The Evolution of Language Knowledge in China’s Compulsory Education English Curriculum Standards (1986–2022)

Research on Applications of the Communicative Principle in Russian Teaching

LANGUAGE NOTE | Document text in Chinese; abstract also in English.
 “中國近代知識轉型”是一個龐大的研究工程。欲探討這個東西方學術交會衝擊與裂變的議題，至少得從兩個大方向進行，一是西方近代科學式知識如何在中國建構，包括體制與觀念；一是傳統中國學術在近代如何轉變。本人一向致力研究後一議題，一方面想了解傳統中國學術是否有一知識體系，一方面則探討傳統學術在近代早期亦即明清以降的變化，並試著梳理出傳統學術的分化與開放的可能性。
 欲探討傳統學術的變化，“經學”———這個處於傳統學術中心並和政治極度結合的學術載體毫無疑問是一焦點。本文即以經學爲主題，觀察它在明清尤其是清代乾嘉以降的變化情形，並解釋這種變化的學術意義。欲研究經學，議題與角度極其繁多。本文則把主綫放在經數與經目的變化上，從歷代經數與經目的變化來觀察經學的學術轉變意義，尤其把重點放在18、19世紀———也就是清代中期考據學最興盛的乾隆、嘉慶、道光時段，事實上經數與經目的變化也以這個時期最爲劇烈。這個研究主題的意義，不僅欲指出傳統經典中的正統與流派，同時也想證明在知識擴張的晚清，“經學已不能構成單獨的學術權威”，以期彰顯正統之外的知識界是如何面對知識擴張與典範轉移的新學術局面。换言之，傳統中國學術的變化，經典未必只在内部以詮釋的方式作變遷，它很可能遭受其他鄰近學科的挑戰，而産生性質上的大變化。
 “Constructing Modern Knowledge in China, 1600-1949” is a topic of large scope and special significance. To explore colossal research project, I propose two basic approaches: First, to examine the differentiation of knowledge that was already occurring in traditional Chinese scholarship, including the rise of new fields and classifications of knowledge. Second, to explore the construction and practice of Western knowledge in China. Without the latter, it is impossible to grasp the overall development of Chinese modernity; without the former, it is impossible to understand how the system and nature of traditional scholarship clearly established the position of Chinese scholarship and opened up a dialog between China and the West. I have devoted my research to the internal dynamics and evolution of traditional Chinese scholarship and would like to address the fundamental question: Given the dynamics and evolution, was there a unity of intellectual system in traditional China? To do so, I have been studying the change of scholarship in early modern China and attempting to analyze how traditional Chinese scholarship could differentiate, specialize and maintain an open system.
 To examine the intellectual change in early modern China, I focus on classical knowledge — the prestigious location of both politics and culture in China for millennia. Previously historians had adopted many perspectives to study classical knowledge in early modern China. In this paper, I will investigate the evolution of the numbers of Classics and versions of the Confucian canon in order to shed new light on the history of classical knowledge and its cultural implication. Over the past two millennia, the numbers of Classics and versions of the Confucian canon changed in accord with contemporaneous political and intellectual contexts and intensified during the peak of evidential scholarship movement, roughly spanning from Qianlong, Jiaqing, and Daoguang reigns [1730-1850]. My research will not only discern the imperial orthodoxy from different version of classical knowledge but also show that classical knowledge could no longer be the sole academic authority in late Qing China. I would like to demonstrate that the discursive space craved out for classical knowledge in High Qing China was indeed more energized and active than we previously assumed. Moreover, the transformation of the classical knowledge in Qing China was not merely an internal evolution of classical knowledge itself but also an outcome of rapid change of academic disciplines as well.
 The multifarious and intensified change of the numbers of Classics and versions of the Confucian canon in the nineteenth century can be found in the new arrangement of twenty-one Classics by Duan Yucai (1735-1815), ten classics by Shen Tao (1792-1855), a different justification of twenty-one Classics by Liu Gongmian (1824-1883), and the new justification of orthodox version of the Confucian canon in Six Classics espoused by Gong Zizhen (1792-1841).
 As a result, the traditional classical knowledge had already significantly expanded and even shifted paradigmatically before the advent of the industrial West. The emergence of these new branches of specialized knowledge in the Confucian canon demonstrates the expansion and paradigmatic shift of classical knowledge during the nineteenth century. I shall call it the germination of modern specialization in China. This sort of differentiation within the traditional classical knowledge was an indispensible step toward the construction of modern knowledge in China. The academic prototype in modern China should be traced to the specialization of classical knowledge in the Qing dynasty.

