic perspective can help reveal the dynamic between packaging languages as commodities and retaining signs of identity, religion and culture.

Key words commodification;diachronic approach;Dongba script; linguistic landscape; Naxi minority; tourism

The early the better? Or, the more the merrier? The relative effects of onset age and exposure hours on EFL learners’ implicit and explicit grammatical attainment

Yeu-Ting Liu, English, Natl Taiwan Normal Univ

Wen-Ta Tseng, Applied Foreign Languages, National Taiwan University of Science and Technology

Abstract Drawing on methodological insights from psycholinguistic research protocols, the present study employed a structural equation modelling approach to examine whether explicit and implicit grammatical knowledge of English language learners would be influenced by their onset age of language learning and hours of exposure to language instruction; and if so, in what way? The present study further examined how the hypothesized causal effects might be mediated by explicit and implicit grammatical knowledge. The results showed that while early onset appeared to exert a facilitative effect on the participants’ implicit grammatical attainment, the role of exposure to instructed input was more relevant to their explicit grammatical attainment. Importantly, early onset facilitated the participants’ implicit grammatical attainment more than their explicit grammatical attainment, most likely because early learners’ analytical learning mechanism was still immature. Notably, while superior implicit grammatical attainment was conducive to the participants’ explicit grammatical attainment, their better explicit grammatical attainment did not necessarily facilitate their implicit attainment. The insights of this study shed light on the necessity of implementing early foreign language education when the curriculum goal concerns developing learners’ intuition regarding the FL, and provides empirical evidence of the need to adjust current instructional hours and foci in school.

Key words age effect;amount of exposure;L2 grammatical development;L2 ultimate attainment;structural equation modelling

Stylistic alignment in natural conversation involving second language speakers

YeonJoo Jung, Department of English Education, Pusan National University

Scott Crossley, Department of Applied Linguistics, Georgia State University

Abstract To date, a growing body of second language (L2) research has investigated linguistic alignment as a pedagogical intervention, focusing on L2 learners’ alignment behaviors in task-based interactions (e.g., Jung, YeonJoo, YouJin Kim & John Murphy. 2017. The role of task repetition in learning word-stress patterns through auditory priming tasks. Studies in Second Language Acquisition 39(2). 319–346; Kim, YouJin, YeonJoo Jung & Stephen Skalicky. 2019. Linguistic alignment, learner characteristics, and the production of stranded prepositions in relative clauses: Comparing FTF and SCMC contexts. Studies in Second Language Acquisition 41(5). 937–969). Linguistic alignment refers to a tendency where one speaker’s utterances align with particular language features of those of the other speaker in dialogue. The current study investigated how L2 speakers’ alignment behaviors differ in natural dialogues between L2-L1 and L2-L2 dyads in terms of language style (i.e., stylistic alignment) and the role of non-linguistic factors in the occurrence of stylistic alignment. The study analyzed a corpus of 360 texts using a computational tool. Results showed that stylistic alignment occurred to a greater extent in the L2-L2 dyad than in the L2-L1 dyad with respect to the word range, word frequency, word imageability, and proportion of bigrams proportion produced by the interlocutors. Furthermore, findings demonstrated the degree of stylistic alignment on each of the four selected lexical features was affected by numerous factors including age, group membership, nonnative speaker status, familiarity between interlocutors, and linguistic distance between L1 and L2. The effect of each factor on stylistic alignment in conversation is discussed in detail.

Keywords computational analysis; language style matching;linguistic alignment;stylistic alignment;TAALES

Learner-internal and learner-external factors for boredom amongst Chinese university EFL students

Chengchen Li, Huazhong University of Science and Technology

Ye Han, Harbin Institute of Technology

Abstract Despite the ubiquity of boredom and its aversive effects in educational contexts, it has received scant attention from second/foreign language (L2) researchers until very recently. This article reports on one of the first empirical attempts to explore boredom in L2 learning and its sources in Chinese tertiary-level EFL contexts through eliciting responses of 1,502 university students to open-ended questions and conducting 16 individual semi-structured interviews. The qualitative data analysis revealed that participants perceived wide-ranging learner-internal and learner-external factors as sources of their foreign language learning boredom: (1) task characteristics, (2) teaching and learning activities, (3) student factors, (4) course content, (5) classroom factors, (6) teacher factors, and (7) feeling unoccupied in the class. Moreover, open-ended responses showed greater prominence of the first three categories of factors than others, lending support to the central role of control-value appraisals in inducing boredom, and suggesting situation-sensitive nature of boredom. Additionally, the study revealed that multiple factors, both learner-internal and learner-external, can interact and jointly shape control-value appraisals, which suggests the congruence between the person-in-context perspective on SLA and the control-value theory, and the potential to integrate the two approaches to extend L2 emotion research.

