No description available.

No description available.

No description available.

This study is to investigate the second language acquisition of Chinese grammatical structures by eight Chinese L2 learners. Adopting the theoretical framework of Professor Manfred Pienemann’s Processability Theory (PT), this study focuses on the confirmation and extension of the developmental sequence of the grammatical items found by Zhang (2001 and 2008) and Gao (2005). In essence, this study employed a longitudinal and cross-sectional design. Eight Chinese L2 students from the undergraduate Chinese programme at Newcastle University have been voluntarily selected to join my study. These eight students have a variety of language learning experience and backgrounds, but most importantly (different from other PT-based studies), they have been taught using a completely different textbook and curriculum when compared with the PT-driven developmental sequence. The interviews (elicitation tasks and free talk) were carried out on a regular basis over one academic year. Data was then transcribed and grammatical features tagged. Data analysis was performed through distributional analysis which detailed the linguistic environment of each grammatical item across the PT stages. Emergence criterion has been stipulated and applied to locate the acquisition point of each form. At the same time, a further textbook analysis has been conducted to identify the relationship between the instructions and natural acquisition stages. The results have shown that the overall grammatical progression in the subjects’ interlanguage was compatible with the processing hierarchy hypothesized in the PT, regardless of the learners’ first language and language learning experience. Moreover, the acquisition patterns are never altered by the teaching instruction; instead, the acquisition speed has been somehow influenced by the teaching instruction and other factors. One issue which should be addressed is the exceptional cases identified in the study, which require further work in this area. Apart from that, the research has also shown that the adequate tasks are required in language teaching and grammatical structure elicitation. Therefore, four tasks have been designed and tested across the proposed Chinese processing hierarchy for the benefit of Chinese L2 learners.

The main purpose of this study was to examine the problems that five Taiwanese postgraduate students faced in adapting to a British academic community and, more specifically, the learning and writing difficulties they encountered. Qualitative data from three interviews with each student and also one interview with British tutors were collected, and an examination of the standard feedback given by these students' tutors on their written work was conducted. In addition, some attention was paid to the students' structuring of their writing. The data overall illustrated the kinds of cultural and academic difficulties encountered by these subjects in adapting to the requirements of their Master's course.;The findings also showed that the five Taiwanese students brought to their studies different expectations of learning from those of their British tutors, and that both sides should be aware of such differences if they are to work successfully together in the British academic system.;A preliminary model of Taiwanese Students' Writing and Learning in the UK is proposed based on the findings of this study. It shows the interrelationship of the British academic culture, teachers' feedback, and students' writing and learning. Implications and directions for further research are also discussed.

International students moving to enter Higher Education in other cultures of learning may require more than familiarity with another language. Different discourse communities demand that students demonstrate knowledge in different ways and use specific text types and genres. Currently EAP courses intended to prepare international students for participation in Higher Education in the UK focus on the observable features of texts and related study skills which are revealed by a process of Needs Analysis. These linguistic and academic behaviours, however, are based on epistemological assumptions concerning what counts as valid knowledge and what are deemed to be appropriate approaches to knowledge, and these assumptions -- as with other cultural factors -- are often unanalysed and unstated. Ethnographic investigation into UK Higher Education can reveal the values of stakeholders such as academic staff and quality assurance agencies, and these underlying beliefs can then be explored in preparation courses by using methods of Intercultural Training to expose not just the surface features of this culture but also the underlying epistemology. A quantitative survey and several methods of qualitative investigation based on reflective narrative accounts and interviews were used to investigate the success of one such course. Ethical and pragmatic constraints limited the ability to use true experimental conditions in this project, however the findings do indicate that such courses can be designed and suggest that students participating on them may arrive at a more elaborate understanding of the expectations placed on them during the crucial first few months of their courses, and that this may ease their adaptation as they struggle to take on new identities.

This research is primarily concerned with the provision of in-service training for TEFL lecturers in universities serving rural areas of China between 1998 and 2004. Given the growing number of undergraduates studying English in these universities, there was a clear need to ensure that English teaching was delivered as effectively as possible. Following a needs analysis of English teachers based in universities in rural China, a clear need to design a programme to enhance communication skills and evaluate the possible role of ICT in delivering this programme was identified. The first stage of the research was based upon a needs analysis of lecturers in China and involved the establishment of focus groups and the administration of targeted questionnaires to ascertain the current situation concerning their training needs. As a result of the needs analysis, it became clear that in-service training was only taken up by a small percentage of lecturers each year and information was obtained on a wide variety of perceived problems (of access to and types of training) together with options on solutions. A particular concern identified was that the potential of information technology was largely unexplored, though a majority of respondents expressed support for training based on a flexible, ICT-driven approach. An additional concern expressed the need to develop lecturers' communicative skills as part of their knowledge of English.Arising from the results of the needs analysis a test model was designed to examine the potential of ICT in this area. The pedagogic and practical bases for the model drew upon an incremental approach to learning involving these two stages. A web-based hypermedia environment was constructed using as an exemplar an embryonic training unit on the acquisition and teaching of oral skills. The test model was piloted in the UK and trialed by lecturers within the target group in the UK and rural China. Data was gathered on the perceived success of the innovative approach and on aspects such as accessibility, ease of use, presentation and motivation. An evaluation of the test model was made showing clear support for the approach. Useful information was generated for future iterations of a modified training scheme. KEY WORDS: constructive research, ICT, web-based course, distance education, education technology, in-service teacher training

