Abstract The past two decades have seen formative assessment claim legitimacy in policy discourse and engender immense tensions within the testing-dominated assessment regimes of multiple educational settings. These tensions, along with the top-down approach of the policy process, have made the inroads of formative assessment in local contexts very complex. This study seeks to unveil the localized appropriation and actualization of a formative assessment initiative in the College English area at a Chinese local university. The focus is on how the key actors at the institutional and classroom levels appropriate and negotiate the policy meaning within their local community of practice. Analysis of an individual interview with the dean and a focus-group interview with six teachers has revealed a “two-hand” approach Two-hand approach: “Grasp with both hands and both hands be hard” is a literal translation of late Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping’s well-known initiative, meaning to try to attach equal importance to two things in hand. to the national policy and a nested mediation from local constraints, “cultural tools for thinking” and, more importantly, power in the policymaking process at the institutional level. The classroom level, on the other hand, witnesses capable teachers exercising their agency within a limited space. As a result, we would caution that power and agency could be solid mediators in the policy process and need to be exercised with care to ensure a more coherent implementation of assessment innovations.

Abstract The objective of this study is to shed light on what the literature on English Language Teaching (ELT) job advertisements reveals about the ELT profession. For this aim, the existing nine articles are chosen as the focal literature and content-analyzed. The results point to some facts about ELT: the native speakerism ideology persists in ELT job advertisements; it includes multifaceted discrimination against both non-native and non-Anglophone native English speaker teachers (NESTs); cost-effective strategies are utilized by recruiters to hire young NESTs; different marketing strategies are employed to attract NESTs and to earn the prestige associated with hiring them; and advertising discourse is a way to institutionalization and entrenchment of discrimination. The fallacies explored also concern ELT as an adventure full of travel and pleasure, the dominance of supply-demand and preference principles, viewing NESTs as ideal teachers who promise fun and effortless language learning; and the fallacy that native status compensates for the lack of qualification and experience. Each fact and fallacy is problematized and ways to combat discrimination are suggested. Also, implications of the study for various stakeholders in the ELT circle including the NESTs, NNESTs, and recruiting agencies are discussed.

Abstract This study employed a mixed methods approach to investigate the impact of learner and teacher variables on foreign language enjoyment (FLE) and foreign language anxiety (FLA) among 250 high school English learners in the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, China, a group that has so far been under-researched. Quantitative analysis results indicated a prevalence of FLE over FLA, demonstrating a significant negative correlation between these emotional dimensions. However, complete overlap between these emotions was not observed. Utilizing multiple regression models in R revealed main effects of Grade, Self-reported English Proficiency, Learners’ Attitudes towards Teachers, and Teachers’ Frequency of English Use on FLE. Conversely, only self-reported English Proficiency exhibited a main effect on FLA. Unlike most prior studies, gender did not exhibit a main effect; however, it interacted with Grade in influencing FLE and interacted with Learners’ Attitudes towards Teachers regarding FLA. Qualitative analysis of participant responses elucidated factors contributing to enjoyable experiences, encompassing authentic English usage, self-recognition, teacher recognition and peer recognition. Conversely, factors such as mistakes made in assignments and unpreparedness for lessons, triggered anxious experiences. The pedagogical implication underscores that the classroom emotional climate is co-shaped by both students and teachers, with teachers playing a pivotal role in fostering FLE.

Abstract Although substantial research shows the effectiveness of written corrective feedback (WCF) in treating simple grammar structures, more research is still needed to refute Truscott’s claim that WCF may not work on complex grammar structures. Similarly, a previous body of research has shown that the degree of explicitness of feedback moderates the efficacy of WCF. However, most WCF studies have systematically manipulated only direct corrective feedback. The current study was therefore conducted to fill these gaps in the literature. To this end, five intact classes of Functional English were recruited and later randomly assigned to four treatment groups: DCF, DCF+ME, ICF, and ICF+ME, and one control group that received no feedback. All the groups took part in three WCF treatment sessions, during which they wrote two different pieces: a news report and a picture description. Later, only the treatment groups received the WCF. The WCF’s effectiveness was measured by writing tests and grammaticality judgment tasks (GJT). The results demonstrated that WCF helped L2 learners improve their grammatical accuracy of passive voice tenses. The study further showed that the group that received the most explicit type of WCF fared better than the ones that received the least explicit type of WCF. Important pedagogical implications for ESL/EFL teachers are discussed.

Abstract The interference of a tonal language poses challenges for Chinese learners of English to acquire word stress. The lack of symmetry between word stress problems in production and perception, and the absence of attention to specific stress patterns in teaching and learning, can reduce the effectiveness of word stress acquisition. The purpose of this paper is twofold: to examine the relationship between English word stress production and perception and to investigate how English word stress production and perception are affected by specific stress patterns. Ninety participants were involved in a production task and a perception task. Test words were selected based on 26 stress patterns in three categories: syllabic structure, phonological similarity, and vowel reduction. The results show that the production and perception of English word stress differ significantly without a strong linear correlation. Although the accuracy of word stress perception was higher than production for the test words in general, the comparative status of production and perception varied across different stress patterns. Specifically, in the syllabic structure category, the highest symmetry rate of word stress assignment in the production and perception for ˈσCVCC (e.g., climax, abend), while the symmetry rate for ˈσoCVV(C) (e.g., abdicate, importune) was the lowest and the most problematic for production. In the phonological similarity category, production and perception of word stress were most symmetrical for words with the suffix “-eous” and the most asymmetrical for words with the suffix “-ese,” which was also the most problematic for production. Identification of vowel reduction was more challenging for /ɒ/ than /æ/ in both production and perception. It is suggested that Chinese ESL teachers prioritize the teaching of stress patterns with low symmetrical relationships to achieve efficient learning outcomes.

Abstract Second language (L2) motivation has been a topic which receives intensive attention. However, the peer effect on L2 motivation is insufficiently researched, although it is considered a crucial factor which may significantly mediate learners’ L2 motivation. Hence, the current study adopted Dörnyei’s L2 Motivational Self System (L2MSS) as a theoretical framework and investigated in which specific aspects peers might affect the learners’ L2 motivation and whether such effect was long-lasting. The research was designed as a small-scale qualitative study which was located in a language-focused experimental class project in China. Ten participants were recruited and individual interviews were conducted. The results demonstrated that, first, peers could remarkably influence the L2 motivation possessed by the students in the experimental class since they tended to create a clearer ideal L2 self and a more powerful ought-to L2 self. Second, although they had both positive and negative views towards the curriculum, a motivated peer climate could alleviate the pressure caused by the curriculum and reinforce positive attitudes. Third, such peer effect was not long-lasting. Based on the research results, pedagogical implications were proposed in terms of establishing a positive peer group and adjusting the emphasis of the curriculum.

Abstract In L2 content-based classrooms, code-switching or translanguaging seem to be a common practice adopted by teachers. There has been growing research discussing the potentials of L1 in these classrooms. Most of the current studies have focused on the analysis of lesson interactions and yet the perception of the content teachers has remained underexplored. This case study investigated the introspective views of a group of content teachers at a secondary school using questionnaires and written accounts. Data analyses showed that these teachers were generally aware of the interpersonal and ideational functions achieved by the use of L1 and they also seemed to have a positive view towards their practices of using L1 in English-medium classrooms. Based on the findings, practical implications for content teachers in relation to making medium of instruction decisions and suggestions for further research are discussed.