Key words boredom; control-value theory; emotion; English as a foreign language; foreign language learning

Epistemic positioning by science students and experts: a divide by applied and pure disciplines

Youneng Dong, School of Foreign Languages, Hubei University

Jingjing Wang, School of Foreign Languages, Hubei University

Feng (Kevin) Jiang, School of Foreign Languages Education, Jilin University

Abstract It is one of the concerns of EAP to bridge the disparity of discursive practice between novice and expert writers, but the comparison is largely made across a broad knowledge field and little is known about the likely divergence within a disciplinary divide. In this study, we explore the epistemic positioning in research writing by PhD students and expert writers across applied and pure science disciplines. By focusing on hedges and boosters as its main devices, we examine their forms and functions in the academic texts. Results show that PhD students in applied disciplines use significantly fewer epistemic devices than experts but no significant difference was found in pure sciences. Apart from the differences in linguistic choices, student writers show a preference for authorial positioning at the outset of academic texts while professionals tend to comment on research findings and establish a persuasive interpretation of their value. Additionally, novice writers are inclined to hedge on numerical information (about) but expert writers hedge on claims (likely). We discuss the results from the perspectives of disciplinary epistemology and writer identity. Pedagogical implications are raised on the teaching of epistemic positioning and the enculturation of disciplinary stance in academic writing classrooms.

Key words academic persuasion;  disciplinary divide;  epistemic positioning; research writing; writer identity

Sociocultural influence on engineering students’ collaborative design project: an Activity Theory perspective

Peter I. De Costa, Michigan State University

Jongbong Lee, Cyber Hankuk University of Foreign Studies

Wendy Li, Duke Kunshan University

Abstract In keeping with discipline-specific genre expectations for writing in scientific and technological fields, students enrolled in English writing classes for future engineers are often required to produce collaborative reports on team projects. For freshman engineering students, such collaborative report writing, which constitutes a cornerstone in their academic literacy, is an entirely new genre. Drawing on Engeström’s (Engeström, Yrjö. 1987. Learning by expanding: An activity theoretical approach to developmental research. Orienta-Konsultit Oy) activity system and Storch’s (Storch, Neomy. 2002. Patterns of interaction in ESL pair work. Language and Learning 52(1). 119–158) interaction model, this paper explores two engineering freshmen’s experiences of working collaboratively in separate groups in the same writing class. Our focal students were both native-English-speaking women at a U.S. midwestern university. Over the course of one semester, they provided their class notes and project report drafts, and they and the course teaching assistant participated in interviews. Our findings demonstrate that while both students had similar levels of commitment to the collaborative project, their writing experiences differed depending on their respective group members and their own attitudes and experiences. Our case study has implications for engineering freshman writing education as we illustrate how the ESP class we examined can help students prepare for academic and professional communication. We also discuss ways to help apprentice future engineers overcome discipline-specific communication difficulties as they enter a new discourse community.

Key words  Activity Theory;  collaborative design;  

engineering student; interaction model

Interplay between language and identity: Chinese returnee scholars in the internationalisation of higher education

Xujia Du, School of Foreign Studies, Shanghai University of Finance and Economics

Jian Tao, School of Foreign Studies, Shanghai University of Finance and Economics

Xuesong Gao, School of Education, University of New South Wales

Abstract Returnee scholars are regarded as key agents to advance internationalisation in many non-Anglophone countries where internationalisation through the medium of English has raised concerns about the preservation of national language, culture, and identity. This study investigated how eight Chinese returnee scholars used their linguistic repertoires in their professional practice and daily lives and how their language practices interacted with multiple identities. Gathering data from a questionnaire, semi-structured interview, and regular class observations, this study reveals that in research, all participants predominantly used English and many expressed concerns about their Chinese academic writing skills. In teaching and daily lives, most participants embraced bilingualism and were open to translingual practices. The participants’ language practices appeared to be linked to their self-conception as competent English users and English-mediated ideal professional identities. However, their bilingual practices did not correspond to a bicultural identity, indicating a disconnect between language use and cultural belonging. Drawing on the findings, suggestions are offered for institution- and state-level authorities to better facilitate the integration of returnee scholars into their home academic communities and to promote academic multilingualism.

