Strategy Use in the Comprehension of English Idioms——A Comparative Study of Good and Poor Chinese English Learners

This study investigates whether L2 learners of English rely on their L1 (in this case Chinese) when attempting to comprehend an idiom in English and whether the student’s level of proficiency has any effect on L1 use in understanding L2 idioms. Using think-aloud protocol, the following conclusions were reached: 1) Almost all subjects translated English idioms into Chinese and searched a match, i.e. there exist transfer and interference of L1 in understanding L2 idioms.2) When the L1 was unable to help for understanding different idioms, good students were able to use conceptual strategies (i.e. metaphors and schema) better than poor students. This paper concludes with a suggestion that metaphor instruction be used to teach L2 idioms since a student cannot get very far when relying solely on his L1.     

A Survey and Suggestions on Students' Vocabulary Learning Strategiesin Senior High School

This paper is about a survey and suggestion on students’vocabulary learning strategies in senior high school.Vocabulary is one of the three elements of a language and the basic material of a language.So the vocabulary learning in English is especially important.In order to help the students to have a better understanding of the significance of language and lay a solid foundation for deep vocabulary acquisition,it is necessary for teachers to find effective ways to learn English vocabulary.So in this paper the author hopes to find what the vocabulary learning strategies the students have used through the survey and give more effective learning strategies according to the available English vocabulary learning strategies.     

Effects of Different Reading Purposes on L2 Learners’ IVA

According to the former studies, there are many factors having effects on second language(L2) learners’ incidental vocabulary acquisition(IVA). This paper is aimed to reveal how reading a text with different purposes might affect IVA of L2 learners. The results of this study show that there is a closed relationship between the efficiency of IVA and reading purposes. Besides,it also has something to do with L2 learners’ reading abilities.     

Discussion on English Vocabulary Teaching in Higher Vocational College

Mastering vocabulary is one of the key factors for learning a language. Therefore, how to teach and help students acquire vocabulary is worth researching for every English teacher. This paper mainly provides some effective ways of teaching vocabulary and discusses how to implement these methods in higher vocational English teaching.     

My View on the CET Spoken English Test

With the deepening of China‘s reform and open-door pohcy, the ability to participate mrectly m oral interactions in English becomes more and more important, hence the focus of English language teaching on improving students‘ oral English proficiency. The CET Spoken English Test (CET-SET), which is a face-to-face oral proficiency test, is a component part of the CET test. Since its first administration on a national scale in November 1999, it has been receiving a growing amount of attention from teachers and students in universities in China. As the number of studen tstaking the CET-SET is growing rapidly year by year, it has become crucial to develop an alternative to the CET-SET that can be operationally more practical. My views on the CET-SET are expounded in this paper, which is structured as follows. First, I provide an overview of the CET-SET. Next, I identify several aspects of the test that are amenable to changes. Finally, I put forward some suggestions as to the development of an alternative approach for the CET-SET.     

A Critical Review on Exploring L2 Language Play as an Aid to SLL:A Case Study of Humour in NS-NNS Interaction

This article is a critical review for NANCY D.BELL's article Exploring L2 Language Play as an Aid to SLL:A Case Study of Humour in NS-NNS Interaction.NANCY D.BELL discusses the results that in second language acquisition,language play can be a marker of proficiency and it may also result in deeper processing of lexical items,thus it may be especially helpful in the acquisition of vocabulary and semantic fields.The theoretical background,methods,results,etc.were reviewed in this article.     

Developing a useful Vocabulary in English is more Complicated and Effective than Simply Learning Words Based on Lists

Traditional ways of English learning such as memorizing a certain couple of words and reciting from the word list seem much easier than developing a useful vocabulary for L2 learners. However, learners complain that they have suffered from couples of difficulties as the words are easy to be forgotten. Compare with the ways of mechanical memorizing, it argues that providing L2 learners with the development of useful lexical knowledge such as semantic information and morphological structure is more effective in the process of language acquisition. Moreover, developing a useful lexical knowledge is far more complicated for English learners.     

Confucian Heritage and Spoken English Anxiety in China

In order to promote learners’spoken English proficiency,a further understanding of the impact of Confucian tradition,as a historically dominant ethical and philosophical system,on learner anxiety and eventually on learning efficiency in a spoken English class is generated,and a theoretical analysis is conducted,from the perspectives of second language acquisition and intercultural communication.Some Confucian values including self-restraint,propriety observation,paying reverence to teachers and face-keeping principle may increase learner anxiety in oral English class,hindering the development of their spoken English proficiency.Accordingly,a set of teaching strategies to help control culture-related anxiety in spoken English class are systematically presented.     

Learning Strategies in Chinese ESL Learners' Acquisition of Spoken English

As for Chinese ESL (English as a second language) learners, one of the major problems in English learning is their poor performance of spoken English. Among various factors that improve spoken English skills, it is believed, learning strategies play an important role in acquisition of oral English. Beginning with the learning purpose and style of spoken English, this paper discusses the application of socioaffecrive, cognitive and metacognitive learning strategies in Chinese ESL learners' acquisition of spoken English.     

An Analysis on Teaching College English Vocabulary——From an Etymological Perspective

Language and culture have influenced each other. They cannot be separated as isolated one. Culture finds a better representation through language use. Language is an indispensible carrier of culture. Many words have their origins in religion, mythology stories and literary works. Looking at English vocabulary from an etymological perspective is a good way to go in teaching college English vocabulary. This paper gives a brief introduction about the characteristics of English vocabulary and some advantages of teaching vocabulary from an etymological perspective, also, suggestions in using etymological perspective to teach college English vocabulary.     

