Chinese Junior Research Articles

Study of Chinese Junior High School Students' English Pragmatic Failure from the Perspective of Cultural Transfer

In the context of English as an international lingua franca, people's cross-cultural communication is obviously enhanced. In the process of cross-cultural communication, people with different cultural backgrounds ways of thinking, and cultural language habits use their own native culture to guess the behavioral habits of people who are different from their own culture. When negative cultural transfer occurs, it will cause the interlocutor to make a linguistic error in the communication. This affects the smoothness of intercultural communication. The rational use of English in cross-cultural communication situations has always been a major challenge for Chinese English learners. There are many domestic studies on the analysis of English language use from the perspective of negative cultural transfer based on second language acquisition, but not enough attention has been paid to the study of junior high school students English language use errors from the perspective of cultural transfer. The emphasis on pragmatic failure from the time students have the appropriate cultural awareness will help them improve their linguistic skills, reduce the phenomenon of Pragmatic failures, and improve their communication skills in intercultural. Therefore, this paper investigates the reasons for the emergence of junior high school students' pragmatic failures from the perspective of cultural transfer and draws teachers' attention to the development of students' pragmatic competence so that students can effectively avoid pragmatic failure in cross-cultural communication.

Life satisfaction trajectories among junior high school students in China: The role of parent–child communication

AbstractA 3‐year follow‐up test (from grades 7 to 9) was administered to 807 junior high school students from two regions in Hunan Province, China, using multilevel analysis to examine trends in junior high school students' life satisfaction, differences by gender and location of life and the effects of father–child/mother–child communication on the development of life satisfaction. The results showed that (1) Chinese junior high school students' life satisfaction showed a decreasing trend from the seventh grade to the ninth grade, and there was a significant decreasing process in the eighth grade; (2) father–child communication and mother–child communication had a significant positive predictive effect on Chinese junior high school students' life satisfaction and (3) father–child communication and mother–child communication had a significant negative predictive effect on the decreasing trend of life satisfaction, in which the effect of mother–child communication was particularly significant.

Internet use predicts Chinese character spelling performance of junior high school students: multiple mediating roles of pinyin input proficiency and net-speak experience.

To examine the complex relationship between Internet use experience and character spelling performance among Chinese junior high school students, the study explored the multiple mediating roles of Pinyin input proficiency and net-speak experience. A total of 447 Chinese junior high school students aged 12-15 years old completed the Internet Use Experience and Pinyin Input Proficiency Assessment, the Net-speak Experience Questionnaire and the Chinese Spelling Test. The results showed that: (1) All investigated variables were significantly correlated with each other, but there was no direct relationship between Internet use and Chinese spelling performance. (2) Pinyin input proficiency and net-speak experience play a chain mediating role in the relationship between Internet use and Chinese character spelling performance. Teens' Internet use experience indirectly and positively predicted Chinese character spelling performance through the mediation of Pinyin input method use and net-speak experience. The implication of this study is that Chinese children should be guided to engage in Internet activities that require Pinyin typing and use net-speak creatively in order to promote the traditional Chinese character spelling skills when instructing teenagers to engage in Internet activities.

Perceived parental involvement influences students' academic buoyancy and adaptability: the mediating roles of goal orientations.

Academic buoyancy and adaptability (i.e., student capacities to deal with difficulties and challenges in daily school lives and to make appropriate cognitive, behavioral as well as affective adjustments in interacting with new, uncertain, and/or changing situations, circumstances, and conditions) can help learners regulate and protect themselves in the failure-prone learning environment. This study examined how students' perceptions of parental academic involvement and their goal orientations were related to their academic buoyancy and adaptability in mathematics learning. We recruited a sample of 1,164 Chinese junior high school students. Using structural equation modeling, the results indicated that after controlling for family socioeconomic status and gender, perceived parental involvement was positively related to the students' academic buoyancy and adaptability. Furthermore, parental involvement was significantly associated with students' mastery and performance-approach goal orientations, which further partially mediated the relationship between parental involvement and academic buoyancy and adaptability. However, the mediating role of a performance-avoidance goal orientation in this relationship was not significant. Findings highlight the important roles that parenting practices and individual achievement motivation play in the development of academic buoyancy and adaptability in the Chinese context. Future research directions and implications are discussed.