Key words identity; internationalisation; language 

practice; neoliberalism; returnee scholar

The pedagogical remit of test preparation: the case of writing acquisition on an IELTS course

Tony Clark, Research and Thought Leadership Department, Cambridge University Press & Assessment

Guoxing Yu, School of Education, University of Bristol

Abstract Preparation for university entrance tests now forms a significant part of international English language pedagogy, with considerable numbers of learners aiming to study abroad requiring supportive instruction. This important learning stage underpins subsequent experiences and requires further investigation, if later challenges faced by international university students are to be understood. This paper’s Japan-based research included observing an entire intensive IELTS preparation course (N = 12 students) over a five-week period. Additionally, two instructors and seven learners were interviewed, and forty homework essays collected. Pedagogical approaches, participant perspectives and the test preparation process itself are described in depth. Thematic analysis of qualitative data indicated three key findings. First, a think-plan-write essay model may improve students’ performance under timed test conditions, if supported by classroom exercises on lexis, grammar and structure. Second, introducing unfamiliar academic writing structures using model answers and increasing test knowledge (particularly using simplified rubrics) helped clarify expectations of western-style writing. Third, test preparation should be broader than increasing score gains alone; introducing academic writing is a justified and viable objective of preparation courses.

Keywords academic writing; IELTS; Japan; pedagogy;test preparation

Contributions of morphological awareness and lexical inferencing ability to L2 vocabulary knowledge among Chinese EFL learners: a structural equation modeling analysis

Tuoxiong Wang, Department of English, East China Normal University, Shanghai, China; Ningxia Normal University

Haomin Zhang, Department of English, East China Normal University

Abstract The present study investigated the direct and indirect contributions of morphological awareness to vocabulary knowledge among a group of Chinese English as a foreign language (EFL) students in a university in China. Using multiple regression analysis and structural equation modeling analysis, the study found that morphological awareness made significant contributions to vocabulary knowledge after lexical inferencing was controlled for. To be more specific, the prediction of morphological awareness on vocabulary depth was stronger than its prediction on vocabulary breadth. The direct effects of morphological awareness were stronger than its indirect effects on vocabulary. More importantly, the study revealed that the relationships between morphological awareness (morpheme recognition and morpheme discrimination) and vocabulary knowledge were mediated by discourse clues rather than grammar clues.

Key words English as a foreign language; morphological awareness; vocabulary knowledge

Syntactic variation and Pan-Hispanic awareness in teachers of Spanish as a second language

Julio Borrego Nieto, Departamento de Lengua Española, Universidad de Salamanca

Álvaro Recio Diego, Departamento de Lengua Española, Universidad de Salamanca

Carmela Tomé Cornejo, Departamento de Lengua Española, Universidad de Salamanca

Abstract The increasing view of Spanish as a pluricentric language has raised awareness of its linguistic diversity also in the grammatical domain. The concept of Pan-Hispanism—the recognition that varieties different from Castilian Spanish can be acceptable as Standard Spanish—has been publicly implemented by the prescriptivist institutions. The goal of this article is to analyze the influence of Pan-Hispanism and awareness of syntactic variation in teachers of Spanish as a second language. To do so, we surveyed 264 native and non-native teachers of Spanish across the world through an online questionnaire where they had to (a) implicitly judge sequences which reflected grammatical phenomena of different diatopic varieties of Spanish, and (b) explicitly indicate which variety they used in their classes. The results show that, despite the advances and institutional efforts towards pluricentrism, awareness of Pan-Hispanism in grammar is still very low among teachers of Spanish, since most tend to reject grammatical uses that are alien to their own variety. The prevalence of the prestige of Castilian Spanish is linked to a still dominant Eurocentrism in the teaching of Spanish as a second language, thus showing the need for adopting a more tolerant and inclusive view of Spanish linguistic diversity.

Key words grammar;L2 Spanish;Pan-Hispanism;pluricentric language; Spanish

Strategic competence, task complexity, and foreign language learners’ speaking performance: a hierarchical linear modelling approach

Weiwei Zhang, School of Foreign Languages, Quzhou University

Lawrence Jun Zhang, School of Curriculum and Pedagogy, Faculty of Education and Social Work, University of Auckland

Aaron J. Wilson, School of Curriculum and Pedagogy, Faculty of Education and Social Work, University of Auckland

Abstract Understanding the intricate relationships among strategic competence, tasks and performance is an issue of perennial interest in the assessment of foreign/second languages especially in integrated speaking assessment, a field that is under-researched. Against this background, we investigated such complex relationships in the context of integrated speaking assessment of English as foreign language (EFL) learners, hoping to provide additional empirical evidence to address the problem. In the investigation, strategic competence was defined as metacognitive strategy use and was measured via an inventory administered on 120 Chinese university EFL students; task characteristics were conceptualised as task complexity and were measured on a self-rating scale by the students and five EFL teachers; and the students’ speaking performance was indicated by their scores on four integrated speaking assessment tasks. Data analysis through a hierarchy linear modelling approach led to two primary findings: Monitoring, one form of strategic competence, moderated the effect of task complexity on performance; strategic competence had no substantial effects on performance which had an inverse relationship with task complexity. These findings will add validity evidence for the foreign language speaking assessment literature and provide implications for speaking instruction and test development.