Most freshmen in Taiwan consider reading in English difficult. They complain about too less vocabulary, grammar and time for English reading. However, according to research, reading is the basic for all learning. Its importance on language learning cannot be underestimated. One widely recommended method of improving .earners' ability to comprehend L2 texts is explicit instruction in reading strategies. Web-based learning has been much emphasized in the age of information. Moreover, how to make effective use of reading strategies to enhance students' reading abilities and information processing is a big concern. Therefore, this study aims to investigate the effects of web-based reading strategy training and explicit face-to-face instruction of reading strategies on Taiwan's college students' reading comprehension. A quasi-experiment design was adopted. The participants of this study were 134 students from three classes, 2 experimental groups and 1 control group, at a technical university in central Taiwan. One-year explicit strategies instruction was given to all the participants in the experimental groups. The research instruments include tests of reading comprehension, the reading strategy inventory, interviews before and after training, and the questionnaires on the instructional design. The reading comprehension test of GEPT - elementary level was used as the pretest and posttest to measure the participants' reading comprehension ability before and after the raining programs. In the data analysis, the differences in the English reading comprehension tests and questionnaires between the pre-treatment and post-treatment were compared and analyzed quantitatively (descriptive statistic, paired-sample t test, and ANOVA). Additionally, some open-ended questions and focus group interviews concerning the students' responses to the strategy instruction and the on line training program were analyzed qualitatively. Results of this study showed a medium to high level use of reading strategy, especially social-affective strategies. It also indicated learners' reading strategy use generally affected their reading comprehension and providing the reading strategies was a great benefit to learners' reading processes. After the reading strategy training, learners showed the effects of reading strategy instruction on the overall improvement of English reading and literacy development. Finally, the researcher suggests the strategy instruction should be incorporated into regular English curriculum to help strengthen students' long-term and holistic strategy use.

This study was to investigate English learning motivation among the technological university students who were found to carry low English learning motivation. The wide spread availability of technology is harnessed in this study to bridge the geographical divide between students on industrial placements when studying graded readers to improve their English competence and to pass the General English Proficiency Test. Looking through the dual lens framework of socio- educational (Gardner, 2005) and motivational thinking (Ushioda, 2001) frameworks, changes in students' attitude and motivation in traditional and e-Iearning contexts; factors correlated with motivation in e-learning; attitudes and motivation changes in higher proficiency (HP) and lower proficiency (LP) groups; English learning experience, persistence and motivation in HP and LP learners were investigated. An e-learning course was designed aimed at students' needs in a platform to support their English learning during their placement year. A mixed method approach was applied in this study. Data were collected through questionnaires, course feedback, individual interviews and course observations. The results show that students' English learning motivation maintained a moderate positive level in the traditional group. On the other hand, e-Iearning group had significant lower attitudes towards the culture of English-speaking countries. However, both traditional and e-Iearning groups improved their English proficiency notably. Therefore, this result indicates that students improved their Englislh while staying in the environments which suited their learning. This study contributes to the literature by confirming Gardner's socio-educational framework in an e-leaning context and also finds a strong correlation between motivation and computer attitudes. The results are also consistent with Ushioda's motivational thinking model. And show that with extended characteristics the successful learner could also be motivated by a job-related goal and pressure of examination. This was observed in the HP students of this study and was due to their different culture and educational background.

This research is a corpus-based study with both quantitative and qualitative approaches with the aim of ascertaining the lexical features of business news so as to assist Taiwan's university students in reading business news articles for better comprehension. For this study, a 1.23 million-word corpus was created by collecting business news articles from English language newspapers published in Taiwan. This corpus was used to investigate the word frequency of business news genre. Based on the word frequency, other lexical features were also investigated. These features include word type distribution, coverage of the General Service Word List (GSL) and the Academic Word List (AWL) in the corpus, the applications of Zipf's Law and Powers' vocabulary prediction theory on the business news genre, and an analysis of the lexical difficulty of articles written by local journalists based in Taiwan and by press agency journalists. The suitability of the vocabulary in Business English textbooks commonly used in Taiwan's universities was also assessed in this study. In light of there being no business news word lists available, two word lists - one general with 2,200 words, the other business-specific with 700 words - were compiled, based on the corpus created for this study. The first word list aims to help students gain a lexical knowledge which can cover 95% of business news text; the second one, narrowed down from the first word list, is a condensed, quick- view word list of business terminology. These two word lists, derived from a business news genre, were created for EFLlESL students to prioritise, and aims to help students make efficient and effective progress in their comprehension of business news.