Grit and Academic Self-Efficacy as Serial Mediation in the Relationship Between Growth Mindset and Academic Delay of Gratification: A Cross-Sectional Study.

With a growth mindset, individuals focus on the process of growth, actively seek challenges, recognise and accept failures, and apply more effort and monitor themselves to overcome difficulties. Doing so translates into excellent academic performance. However, it has not yet been fully clarified how growth mindset affects academic delay of gratification (ADG) and the mechanisms underlying their interactions. In this study, grit and academic self-efficacy were tested as mediating mechanisms between growth mindset and the ADG using a serial mediation effect model based on self-determination theory (SDT). A cross-sectional design was conducted with 759 Chinese junior high school students using the following tools: Growth Mindset Scale, Short Grit Scale, Academic Self-efficacy Scale, and Academic Delay of Gratification Scale. Hypotheses were tested using structural equation modeling. The results showed that: (1) by gender and grade control, growth mindset indicated a positive significance in the prediction of ADG; (2) grit and academic self-efficacy played a mediating role in the influence of a growth mindset on the ADG. Grit and academic self-efficacy also have a serial mediation effect between growth mindset and ADG. The results showed that a growth mindset does not only directly affect the ADG but also indirectly affects it through grit and academic self-efficacy. Based on SDT, this study further revealed the potential mechanism of a growth mindset affecting the ADG. Furthermore, it provides practical guidance for the cultivation of ADG for junior high school students.

백워드 설계에 기반한 중국 전문대학 교육과정 개선 방안 탐구

[Purpose] The study aims to analyze the problems of the college curriculum in a secondary position and to find new ways to improve Chinese junior colleges based on backward design. [Methods] To this end, a new curriculum was designed through literature research and comparative research between the curriculum of colleges in China and Korea. [Results] Its main findings are as follows: First, the problems of the college curriculum were found to be problems with the composition of the curriculum, the implementation of the curriculum, and the evaluation of the curriculum. Second, based on the backward design, the improvement of the curriculum of Chinese colleges proposed anew the improvement measures of curriculum implementation, the improvement measures of talent cultivation, the improvement measures of system and the improvement measures of practical course. [Conclusion] It concluded that Backward Design is different from traditional teaching methods, it is a new method for designing a curriculum from desired results. And it is more effective in reaching the educational goals of the college of China. Based on these researches the implications for the cultivation of higher vocational technical talents in China were put forward.

Psychological abuse, internalising, and externalising behaviours of students: A latent profile analysis

This study aimed to explore the types of psychological abuse and their relationship with internalising and externalising behaviours among Chinese junior middle school students (n = 619; male = 49.1%, female = 50.9%; mean age = 13.5 years, SD = 1.152 years). Latent profile analysis revealed four psychological abuse profiles: low, medium-low, medium-high, and high. Those students with high psychological abuse profiles also reported high internalising and externalising behaviours compared to those with lower psychological abuse profiles. Multinomial logistic regression analysis indicated that gender and school grade differences had a significant impact on psychological abuse profiles. This finding suggested that boys were more likely to have a high psychological abuse profile than girls, and students in Grade 8 were more likely to have a high psychological abuse profile than students in Grade 9. Our findings underscore the importance of designing and implementing psychological abuse treatment interventions by profiles of the children for higher efficacy in reducing the risk of internalising and externalising behaviours.

Study on Students’ Engagement of Different Writing Levels in the Process of Peer Feedback of English Writing in the Junior High School

Within peer feedback, the act of involving students uploading their first drafts of English essays as writers, offering written comments as feedback givers, back-evaluating the helpfulness of peer responses as feedback receivers, and revising previous work as suggested. Research investigating features and development trajectories of engagement from the perspective of feedback givers is still in its infancy. Based on the requirements of the peer feedback task and in the context of teaching English writing in junior schools, this paper uses the survey research method to investigate the learning engagement of Chinese junior high school students in peer feedback and its dynamic changes.

