Volume 46, Issue 1

The Functional Load (FL) principle predicts that high FL phonemic contrasts, such as /i:/ and /ɪ/, contribute more to the mutual intelligibility of pronunciation than low FL phonemic contrasts, such as /u:/ and /ʊ/. In order to assess whether the FL principle accurately predicts intelligibility under English as a Lingua Franca (ELF) conditions, this study partially replicated the first study to empirically support the FL principle: Munro and Derwing (2006). Chinese speakers of English recorded 24 sentences containing target words with high and low FL phoneme substitutions, and 171 Japanese university students listened to the sentences and transcribed the target words into standard orthography. The hypothesis of this study is that the target words with high FL phoneme substitutions will be less intelligible than the target words with low FL phoneme substitutions. The results showed that the target words with high FL phoneme substitutions were indeed lower in intelligibility than the target words with low FL phoneme substitutions, and furthermore cumulative high FL phoneme substitutions lower intelligibility even more. The results are consistent with Munro and Derwing’s (2006) finding that high FL phoneme substitutions lower comprehensibility more than low FL phoneme substitutions, and thus this study claims to have replicated one aspect of their study even under ELF conditions.

In this paper, we focus on the need for measuring the intelligibility of English pronunciation using an automated speech system, and the system proceeded in this feasibility study was tested with 18 speakers coming from six countries representing six types of English (China, Vietnam, Egypt, India, South Africa and the Philippines). Those test candidates were selected carefully to stand for a series of intelligibility, two different approaches, transcription and nonsense, were utilized to test and measure their intelligibility. An automated computer pattern developed for speaking proficiency scoring based on suprasegmental measures was set to predict intelligibility scores. The Pearson’s correlation was 0.743 for transcription construct and 0.819 for the nonsense construct between the human assessed and computer predicted scores. The reliable inter-rater Cronbach’s alpha for the transcription scores was 0.943 and 0.945 for the nonsense intelligibility scores. Basing on the type of intelligibility measure, the computer utilized different suprasegmental measures to predict the score. The computer used 11 measures for the nonsense intelligibility score and eight for the transcription score. Only two features were common to both constructs. These analyses and results of this computer experimental pattern can provide researchers of L2 different perspectives of measuring intelligibility in research afterwards.

This is qualitative research on the development of learner identity (Norton, 2013) via “dialogic learner”—a newly-constructed teaching model. Research subjects were two groups of English majors in 2015 and 2016, each respectively in their first year at a university for liberal arts. Data collection includes learning reflections, interviews and questionnaires. Research findings demonstrate two trajectories of identity changes: The first, found in the first and second groups, was from being one-dimensional learners to becoming multi-dimensional ones; the second, emerging among the second group, was from being passive learners to becoming more active and adequately-prepared ones. This trajectory might further encourage the students in their exploration of multidimensional thinking—the early stage in the evolution of the symbolic competence (Kramsch, 2009), with the possibility of life-long self-education (Gao, 2001).

This study investigates how learners of English process adjectival participles in both attributive and predicative positions within sentences in order to identify whether difficulties associated with participles stem from learner-specific or English-specific characteristics. A Chinese-speaking group and a mixed language group participated in Study 1 that used the target sentence in English as L2 without contextual cues. A subgroup of the Chinese participants took part in Study 2 that used target sentences with contextual cues. Results showed that the two groups’ performance was different in the use of pre-nominal attributive adjectival participles after controlling for English proficiency (Study 1). Contextual cues did not facilitate Chinese learners’ performance (Study 2). The target word frequency effects disappeared when contextual cues were provided. These findings suggest that the complexities of adjectival participles reside not only in the linguistic characteristics of English, but also in the learner characteristics of L1 background and English proficiency.

In cross-cultural and interlanguage pragmatics, constructive feedback (CF), defined as “the identification of a problematic action and advice on how to change or correct the problem” (Nguyen & Basturkmen, 2010, p. 125), has received little attention. To fill this gap, similarities and differences between native Chinese speakers, native American speakers, and high-proficiency Chinese EFL learners’ CF are explored in this study. In particular, how these learners’ strategy applications in CF differ from those of American and Chinese speakers is examined. Data were collected through discourse completion tests (DCTs) owing to their advantages in controlling social variables and their efficiency in eliciting rich data within a limited time (Leech, 2014). In total, 42 participants were randomly selected from three groups: 14 native Chinese speakers, 14 native American speakers, and 14 high-proficiency Chinese EFL learners. The results revealed significant differences in strategy employment in CF among the three groups, with the highest disparity elicited in hedge strategies. Here, EFL learners resembled American speakers in six of the eight hedge strategies. However, they had the same percentage in terms of compliments as the Chinese speakers. With regard to supportive moves, there were no significant differences among the three groups. As a pioneering investigation, the aim of this study is to call for further research on CF.

The benefits of using literature in second/foreign language instruction have been re-gaining recognition in recent years. This study investigates a reading program implemented by an experienced teacher in a Chinese high school, with the aim of exploring students’ and teachers’ perceptions, as well as possible pedagogical strategies. Graphic novels were used in the program, facilitated by such literacy activities as reader’s theatre, keeping a reflection journal, literature circles, and explicit vocabulary teaching. This exploratory case study lasted for four months, collecting data from student and teacher participants, classroom observations, semi-structured interviews, reflection journals, artifacts, and relevant documents. Using the framework of a critical literacy approach to second/foreign language teaching, this study finds that with explicit teacher guidance and critical pedagogies, students developed high-order reading/thinking skills, multiple perspectives, historical empathy, and agency by engaging in multiliteracies practices through language-literature integration. Additionally, by highlighting some of the challenges and confusions teachers encountered, this study draws attention to the need for teacher training in the implementation of this pedagogical approach, alongside implications for future research and practice.

In order to explore the learning satisfaction and problems of the synchronous online teaching mode in an English comprehensive reading course during the COVID-19 epidemic period, this study constructed a synchronous online teaching mode based on the theory of community of inquiry and practiced it for one semester. The participants were 60 second-year English education majors, and the research methods were surveys and interviews. The study found that most students were satisfied with the synchronous online teaching mode adopted in this course; the synchronous online teaching mode helped improve learning outcomes; there were problems of distraction and lack of sustained attention in the synchronous online teaching mode. Based on the findings, suggestions were put forward to improve the learning satisfaction of online teaching, in order to provide references for enhancing the quality of foreign language online teaching and blended teaching in the post-epidemic era.

While the past few decades have witnessed a growing body of research on peer feedback and student engagement, little attention has been paid to student engagement with peer feedback in the secondary school classrooms. Based on multiple qualitative data including semi-structured interviews, stimulated recall, original, revised and final writing drafts as well as peer discussion recordings, this case study investigated how secondary school students engaged with peer feedback in behavior, cognition, and affect from both the feedback giver’s and receiver’s perspectives and what factors may influence their engagement with peer feedback. Data analysis showed that 1) student engagement with both giving and receiving peer feedback demonstrated dynamic and complex interactions among three dimensions; 2) students were engaged with peer feedback in different ways while playing the roles of feedback givers and receivers, showing deep engagement as a giver and superficial engagement as a receiver, and vice versa; 3) factors such as language proficiency, self-efficacy, personality and teachers’ guidance were found to influence student engagement with peer feedback. By shedding light on the multi-dimensional characteristics of students’ engagement from bidirectional perspectives, the study offers suggestions for educational practitioners to improve English learners’ engagement with peer feedback in L2 writing classes.