L1 mediation in Chinese English learners’ mental lexicon: Evidence from word association tests

The study aimed to explore the evidence of first language (L1) mediation in second language (L2) word associations and the L2 learner-related factors affecting the extent of L1 mediation with the following approaches. First, different from previous research, word association tests (WATs) embraced both receptive and productive word associations in the study. Second, different from word-related variables such as cognates vs. non-cognates in previous research, the study examined learner-related factors. Third, it examined whether the methodological difference (receptive vs. productive test formats) may affect the extent of L1 mediation in L2 access. A total of 108 Chinese English learners varying in proficiency, learning experiences, input and motivation participated in WATs using 24 stimulus words. The results suggested, (1) from the findings of descriptive statistics and ANOVAs, the evidence of L1 mediation was found in all three L2 proficiency groups with different extent of higher L1 mediation in lower proficiency groups. (2) From the findings of Pearson product-moment correlation coefficients, significant correlations were found with L1-promoting learning environments, L2 input, integrative motivation and the learners’ awareness of L1 activation. (3) The findings of the paired-samples t-tests confirmed a significant difference between the two test formats. Based on the findings, the study suggested the promotion of L2-rich learning environments, integrative motivation, and receptive and productive word associations in the L2 network.

Comparative Analysis of the Effect of Immersive English Teaching

Immersive teaching has achieved remarkable results in bilingual learning. This teaching method creates an immersive environment for learners to understand and use languages. This paper explores the influence of immersive teaching on the learning performance, interest, and satisfaction of Chinese English learners, and provides several suggestions on how to apply immersive teaching. The results show that immersive teaching improves the listening, speaking, reading, and writing abilities of students. One semester of immersive teaching improved the scores of listening, reading, speaking, and writing by 6.53%, 6.85%, 5%, and 4.73%, respectively; while two semesters of immersive teaching improved them by 12.46%, 16.03%, 13.55%, and 9.92%, respectively. Thanks to immersive teaching, the students’ interest in English learning soared, and their satisfaction with English learning surpassed 50%. This research lays a theoretical basis for promoting immersive teaching, and improving students’ English learning effect.

The Effects of Different Caption Modes on Chinese English Learners' Content and Vocabulary Comprehension

This empirical study investigates the effects of different caption modes on the content and vocabulary comprehension by Chinese English learners with different levels of English proficiency. The results show that the full captioned group performed better on content comprehension than the keyword group, while no significant difference was found on vocabulary comprehension between the two captioned groups. For the beginning-level learners, the full captioned groups did better both in content and vocabulary comprehension than the keyword caption group; meanwhile, for the advanced learners, both full captions and keyword captions similarly facilitated content and vocabulary comprehension. Therefore, the present findings suggest that keyword captioning is insufficient for foreign language learners' content comprehension, yet might be appropriate for their vocabulary learning. Furthermore, choosing the content caption mode for teaching EFL depends on students' English proficiency and their learning purpose.

The Effects of Different Caption Modes on Chinese English Learners’ Content and Vocabulary Comprehension

This empirical study investigates the effects of different caption modes on the content and vocabulary comprehension by Chinese English learners with different levels of English proficiency. The results show that the full captioned group performed better on content comprehension than the keyword group, while no significant difference was found on vocabulary comprehension between the two captioned groups. For the beginning-level learners, the full captioned group did better both in content and vocabulary comprehension than the keyword captioned group; meanwhile, for the advanced learners, both full captions and keyword captions similarly facilitated content and vocabulary comprehension. Therefore, the present findings suggest that keyword captioning is insufficient for foreign language learners’ content comprehension, yet might be appropriate for their vocabulary learning. Furthermore, choosing the content caption mode for teaching EFL depends on students’ English proficiency and their learning purpose.

Affix Acquisition of Chinese English Learners: A Case Study Based on a Self-Built Corpus

Nowadays, theoretic and empirical research into affix acquisition in Second Language Acquisition has attracted increasing attention (Peng Tingting, 2009; Zhao Ming, 2014; Chen Jie, 2017). However, there are still few empirical studies on affix acquisition of Chinese English learners, especially from the perspective of corpus linguistics. The present research aims to find out how affixes are acquired and used in written texts by Chinese English learners. A case study was conducted based on a self-built corpus. All of the data are collected from 174 undergraduate students majoring in English at a university in central China. Compleat Lexical Tutor (v.8.3) and AntConc (v.3.5.2) are used to process and analyze the data. As is shown in the results of the research, affixes acquired and used by Chinese English learners can be divided mainly into the following categories: 1. High-frequency affixes, such as -s, -ed, -ing, etc. 2. Intermediate-frequency affixes, such as -ly, -al, etc. 3. Low-frequency affixes, such as im-, in-, ir-, etc. Therefore, the affixes that are used most frequently are -s and -es, but prefixes are seldom used in written text. The present study is beneficial for providing a crucial reference for the instruction of vocabulary and writing in colleges.  

Investigating the Influences of Starting Age on Pronunciation: a Comparative Study of Chinese Learners of English As a Second Language

This study aims to test the validity of Critical Period Hypothesis (CPH) by investigating the influence of starting age on Chinese English learners’ pronunciation. The study compares the degree of foreign accent of native Chinese English learners with different starting ages in learning English, in an attempt to determine whether early Chinese English learners could outperform late ones in terms of English pronunciation when exposed to an English-speaking setting. Furthermore, this research also proposes to investigate other possible factors that affect Chinese English learners’ pronunciation. Participants were asked to provide spontaneous speech samples through semi-structured interviews conducted face-to-face or via Skype. In addition, an additional read-aloud task was required to ensure a more thorough and in-depth interpretation. The final results run counter to the Critical Period Hypothesis as there appeared to be late starters who also achieved native-like pronunciation, and there was no significant difference between early starters and late ones in terms of pronunciation. However, the study also yielded some results suggesting that greater efforts and stronger motivations were required for late starters in order to achieve the same pronunciation levels as early starters’, indicating that starting age can be a sensitive rather than critical factor for second language (L2) pronunciation acquisition.

A Corpus-based Comparative Study of “get-passive” Semantic Prosody

Research on semantic prosody education is playing a vital role in the process of learning English.This research is based on the LOB corpus (Lancaster-Oslo/Bergen corpus) and the IWriteBaby corpus, the core library of the IWrite Chinese English Learner Corpus. Using AntConc 3.5.7, to compare the semantic preference of the collocation words of get in the two corpora that meet the get-passive structure. Aiming to compare the semantic prosody differences between Chinese English learners and native speakers when they use the structure “get-passive”. It mainly focuses on the analysis of neutral collocation terms that have a higher frequency of co-occurrence with get and a mutual information value (I value) which is greater than or equal to 3. The research results show that Chinese English learners tend to have neutral semantic prosody when using this structure, while native speakers tend to prefer negative semantic prosody.With the combination of semantic prosody and corpus method should be attached importance to improve the level of English education.