The book from which these sections are excerpted (N. Chomsky,Rules and Representations, Columbia University Press, 1980) is concerned with the prospects for assimilating the study of human intelligence and its products to the natural sciences through the investigation of cognitive structures, understood as systems of rules and representations that can be regarded as “mental organs.” These mental structui′es serve as the vehicles for the exercise of various capacities. They develop in the mind on the basis of an innate endowment that permits the growth of rich and highly articulated structures along an intrinsically determined course under the triggering and partially shaping effect of experience, which fixes parameters in an intricate system of predetermined form. It is argued that the mind is modular in character, with a diversity of cognitive structures, each with its specific properties arid principles. Knowledge of language, of the behavior of objects, and much else crucially involves these mental structures, and is thus not characterizable in terms of capacities, dispositions, or practical abilities, nor is it necessarily grounded in experience in the standard sense of this term.Various types of knowledge and modes of knowledge acquisition are discussed in these terms. Some of the properties of the language faculty are investigated. The basic cognitive relation is “knowing a grammar”; knowledge of language is derivative and, correspondingly, raises further problems. Language as commonly understood is not a unitary phenomenon but involves a number of interacting systems: the “computational” system of grammar, which provides the representations of sound and meaning that permit a rich range of expressive potential, is distinct from a conceptual system with its own properties; knowledge of language must be distinguished from knowledge of how to use a language; and the various systems that enter into the knowledge and use of language must be further analyzed into their specific subcomponents.

Since the language used by people has the potential to signal a membership in a discourse community, it is significant that prospective teachers speak the appropriate social language to be able to claim a strong membership in the community of teachers. This qualitative study explores a group of pre-service teachers’ professional language use and their claims for membership in the teaching profession. In this study, a scrutiny of the meanings reflected by 21 pre-service teachers during their one-semester internship is provided to illustrate the extent to which their classroom practice brings about a change in both their professional language use and their recognition of themselves as valid members of the specific discourse community of English as a foreign language (EFL) teachers in Turkey. The methods of data collection in this study consisted of a blend of qualitative techniques: (1) the pre-service teachers’ weekly field notes; (2) their weekly reflective reports on their own field notes and their classroom practice experiences; (3) their written responses to open-ended questions posed at the end of the semester; and (4) my observational notes which I took during weekly discussion sessions. Findings underscore that there are several reasons leading to the participants’ limited professional language use. A focus on teachers’ professional language use – a significant part and indicator of teachers’ professional development – might help to reveal the dimensions of the processes involved in teachers’ identity formation in different educational contexts as well as in mainstream contexts.

Language knowledge and event knowledge in language use

We report on the development of a new instrument for measuring teachers' knowledge of language as an epistemic tool in science classes. Language is essential for science learning, as all learning requires the use of language to constitute one's own ideas and to engage with others' ideas. Teachers with knowledge of language as an epistemic tool can recognize the ways that language allows students to generate and validate knowledge for themselves, rather than to replicate canonical knowledge transmitted by other sources. We used a construct‐driven development approach with iterations of domain analysis, item revision, teacher feedback, expert review, and item piloting to address the content, substance, and structure aspects of validity. Data from 158 preservice and in‐service teachers on 27 preliminary items were collected. Findings from Rasch measurement modeling indicate a single dimension fits the items well and can distinguish teachers of higher and lower knowledge. We revised and selected 15 items for an updated instrument. This contributes to ongoing measurement projects and provides a potential instrument for future, broader use by the field to gauge teachers' knowledge of language as an epistemic tool.

This research was conducted to examine the practices in financial statements and the use of language in annual reports presented by companies listed on Bursa Malaysia. This study was conducted in accordance with the Malaysian Financial Reporting Standards (MFRS) for the presentation of financial statements. A total sample of 180 companies from total population of 826 companies listed on Bursa Malaysia in 2012 was taken. All the samples have a complete financial statement from 2003 to 2012. The study found there were recent changes in practice and the use of the title as well as the use of accounting terminology in financial statements. The study also showed that the use of language in the company’s annual report still relies on the use of the English language. This study is important as a continuation of previous studies on the presentation of the financial statements and the use of language in the company’s reporting. Moreover, it would be a starting point for uniformity in the use of terms and the enforcement of accounting standards for language usage in the Malaysian company’s annual report. These outcomes make an incremental contribution to the existing literature by providing useful insights into our knowledge of language especially in emerging markets like Malaysia. The implications of the research findings and future research have been discussed.