Understanding and Implementing Learning-Oriented Assessment: Evidence From Three Chinese Junior High School EFL Teachers

AbstractAssessment has had an enduring influence on teaching and learning English as a Foreign Language (EFL). The conceptualization and enactment of formative assessment as an integral foundation of learning-oriented assessment (LOA) has become the focus of recent studies, reflecting the mandated role of formative assessment in educational policies such as the national curriculum in China. However, it remains largely unexplored how junior high school EFL teachers in China understand and interpret formative assessment in response to policy imperatives and the enactment of learning-oriented assessment practices in classes that often focus on test preparation. To address the gap, this article reports a case study of three junior high school EFL teachers in a southwest city in China in order to explore their assessment beliefs and learning-oriented classroom assessment practices. The data collected included 15 audio-recorded classroom observations and three semi-structured audio-recorded interviews. The three teachers interpreted the concept of LOA in different ways and their classroom practices reflected these understandings. Despite working in a heavily exam-oriented context, the teachers were observed to provide contingent oral feedback to their learners, help learners develop their understanding through learner-centered tasks and interactions where learners were positioned as resources for each other through grouping and peer-assessment opportunities, and encourage learner autonomy. These findings point to ways in which LOA can be realized within exam-oriented English language learning contexts.

Opening the “Black Box”: How Out-of-Class Use of Duolingo Impacts Chinese Junior High School Students’ Intrinsic Motivation for English

Purpose Mobile-assisted language learning (MALL) apps such as Duolingo have great potential for promoting learners’ motivation to learn a second language (L2). However, little research has investigated how this motivational impact takes place. Additionally, despite the flexibility of mobile learning, most existing studies are conducted in classroom settings, with less attention paid to out-of-school technology usage. Design/Approach/Methods To address these gaps, we present a model based on self-determination theory and propose the idea of “motivational transfer” to explain the psychological mechanism underpinning the impact of technology. To examine the model, we conducted a case study with 20 Year 8 Chinese junior school students who used Duolingo to learn English as a foreign language (EFL) after school for 6 weeks. Findings Questionnaire and group interview data support our hypothesized mechanism: learners’ activity-specific intrinsic motivation (IM) for using Duolingo and their underlying psychological need for autonomy and competence can be transferred to a more general level, thereby enhancing learners’ global IM for L2. Originality/Value The proposed theoretical model expands our understanding of how digital technology stimulates learners’ L2 motivation; it can help L2 educators design better technological affordances to promote learners’ motivation both in and outside the classroom.

The Effect of Loneliness on Non-Suicidal Self-Injury Behavior in Chinese Junior High School Adolescents: A Moderated Mediation Model.

This study explore the interaction between loneliness and non-suicidal self-injury behaviors (hereinafter "NSSI"), and to further examine the mediating role of self-control and the moderating role of social connection. A total of 414 junior high school students (age 14.05±0.84) in Sichuan province in China were investigated on their loneliness, self-control, social connection and NSSI by questionnaire. (1) there was a significant positive correlation between loneliness and NSSI; (2) self-control played a mediating role in the relationship between loneliness and NSSI; and (3) after controlling for gender, family structure, and family economic level, the social connectedness played a moderating role in the relationship between loneliness and NSSI, as well as between self-control and NSSI. The results verify the relationship between loneliness and NSSI, expands and deepens the internal logical relationship between them, and provides a reference that can be used in the future for the prevention and intervention of NSSI in adolescents.

Is Psychological Distress a Risk Factor or an Outcome of School Violence and Cyberbullying Perpetrated by Adolescents? A Short-Term Longitudinal Panel Study.

Although the associations between adolescent psychological distress (i.e., depression, anxiety, and somatization), school violence, and cyberbullying have been examined using cross-sectional data, little evidence from longitudinal panel data exists to determine the temporal association. A two-wave longitudinal panel data with a 10-month interval were obtained from a random sample of 487 Chinese junior high school students (grades 7-9) in Tianjin in Mainland China. The cross-lagged panel analysis showed that adolescent psychological distress in the first wave of the survey was significantly associated with subsequent school violence against peers and teachers in the second wave but not in the opposite direction. Student psychological distress in the first wave of the survey was not significantly associated with cyberbullying perpetration in the second wave and vice versa. The findings suggested that adolescent psychological distress was a risk factor rather than the consequence of violence against peers and teachers in school. However, the temporal associations between adolescent psychological distress and cyberbullying perpetration were non-significant. These findings were relevant to both sex groups. The findings may imply that potential interventions and policies to prevent students from committing school violence should consider reducing students' psychological distress as one of the core elements.