Key words hierarchy linear modelling; integrated speaking assessment; strategic competence; task complexity

Effects of working memory capacity and distance-based complexity on agreement processing: a crosslinguistic competition account

Sonthaya Rattanasak, Graduate Program in English as an International Language, Graduate School, Chulalongkorn University

Nattama Pongpairoj, Graduate Program in English as an International Language, Graduate School, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, Thailand; Applied Linguistics for Language Education Research Unit, Faculty of Arts; Graduate Program in English as an International Language, Graduate School, Chulalongkorn University

Kiel Christianson, Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology, Urbana, IL, USA; Department of Educational Psychology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Abstract This study examined the extent to which working memory (WM) capacity and distance-based complexity influenced how second language (L2) learners used morphosyntactic information incrementally during online processing of L2 English long-distance subject-verb number agreement dependencies. The moving-window self-paced reading experiment involved 40 agreement-lacking first language (L1) Thai learners of English and 40 native English speakers. Distance-based complexity was manipulated based on whether the agreement controller and the agreeing verb were intervened by a short-distance subject-extracted relative clause or a long-distance object-extracted relative clause in line with the Dependency Locality Theory. The findings indicated that both native speakers and L2 learners experienced less processing difficulty in short-distance conditions, showing heightened sensitivity to agreement violations. Their sensitivity was, however, modulated as a function of distance-based complexity and WM capacity. The L2 learners’ lack of sensitivity in the long-distance conditions was associated with their limited pool of cognitive resources. Consistent with the L1–L2 structural competition account, these findings suggest in relation to morphology learning in SLA that L2 learners may labor under parallel activation during crosslinguistic competition, whereby cognitive resources are insufficient to resolve long-distance agreement dependencies, thus resulting in reduced sensitivity to L2 morphosyntactic violations.

Key words agreement processing;  crosslinguistic influence;  distance;  second language acquisition;  working memory

Oral corrective feedback on lexical errors: a systematic review

Xiaochen Tan， Faculty of Education, University of Macau

Barry Lee Reynolds, Faculty of Education, University of Macau; Centre for Cognitive and Brain Sciences, University of Macau

Xuan Van Ha, Department of Foreign Languages, Ha Tinh University

Abstract This study adopted a synthetic approach to review empirical studies on oral corrective feedback (OCF) for lexical errors. It examined OCF types, lexical target types, interlocutors’ attention to lexical errors, and OCF effectiveness in promoting vocabulary development. After the application of inclusion and exclusion criteria on studies retrieved from a search of six databases, 31 primary studies were available for coding and analysis. Findings revealed that interlocutors showed a greater preference for recast than prompt and explicit correction. However, recast resulted in the lowest rate of lexical repairs, whereas prompt was found the most effective. Lexical errors received OCF at a higher rate than grammatical errors and phonological errors, indicating that interlocutors paid greater attention to vocabulary problems. OCF was most often provided for the inappropriate choice of lexical items, or inaccurate use of word derivation, involving a wide range of word classes (nouns, verbs, adjectives, and adverbs). Only a few studies looked into OCF targeting a single lexical feature. Findings suggest it may be more effective for teachers to employ prompts to elicit repairs of lexical errors from learners. There is a need for future researchers to conduct empirical OCF studies on a single lexical target.

Key words explicit correction; lexical errors; lexical repair; oral corrective feedback; prompts; recasts

期刊简介

Applied Linguistics Review (ALR) is an international, peer-reviewed journal that bridges the gap between linguistics and applied areas such as education, psychology and human development, sociology and politics. It serves as a testing ground for the articulation of original ideas and approaches in the study of real-world issues in which language plays a crucial role. ALR brings together critical reflections of current debates and new theoretical and empirical research.

《应用语言学评论》(ALR)是一本国际同行评议期刊，旨在弥合语言学与教育、心理学和人类发展、社会学和政治学等应用领域之间的差距。在语言起着至关重要的作用的现实世界问题的研究中，它作为原创思想和方法表达的试验场。ALR汇集了当前辩论的批判性反思和新的理论和实证研究。

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