BackgroundQualitative research methods are increasingly being used across disciplines because of their ability to help investigators understand the perspectives of participants in their own words. However, qualitative analysis is a laborious and resource-intensive process. To achieve depth, researchers are limited to smaller sample sizes when analyzing text data. One potential method to address this concern is natural language processing (NLP). Qualitative text analysis involves researchers reading data, assigning code labels, and iteratively developing findings; NLP has the potential to automate part of this process. Unfortunately, little methodological research has been done to compare automatic coding using NLP techniques and qualitative coding, which is critical to establish the viability of NLP as a useful, rigorous analysis procedure.ObjectiveThe purpose of this study was to compare the utility of a traditional qualitative text analysis, an NLP analysis, and an augmented approach that combines qualitative and NLP methods.MethodsWe conducted a 2-arm cross-over experiment to compare qualitative and NLP approaches to analyze data generated through 2 text (short message service) message survey questions, one about prescription drugs and the other about police interactions, sent to youth aged 14-24 years. We randomly assigned a question to each of the 2 experienced qualitative analysis teams for independent coding and analysis before receiving NLP results. A third team separately conducted NLP analysis of the same 2 questions. We examined the results of our analyses to compare (1) the similarity of findings derived, (2) the quality of inferences generated, and (3) the time spent in analysis.ResultsThe qualitative-only analysis for the drug question (n=58) yielded 4 major findings, whereas the NLP analysis yielded 3 findings that missed contextual elements. The qualitative and NLP-augmented analysis was the most comprehensive. For the police question (n=68), the qualitative-only analysis yielded 4 primary findings and the NLP-only analysis yielded 4 slightly different findings. Again, the augmented qualitative and NLP analysis was the most comprehensive and produced the highest quality inferences, increasing our depth of understanding (ie, details and frequencies). In terms of time, the NLP-only approach was quicker than the qualitative-only approach for the drug (120 vs 270 minutes) and police (40 vs 270 minutes) questions. An approach beginning with qualitative analysis followed by qualitative- or NLP-augmented analysis took longer time than that beginning with NLP for both drug (450 vs 240 minutes) and police (390 vs 220 minutes) questions.ConclusionsNLP provides both a foundation to code qualitatively more quickly and a method to validate qualitative findings. NLP methods were able to identify major themes found with traditional qualitative analysis but were not useful in identifying nuances. Traditional qualitative text analysis added important details and context.

Importance. Existing empirical research in the field of integration of artificial intelligence technology in foreign language teaching is devoted to the use of specific technology in teaching types of speech activity, mainly writing. The authors note the wide methodological potential of artificial intelligence technologies in foreign language teaching and use chatbots, voice assistants, intelligent learning systems, corpus technologies to form the foreign language communicative competence of students. However, the analysis of a number of studies has allowed us to conclude that so far the authors have not attempted to design a unified model of language and methodological preservice teachers’ training based on artificial intelligence technologies. The purpose of this work is to design a model of language and methodological pre-service teachers’ training based on artificial intelligence technologies.Research Methods. The present study is related to the study of the context of the integration of artificial intelligence technologies into language education. To achieve the set research goal, theoretical methods were used: the study and analysis of scientific and methodological works on thedesign of methodological models of teaching a foreign language using modern technologies; empirical methods: survey, observation and description of research results; modeling methods.Definition of Concepts. The main concepts in this work are “the model of language and methodological pre-service teachers’ training” and “the competence of a pre-service foreign language teacher in the field of using artificial intelligence technologies”.Results and Discussion. Structurally, the model of language and methodological pre-service teachers’ training based on artificial intelligence technologies is represented by the following components: prerequisites (determining the relevance of designing a learning model), a goalsetting block (setting goals and objectives for developing teaching methods), a theoretical block (determining the theoretical and methodological basis of research), a technological block (determining strategies and teaching methods, selection of the learning content, identification of organizational and pedagogical learning conditions, the choice of optimal organizational forms of learning, the definition of pedagogical tools), the evaluation and performance block (the development of a criterion-based assessment apparatus and the forecast of expected learning outcomes).Conclusion. At this stage, the proposed model reflects the essence of the development of AI technologies and their applicability in a foreign language teaching. The separation of artificial intelligence from a means of learning into a separate subject of the educational process indicates that there is a paradigm shift in the use of new technologies in learning. AI technologies are able to provide high-quality feedback, create additional conditions for language practice, take on daily routine tasks and automate them, thereby shaping the ability of students to engage in their education and self-education throughout their lives. The obtained research results are recommended to be used in the methodology of teaching a foreign language, as well as in the development of private methods of teaching a foreign language using AI technologies.