Cultivation Strategy of Junior High School Students' Mathematical Data Concept in China: A Review

With the continuous development of the big data era, data analysis is appearing more and more frequently, and the corresponding data concept is becoming more and more important. Many scholars have conducted relevant research on the cultivation of junior high school students ' data concept, however, few relevant findings have been summarized. The purpose of this paper is to understand the research status of data concept training strategies for junior high school students in China, and to provide corresponding strategic reference for how to cultivate junior high school students ' data concept. Through the method of literature analysis, this paper reviews and sorts out the research on the cultivation of data concept of Chinese junior high school students, and draws the following conclusions: 1. The cultivation strategy of data concept of Chinese junior high school students is mainly studied from three aspects: before class, in class, and after class; 2. Previous studies have put forward more strategies for the cultivation of junior high school students ' data concept from the perspective of the classroom, and there are few studies on pre-class and after-class aspects; 3. Researchers mainly use four research methods: literature research, questionnaire survey, case analysis, and interview; 4. Most of the suggestions and strategies given by scholars are from the perspective of teachers, and there are gaps in the perspective of students. Therefore, in the future, it is essential for improving the research methods and conducting research from a broader perspective in order to find more reasonable and specific suggestions and strategies.

Sports-based Physical Education Programs and its Perceived Effectiveness on Physical Activity Levels of Junior High School Students in China

Sport-based physical education focuses on sports and other physical activities. Students have the opportunity to participate in a range of physical activities, learn the rules and regulations of a variety of sports, and develop collaboration and sportsmanship in an organized and extensive sports-based physical education program. As such, this quantitative study examines how sports-based PE affects the physical activity of chosen Chinese junior high school students. Numbers are used to test hypotheses and answer research inquiries. A researcher-made survey questionnaire was given to 349 randomly selected junior high school students at a selected school in China. This was utilized to gather data on their physical activity and sports program perspectives. The mean scores revealed that junior high school students perceive sports-based physical education programs increase physical activity across all four categories. The study indicated no significant difference is the result when grouped according to sex.

The Relationship between Hope and Suicidal Ideation among Chinese Junior High School Students: The Moderating Role of Gender

The Relationship between Hope and Suicidal Ideation among Chinese Junior High School Students: The Moderating Role of Gender

The relationship between social anxiety and self-injury of junior high school students: Mediation by intolerance of uncertainty and moderation by self-esteem.

The problem of adolescents' self-injury has gradually attracted social attention, however, a lack of research exists on the internal mechanism between social anxiety and self-injury. This study explored the relationship between social anxiety and self-injury in Chinese junior high school students. An adolescent self-injury questionnaire, social anxiety scale, intolerance of uncertainty questionnaire and self-injury questionnaire were used to survey 614 junior high school students. The results showed that: (1) social anxiety had a significant positive predictive effect on self-injury; (2) intolerance of uncertainty had a significant mediating effect between social anxiety and self-injury; and (3) self-esteem had a significant moderating effect on the mediating effect of intolerance of uncertainty. The study suggested that social anxiety in junior high school students has an impact on self-injury through mediation of intolerance of uncertainty and modulation of self-esteem.

The Relationship between a Growth Mindset and Junior High School Students' Meaning in Life: A Serial Mediation Model.

A growth mindset is an individual's belief that human intelligence can be changed through continuous practice and effort. The meaning in life signifies that individuals understand or see the meaning of their own life and are aware of their own goals and the values of their own life. Previous studies have shown that a growth mindset positively promotes individual emotional health and life happiness, but its relationship with meaning in life needs to be clarified. In this study, taking the self-determination theory and the broaden-and-build theory of positive emotions as a basis, we constructed a serial mediation effect model to test the mechanism of psychological capital and core self-evaluation in the relationship between a growth mindset and the meaning in life. A total of 565 students from Chinese junior middle schools participated in this study. The growth mindset, meaning in life, psychological capital, and core self-evaluation scales were used to collect the data for the study. The results indicated the following: (1) meaning in life was significantly predicted by growth mindset (β = 0.181, p < 0.001); (2) psychological capital and core self-evaluations played a mediating role in the influence of growth mindset on junior high school students' meaning in life. The mediating role includes three mediating paths: the individual mediating effects of psychological capital, the individual mediating effects of core self-evaluations, the serial mediating effects of psychological capital and core self-evaluations. The results of this study confirm the benefits of a growth mindset, as well as the potential mechanism by which they impact meaning in life, which positively impacts junior high school students meaning in life.