An Empirical Study of Senior One High School Students’Cognitive Strategies in Learning English Vocabulary

The present research aims to find out (1) the general vocabulary learning beliefs of Senior One high school students in Guang zhou; (2) the general vocabulary cognitive strategies adopted by Senior One high school students in Guangzhou; (3) the differences be tween successful English learners and unsuccessful English learners in adopting cognitive strategies in their English vocabulary learning. A cohort of 68 Senior One high school students participate in the research. The results of the investigation show that the notion that vocabu lary should be learnt in context and through using is shared by the majority, that the most frequently used vocabulary cognitive strategies are inferencing, note-taking, contextualization and resourcing, that there is no significant difference between the successful English learners and the unsuccessful English learners in using identical vocabulary cognitive strategies.     

An Analysis on English Relative Clauses Acquisition in Spoken Context of Chinese College English Majored Learners

This study investigated the relative clauses acquisition of Chinese EFL Learners in spoken context.207 English major sophomores’spoken data selected from the Spoken and Written English Corpus of Chinese Learners were analyzed.All the par ticipants were divided into high and low group according to their oral proficiency.This study found that high proficiency stu dents outperformed low proficiency students not only in the numbers of RCs also in accuracy.Meanwhile,the RCs produced in the spoken context also supported previous accessibility hierarchy hypotheses on processing RCs,and the regression results showed that OS and OOGen types of RCs were strong predictors of spoken proficiency.However,because of the typological dif ference of RC between Chinese and English,four types of RC errors were found.This study expected to provide some pedagogi cal insights into English RC acquisition in spoken context.     

悠闲英语（五十五）Mathemat ical English 数解英文

I have been writing this column for several years now and have received a lot of letters from the readers. They asked all kinds of questions, from English grammar, to what DD eats everyday, to how to find a job after graduation from college, to how to make kids interested in studying English But,     

Application of Error Analysis in English Vocabulary Teaching

Vocabulary is an indispensable part of language and is of vital importance for second language learners. Students make form, collocation and ambiguous errors in English vocabulary acquisition. This thesis attempts to analyze errors in students’ English vocabulary acquisition based on error analysis, give the reasons and further put up some teaching approaches to lessen or avoid errors.     

The Positive Effects of Reading Tasks on Incidental Vocabulary Acquisition

The questions concerning vocabulary acquisition have been explored for years.Among all these researches,there is a basic assumption that learners can acquire words from incidental exposure to written texts.Quite a number of empirical studies have testified the hypothesis,in which,the relationship between reading tasks and incidental vocabulary acquisition(IVA) has become an interest in the field of second language acquisition(SLA) studies.The present study presents some theories and studies about the positive effects of reading tasks on IVA and suggests future research on the related topics.     

Principles and Methods of Instructing Culture in English Majors' Vocabulary Teaching

The precondition of understanding the vocabulary of a language well is mastering the culture of that language.In China,vocabulary teaching has long been regarded as the core and the most difficult part in English teaching by the majority of English teachers.With the increasing cultural exchanges between China and the West and a better understanding of the importance of vocabulary teaching in academic circles,more and more scholars and English teachers have realized the necessity of instructing culture in vocabulary teaching.In order to improve English teaching,The article combines the advantages of instructing culture in English vocabulary teaching to put forwards its principles and methods.     

The Cambridge Approach to Speaking Assessment

Introduction Direct tests of speaking (and writing) have always beenstandard practice in Cambridge examinations for assessingboth first (L1) and second (L2) language proficiency andCambridge ESOL has a long experience of ‘direct’ speakingassessment.Although some writers have claimed that perfor-mance tests date back only to the middle of the 20th century(McNamara 1996, Lowe 1988), it is worth noting that thevery first UCLES English language proficiency examina-     

Attempt to improve Vocabulary Teaching for Higher Vocational College Students

Vocabulary is the building material of language,and vocabulary study is therefore one of the most important aspects in any language learning.It is a key point to improve English learning through paying more attention to vocabulary acquisition.However,vocabulary teaching is one aspect of language teaching that has not been given enough attention in China.Therefore,some issues in vocabulary teaching and learning in higher vocational colleges are being addressed at present,which are worthy of our further consideration.     

Games in Vocabulary Teaching

Vocabulary acquisition is increasingly viewed as crucial to language acquisition.However,learning vocabulary is often perceived as a tedious and laborious process.This leaves us teachers a big problem of how to teach vocabulary effectively.This paper will answer the question.The paper first discusses the scope of the definition of "game",and then goes to the value of games in vocabulary teaching.In the third part,the author lists some useful games for vocabulary teaching and explores the response from the students.The fourth part illustrates the problems encountered in vocabulary teaching.The final part of this paper is the conclusion.     

Cognitive Metaphor and English Vocabulary Learning

English plays an essential and significant role in our life. How to study English well has become a public concern. English vocabulary is of great significance in English learning. Metaphor is not only a language phenomenon but also a way of thinking and cognition. As a link between cognition and language, metaphor plays an indispensable role in English vocabulary learning. By emphasizing the effects of cognitive metaphor on English vocabulary learning, the paper aims to help English learners improve vocabulary learning strategies.