Some studies have reported a cognitive advantage for bilingual children over monolinguals and other studies have not. One possible reason for these conflicting results is that the degree of cognitive flexibility is related to individual differences in language dominance and use. More balanced bilinguals who separate their languages by context might have to learn to reduce inter-language interference and therefore show greater cognitive flexibility. The goal of the present study was to test if language dominance is related to French–English bilingual children’s cognitive flexibility, using three different measures of language dominance: (1) parental reports of dominance, (2) relative scores on vocabulary tests, and (3) knowledge of translation equivalents. We also included two measures of language use: (1) living in a bilingual community (Montreal) or a monolingual community (Edmonton) and (2) language separation. Sixty-two French–English bilingual between 46 and 85 months of age participated. Children’s cognitive flexibility was assessed using the Advanced Dimensional Change Card Sort task. Children’s language knowledge and use was assessed in both French and English using a battery of tests. The results showed that none of the measures of language dominance or language use predicted cognitive flexibility. These results are inconsistent with the claim that individual differences in language dominance and use predict bilinguals’ executive function s.

The monograph, “Foreign Language Anxiety, Post – Communist Country Context” was edited by Zdena Kráľová and Jana Kamenická, Verbum Praha, 2019. Anxiety and fear on one hand, unflagging inner responsibility to do one´s best in the position of a role model, on the other… This is the challenge that countless non-native foreign language (FL) teachers experience every time they stand in front of their learners. Teachers, being of different personalities, having undergone various educational systems and being given different opportunities for practical foreign language use, are trying to do their best to fulfil their highest potential. That is why being a teacher automatically predestines representatives of this difficult profession to experience a life-long challenge - professional and personal. Many non-native FL teachers experience feelings of anxiety and fear when it comes to their everyday teaching performance, however, their, often very difficult, situation does not belong to topics of wide discussions. This work provides a unique outlook on the issues that should definitely be more discussed by the experts of the field. Authors try to clarify the issue of anxiety in hope that if it is theoretically understood, it can be coped with it more efficiently. During close reading of this monograph, I, as a non-native English language teacher, have found many issues concerning anxiety not only interesting, but beneficial as well. The content of the work is logically organized which gives readers the opportunity to understand the problem systematically, from the most fundamental issues to more complex ones.

In many aspects of our lives nowadays, there are requirements for effective communication as a consequence of globalisation and coexistence in a multicultural and multilingual society. The expanding need for multilingual and intercultural communication occurs as a result of mobility and the spread of market employability within the European Union and beyond and, consequently, migrations of people because of better material living conditions and the revitalisation of some provinces and regions. The rapid development of information and communication technology, which eliminates local distance and encourages simultaneous communication through various media, he also become an important factor. In the age of globalisation, we can add another fact, that today more people than ever live in a nearby neighbourhood with different languages and cultures, many of them working together or having daily encounters. People are thus becoming more mobile, for both private and professional reason, and thus need to communicate in several languages. Knowledge of language allows for intercultural dialogue and encourages the willingness to coexist along with mutual respect. The learning and use of languages are fundamental to peaceful coexistence in the common European area, especially in those area where languages and cultures have coexisted for centuries. Cooperation between schools and kindergartens in border areas has a long tradition in Slovenia. Recently, a new form of cooperation has been introduced, the so-called cross-border mobility, which goes beyond occasional meetings of cultural or sporting nature. Teachers who teach in the schools in border areas in Slovenia, Austria, Italy, Croatia and Hungary are implementing professionally prepared learning mobility in neighbouring schools, and they are occasionally included in the regular educational programme. This mobility has extra significance for students because they develop multilingual and intercultural competences, they become acquainted with their peers and teachers from neighbouring countries and with new teaching strategies and, at the same time, they also improve subsequent employment prospects. With the implementation of multilingual and intercultural educational practice in the neighbouring schools, mobile teachers are developing their professional capital, which is reflected in the intercultural and multilingual awareness, personal growth, upgrading of methodical-didactic knowledge, knowledge of the neighbour language and learning about the educational system and curriculum of the neighbouring country. The model of education presented in this article was conducted as research into multilingual education and pointed out new aspects of professionalism among the professional staff that will need to be explored further in the direction of professional capital. The key role in the implementation of the model has a web-based environment/lingfest.eu/ that expertly supports users, enables them networking and cooperating with the local community (tourist associations, cultural arts institutions, joint events etc.).