The Relationship between Meaning in Life and Depression among Chinese Junior High School Students: The Mediating and Moderating Effects of Cognitive Failures and Mindfulness.

In recent years, the incidence of depression among adolescents has been increasing yearly, and the severe damage of depression on adolescents' physical and mental health development has caused extensive concern worldwide. Previous research on adults has confirmed that meaning in life is a crucial buffer factor for depression, and developing meaning in life is an essential task in adolescence. Moreover, prior researchers also pointed out that frequent cognitive failures can induce negative emotions in individuals, whereas mindfulness can regulate individuals' depression levels. However, few studies have investigated the impact of meaning in life on depression in adolescents and the underlying psychological mechanisms. Accordingly, based on the theoretical framework of the Cognitive Vulnerability-Stress Theory of Depression, this study aimed to explore the relationship between meaning in life and depression in junior high school students, as well as the mediating effect of cognitive failures and the moderating effect of mindfulness. We collected data from 948 adolescents aged 11 to 17 in two junior high schools in Henan Province, China, and tested the theoretical model through the PROCESS macro for SPSS. The results showed that: (1) meaning in life had a significant negative predictive effect on depression (β = -0.24, p < 0.001); (2) cognitive failures partially mediated the relationship between meaning in life and depression (β = 0.31, p < 0.001); (3) the relationship between cognitive failures and depression was moderated by mindfulness (β = -0.05, p < 0.05). This study implied that we could start by cultivating adolescents' meaning in life and improving their level of mindfulness to prevent and intervene in adolescent depression.

The relationship between stressful life events and school engagement for junior high school students in China: A serial mediation model

The purpose of this study is to examine the relationship between stressful life events (SLE) and school engagement and to determine if there are some likely mediating variables between them. A sample of 1517 Chinese junior high school students (51.5% female) completed the adolescent self-rating life events checklist (ASLEC), Utrecht Work Engagement Scale-student (UWES-s), cognitive fusion questionnaire (CFQ), and positive psychological capital questionnaire (PPQ). The model was calculated using the PROCESS macro in SPSS. The serial mediator model revealed a significant negative effect of SLE on school engagement through psychological flexibility and psychological capital (effect = −.08, 95% CI [−.10, −.06]). There was also a direct mediating effect through psychological capital (effect = −.17, 95% CI [−.21, −.13]). The results of the present study may help to clarify mechanisms that might explain the association between SLE and school engagement. Future research on improving school engagement should consider the critical roles of psychological flexibility and psychological capital.

The mediating role of specific coping styles in the relationship between perceived social support and depressive symptoms in adolescents

BackgroundDepressive symptoms are one of the most common mental health problems in adolescence, and the relationship between perceived social support and depressive symptoms has been well-studied. However, little research has been conducted on the mediating role of specific coping styles in the relationship. Therefore, the primary purpose of this study was to examine the mediating role of specific coping styles in perceived social support and depressive symptoms in adolescents. MethodsA questionnaire was administered to 3887 Chinese junior and senior high school adolescents (mean age = 15.72 years, SD = 1.43) using a multistage stratified and cluster sampling method. The PROCESS model 4 was used to conduct a multiple mediation analysis. ResultsProblem solving, seeking help, venting, fantasy and endurance mediated the relationship between internal family support or external family support and depressive symptoms. The problem solving coping style mediated the largest amount of effect, accounting for 22.32 % and 19.05 %, respectively. LimitationsThis study used a cross-sectional survey and self-reported information, which may be the main research limitation. ConclusionsThe findings suggest that higher social support not only directly reduces the likelihood of adolescent depression, but also influences depressive symptoms through specific coping styles. This may help further develop targeted prevention and interventions for at-risk adolescents for specific coping styles.