Dutch is a typical 'third language'. Most learners have knowledge of other languages before they start to learn Dutch. One or two of these languages are closely related to Dutch, English and/or German. When L3-learners come across a new language for the first time, it can be observed that they try to make use of languages they learned before. Experienced language learners often perform better than less experienced subjects. Furthermore, prior research shows that related languages will contribute more to intelligibility than less related languages do. The objects of this study were 42 German multilinguals reading a Dutch text without knowledge of this language. They mainly differ according to their language background and language learning experience. The results indicate that the experienced learners use more inferring strategies than the less experienced learners and that German is indeed the preferred source of transfer. However, the experienced multilinguals do not show a significantly different metalinguistic strategy pattern, and some regard Scandinavian words as being much more transferable than one might expect. This leads to the assumption that their explicit knowledge about language relatedness and their linguistic knowledge is not fully available in reading comprehension. Finally, the author offers some suggestions as to the direction explanations might take.

BackgroundSocial media has become increasingly important for communication among young people. It is also often used to communicate suicidal ideation.AimsTo investigate the link between acute suicidality and language use as well as activity on Instagram.MethodA total of 52 participants, aged on average around 16 years, who had posted pictures of non-suicidal self-injury on Instagram, and reported a lifetime history of suicidal ideation, were interviewed using Instagram messenger. Of those participants, 45.5% reported suicidal ideation on the day of the interview (acute suicidal ideation). Qualitative text analysis (software ATLAS.ti 7) was used to investigate experiences with expressions of active suicidal thoughts on Instagram. Quantitative text analysis of language use in the interviews and directly on Instagram (in picture captions) was performed using the Linguistic Inquiry and Word Count software. Language markers in the interviews and in picture captions, as well as activity on Instagram were added to regression analyses, in order to investigate predictors for current suicidal ideation.ResultsMost participants (80%) had come across expressions of active suicidal thoughts on Instagram and 25% had expressed active suicidal thoughts themselves. Participants with acute suicidal ideation used significantly more negative emotion words (Cohen’s d = 0.66, 95% CI: 0.088–1.232) and words expressing overall affect (Cohen’s d = 0.57, 95% CI: 0.001–1.138) in interviews. However, activity and language use on Instagram did not predict acute suicidality.ConclusionsWhile participants differed with regard to their use of language in interviews, differences in activity and language use on Instagram were not associated with acute suicidality. Other mechanisms of machine learning, like identifying picture content, might be more valuable.

Heritage speakers’ language acquisition is a complex process that is affected by linguistic, social, cultural, and affective factors. Studies on heritage speakers (HSs) have primarily focused on challenges HSs face in the classroom and scarcely investigated these challenges outside of instructional settings. This study addresses this gap by exploring the lived experiences of two young adult Spanish HSs outside of educational settings through a series of interviews to create personal narratives of their HL and experiences. Through Narrative Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (NIPA), three main themes emerged from these narratives: (1) Spanish heritage language (HL) knowledge and language use, (2) emotional factors that hinder language knowledge and language use, and (3) self-positioning towards SHL and culture. The findings indicated that the participants’ experiences with their Spanish heritage language (SHL) were profoundly impacted by the nature of language input they received, hostile environments, and negative interactions with members of their communities, which led to emotional distress and communicative avoidance. This situated study also offers potential conceptual and community-based implications for the Spanish HSs.